ISFA Fabricator Profile: Tower Industries

By Sarah Peiper

Founded by father-and-son team Bob and Todd Werstler in 1995, Tower Industries is known nationally as a manufacturer of solid surface shower and restroom products. Located in Massillon, Ohio, about an hour south of Cleveland, the company expanded to include a stone fabrication division, Tower Countertops — now one of Ohio’s leading custom surface fabrication and installation providers. As a familyowned and operated company, the Tower team takes pride in delivering premium surfaces built from quality materials supported by reliable customer service.

Humble Beginnings

Todd looks back at how it all started. His father, Bob, got his start in the plumbing trade, eventually owning a plumbing business and then a hardware store. Later in his career, he worked as a sales representative for a cultured marble company. Meanwhile, Todd went off to college to pursue a degree in business. It was then he discovered a passion for economics. After college, Todd worked for a transportation company, where he gained valuable cross-functional experience and a prowess for management.

But the entrepreneurial spirit was alive and well in the Werstlers. “I wanted to work for myself,” said Todd. “I wanted to create something unique — find a niche in the marketplace.”

With a deep understanding of cast polymer products, Bob’s idea was to delve into solid surface. “In the ’90s, solid surface was seeing extraordinary growth in popularity,” Todd recalled. “So we huddled together and carved out an opportunity.”

Bob brought valuable experience in the remodeling and construction trade, while Todd had developed business acumen and management experience. Even Todd’s mom, Joyce, chipped in by helping with accounting, answering the phones, and otherwise supporting however she could. “We scraped it together in the beginning; it took everything we had to get it off the ground,” added Todd. “But we were mindful of building something with staying power.” Together, they launched Tower Industries. Nearly 30 years after its humble beginnings, Tower remains humble. They’ve even written it into the company’s core values.

Building a Solid (Surface) Foundation

The company was founded to manufacture its brand of solid surface, which is now trademarked under the name Meridian Solid Surface. The material is a proprietary blend of resins and mineral fillers that comes in a range of colors and patterns. They manufactured sheets and fabricated countertops initially, and by 2004, they had developed a line of prefabricated products for restrooms.

“When the design world changed, and the demand for natural stone — materials like granite — surged past solid surface,” explained Todd, “people moved away from solid surface countertops in new construction, so we had to figure out how to keep the material relevant.” Meanwhile, they nudged the countertop division forward by expanding to other materials like quartz and granite. For Meridian Solid Surface, they had mastered making the material and now needed to find a new space to sell it into.

Around the same time, Todd got a call from a general contractor who had won a bid to remodel a college dormitory. “Somehow, this contractor found our website and discovered we made solid surface, and one of the applications we featured was a shower. He told me he needed 100 showers in six weeks. Of course, I told him we could do it — ‘No problem!’ — but I had no idea how we would pull it off. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Todd took the job, the project went well, and a light went off; if there’s one college dorm in the U.S. that needs this product, there are probably more.

“After that first dormitory, we started poking around,” he recalled. “We went looking for projects at colleges, and we found them. We worked our way in, selling however we could and marketing to that sector. Our second project was at Ohio State University, proving we had a concept.” Since then, Tower Industries has provided Meridian Solid Surface solutions to more than two hundred colleges nationwide. The company has a complete line of products — including fully customizable options — from shower bases and wall panels to accessories like seats, soap dishes, shelving niches, and more. They serve primarily the commercial market, including higher education, health care, military and multifamily facilities. The solid surface division makes up more than 75% of Tower’s total revenue. Todd says the growth with Meridian scales larger by territory — a national market, whereas the countertop business is locked geographically to central and northern Ohio.

Today, Tower Countertops — accounting for the remaining 25% of revenue — fabricates solid surface, natural stone, quartz and sintered surfaces for all kinds of projects, primarily residential kitchens and baths. On average, they fabricate about a dozen kitchens each day. “Today, we’re seeing more demand for sintered materials that we didn’t 10 years ago — including porcelain — so we’ve adapted our offerings,” explained Todd. “You have to keep up with trends to remain competitive.”

In the Shop

Tower’s two divisions operate under one roof in a sprawling 60,000-square-foot factory with about 60 staff members. Staff is divided between the two divisions, with just over a dozen staff members spanning the whole business in sales and operations.

The factory floor has evolved to meet the company’s scale. On the Meridian side, they started with hand tools, routers, straight edges and the like. As they made more countertops, it made sense to add a CNC. “Our first CNC was installed in about 1998,” recalled Todd. “Automation has definitely helped to make us grow.”

On the wet side of Tower Countertops, they run Park Industries’ Fusion sawjet, a Titan 2800 CNC, polishers, and edgers, including a Velocity and Bovone’s straight line edging machine. On the dry side, they run a Komo 3-axis CNC and an Anderson 5-axis CNC.

In the Meridian manufacturing area, they run dual continuous casting machines and continuous casting mixers, with most of the casting performed via robotics. “The majority of the operation is automated, allowing us to streamline manufacturing and maximize output with a small crew,” explained Todd. “We only have about 20 workers on this side of the shop.”

In the Marketplace

On the whole, about 75% of Tower’s projects are commercial. Tower’s residential game is a mix of new construction, remodeling and direct-to-customer. They have a showroom where they display both Meridian products as well as premium countertop solutions in stone and other materials. They partner with residential builders, remodelers, architects, developers and property owners to drive business.

Todd says selling a package is vital in certain parts of the business. “We recently completed an apartment renovation project that included shower walls, shower bases, shower accessories and a glass shower door along with demo and installation,” he explained. “The fact that we could handle a wider scope — offer a turnkey solution for the client — won us the job. But on a more basic level, I can’t imagine selling a kitchen or bath countertop without supplying the sink. That’s where it started, but over the years, you look at ways to be more competitive and increase your value proposition.” Todd encourages other fabricators to look at ways to differentiate themselves from the competition and provide more value while minimizing customer pain points.

Managing the Dream

Todd attributes Tower’s success to their service-focused approach. “We are an excellent service organization,” he explained. “When there is an issue, we solve it quickly. The size of our team and its scope allow us to have a deep bench, providing us with prompt problem resolution.”

Todd’s management experience and business acumen are built on his belief in processes and procedures. “When we started the company, we were tiny,” he explained. “I only needed to make a one-story house — nothing huge. When the business grew, we had to add a second story, but when we put the third story on, it all got a little wobbly. That’s when I knew we needed a new foundation. He joined the Entrepreneur’s Organization, where he learned about the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).

Expansion would not have been possible without structure, he notes. About five years ago, the company fully embraced EOS, a simple set of principles by which a company is run. It begins with identifying and implementing core values based not on goals but on strengths. “Our core values are at the heart of our success,” he explained. “We are kind; we take initiative; we get it done; we make it right; we are humble; and we are enthusiastic.” It forced the team to align and embrace these core values, and the process created a road map, which included processes like structured meetings where issues are identified and solved, quarterly conversations, regular reviews and laser-focused planning that otherwise didn’t occur.

“Before EOS, I didn’t love our company culture, to be honest,” he said. “It enabled bad behavior to exist because we thought we couldn’t afford to lose people. But it wasn’t fair to those who were excelling.

“When we adopted EOS and began to emphasize the importance of our core values, it changed the dynamic. People work here because they are treated with respect and kindness, and they know that the company they work for truly cares about them.”

Tower’s General Manager Kerry Klodt suggested Matthew Kelly’s book The Dream Manager. “The book’s premise is if employers help employees realize their dreams,” explained Kerry, “they will more willingly help us realize ours — growth, profitability, success and service. To do that, we need productive people who want to come to work and take pride in their work and the product we create.” Tower provides its staff with great benefits, growth opportunities and mutual respect by celebrating successes and fostering an excellent work-life balance. From holiday parties to chili cookoffs and hosting industry events like the International Cast Polymer Association’s (ICPA) Polycon or Mineral Surface Fabrication Training with the International Surface Fabricators Association (ISFA), they always include all the staff. “We work diligently to regularly engage our entire team, so they know we care about them.”

Staying Connected

Industry involvement has been essential to Tower’s evolution since its inception. Todd has served as president of both ISFA and ICPA, and Kerry is ICPA president today. “Being involved in these organizations helped me to understand the industry better,” said Todd. “I developed Meridian Solid Surface based on what I learned from chemists and technical support advisers who worked

for raw material manufacturers within ICPA. I learned polymer chemistry by volunteering on a quality committee in 1995. I showed up to meetings, and I listened. I asked a lot of questions, and I got a lot of answers. Being involved with ISFA led to terrific insights about how to be more efficient in fabrication by implementing automation. I discovered that my problems and challenges were not exclusive to me. There were others out there who were happy to share their pitfalls and successes and gave me a much better understanding of how to find success in this business.”

In the end, Todd says there’s no magic bullet, and there’s definitely no substitute for hard work. “The success of an organization is never due to one person, and the Tower story is no different. There have been an endless number of dedicated, hardworking individuals who have come together, enabling us to persevere for nearly 30 years and make Tower Industries the company it is today.”

Having a full management team in place, Todd can leave the business for long stretches of time, and he doesn’t worry about what’s going on back in the shop. “All my key players and contributors do a great job of keeping this machine running. I love this business, but I also like to play golf,” he quipped.

What’s next for Tower? Well, by definition, to tower would suggest an aim to reach great heights. Given the trajectory thus far, there’s no doubt this fabricator will continue to find success for years to come.

Learn more about Tower Industries at www.towerindustries.com and find more information about Tower Countertops at www.towercountertops.com.

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