ROBERT VOGELBACHER ’00 PRESIDENT, MEN DURING
HIS
PREP
OF
STEEL REBAR FABRICATORS
DAYS, MANY
PEOPLE WOULD NOT HAVE PEGGED
ROBERT VOGELBACHER ’00 TO BECOME THE OWNER OF A STEEL REBAR MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
After all, he was headed for the U.S. Naval Academy where he would major in English, not exactly a blueprint for someone looking for a career in the steel rebar business. Nevertheless, that is exactly where Vogelbacher finds himself. He is the President of Men of Steel Rebar Fabricators, a company he began shortly after graduating from the Naval Academy in 2004. It was something that came about as Vogelbacher worked for his dad in a general contracting business. “I realized that no one in the industry was doing steel rebar from the beginning to end of the process,” says Vogelbacher. “For a concrete contractor, rebar is a difficult material. I saw the possibility of starting a company that would provide the concrete contractor with everything they would need for a rebar project.”
Steel rebar is used in virtually everything made out of concrete. It acts as the skeleton, providing shape and strength. Men of Steel does all of the work on the rebar, from engineering to fabricating to delivering, project managing and even installation. “There are companies that do some of the levels involved in producing the rebar but very few who do it all,” Vogelbacher says. “We pulled all of the aspects of the process, every service and product that the contractors need and provide it in one place. That has been our niche.” For the most part, Men of Steel works in the New York City market, where there are several mid-to-high rise concrete building projects. Men of Steel operates out of offices in Edgewater Park, N.J. The company began with serious “quick, on-the-job education,” says Vogelbacher, who also benefitted from his father-in-law’s expertise in the wholesale rebar business. But Vogelbacher himself had no experience with this very intricate material. Somehow, though, all of his training led to this. At the Prep, Vogelbacher rowed and led Kairos, in addition to playing basketball for three years. He says both the Prep and the Naval Academy prepared him well for operating his own business.
“I am able to get my point across, both verbal and written” he says. “I can state my opinion and take a position and defend that position. Those skills have helped me tremendously in business.”In addition to the steel rebar, Vogelbacher operates a solar business and a hardware store out of their South Jersey location. All of it adds up to knowing the value of hard work. “When we started, we went through the construction blue book and called people and then we called them again,” he says. “Then we went to see people and broke down doors. I was surprised to learn that people aren’t as good at that as you might think.” In addition, he learned another skill that makes him a good business man—morality. “I try to be honorable in business,” says Vogelbacher, who recently became engaged to his longtime girlfriend Kristen Carlin. “That might not always be the way to make a lot of fast money but it has paid dividends. It has helped us build a reputation. We always try to make a fair and moral decision, we have respect for our clients, our competition and our employees and we will do whatever it takes to meet deadlines and be good partners on a project. That has helped us tremendously.” – Bill Avington ’90
FALL 2010
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