Partners in Progress Vol 16 No 6

Contractor of the Year: Jack Knox Partnerships built on trust lead to business longevity By / Natalie Bruckner Jack Knox, president of R.F. Knox Company, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia, may hold an important secret to longevity: “Our success in business for more than 100 years comes down to two things,” he says. “One: embrace new technology, and two: collaborate with your partners.” As the fourth-generation president in the family-owned straight line sheet metal business, Knox credits a big part of his business’s success to the labour-management relationship that he and his partners at Local 85 have worked hard to build and maintain for all these years. “We honestly couldn’t have succeeded for this long without our labor partner,” Knox says. Local 85 Business Representative Steve Langley says the same is true when it comes to the success of his organization. “Jack is such a great guy, so easy going,” he says. “We may not agree on everything, but we know that we can talk it out. We have overcome some huge hurdles together. The success of our Local comes down to contractors like Jack.” It hasn’t always been this way, Knox admits. It takes continued commitment on all sides to maintain this relationship, but he says at the core of it is a great deal of trust. “Maintaining a healthy labor-management relationship starts at the top. When you have trust there, it funnels down and ultimately opens 10 » Partners in Progress » www.pinp.org

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Partners in Progress Vol 16 No 6

Published on Nov 30, 2022

Partners In Progress

This issue of Partners in Progress features many ways to put your labor-management partnership out there as an example for others. A. Zahner Co. and Local 9 brought expertise and a can-do attitude to a historic and high-profile US Air Force Academy project. CASS Sheet Metal, the ITI, and Local 80 worked together to create soldering training that helps win signatory market share. Jack Knox, president of R.F. Knox Company Inc., is SMACNA's Contractor of the Year, and he says labor-management cooperation is at the root of success. SMACNA and SMART showcase their efforts at building partnerships by involving their members in one another's conferences and events. Find out how social media can boost the visibility of your contracting business, training centre, equipment, or local. Follow three simple steps to increase loyalty. From apprentice to SMOHIT administrator, Aldo Zambetti’s journey has had many legs and even more successes.