Vet business owner living the American dream in Largo
LARGO — When Andrew Kossowski walked into an old metal finishing shop in Clearwater looking for a post-retirement career, he didn’t just see the aging machines, dusty shelves and outdated Andrew Kossowski, a 63-year-old former Air Force vet and telecommunications industry executive, has transformed his metal coating business into a modernized, highly productive company. He acquired the business from another veteran in 2020 and began working to transform it into a high-tech company, which includes the Department of Defense as one of its main clients. The business has tripled in size and quadrupled production in three-plus years, with an SBA loan for $3 million and extensive buildout that included all new equipment. The company has also increased employee morale and customer satisfaction by implementing QR codes for tracking inventory. Kossow was recently named the U.S. Small Business Association South Florida District’s Veteran Business Owner of the Year for 2024.
Publicado : Hace 10 meses por Tampa Bay Newspapers, JEFF ROSENFIELD en Business
LARGO — When Andrew Kossowski walked into an old metal finishing shop in Clearwater looking for a post-retirement career, he didn’t just see the aging machines, dusty shelves and outdated record-keeping methods typical of a company that’s been in business for more than 25 years.
Instead, the Miami native saw a way to put the training, leadership and organizational skills he had acquired, first in the U.S. Air Force as an aircraft specialist and later in the private sector as an executive in the telecommunications industry, to good use by revolutionizing the small and set-in-its ways metal coating industry.
“I’m an Air Force vet, a corporate world vet, and I wasn’t ready to retire,” the 63-year-old Kossowski said May 23 from the office of his company at 9310 Ulmerton Road, which specializes in chemical coating stainless steel parts to prevent corrosion. “So, my wife and I did our due diligence, and we acquired the business in 2020 from another veteran in hopes of turning it into a modernized, highly productive company.”
Despite possessing a vision, determination, and work ethic he credited to his parents, who met in Cuba, married in Venezuela and moved to Miami in 1961, Kossowski said his wife, Sydney, wasn’t as enamored with his idea.
“She had her doubts, for sure. I think she thought I was crazy,” he said of Sydney, a retired banker who now runs the company’s office. “But I could see the potential of what the business could become with a little hard work.”
Today, the business, which Kossowski renamed Veterans Metal and relocated to the Largo industrial park following an extensive buildout that included all new equipment, is a modernized, high-tech company. It includes the Department of Defense as one of its main clients and has tripled in size and quadrupled production in three-plus years.
“We did an SBA loan for $3 million and got all new equipment,” Kossowski said of the move, which was completed last June, with a ribbon cutting in August 2023. “We didn’t bring anything over here except the employees!”
He noted that by tripling the size of the old shop to 15,000 square feet, and by implementing modern equipment and technology, they not only increased production from 50,000 parts per month to 225,000, but have improved employee morale and customer satisfaction. Some of the technological upgrades include a reverse osmosis system for treating the wastewater produced from the acids and dyes utilized in the metal coating process, and handheld computers to keep track of every part.
“The employees like that it’s an air-conditioned facility and they’re not breathing in harmful fumes all day,” Kossowski said. “They don’t go home physically tired. Mentally, maybe! But not physically.”
As for Veterans Metal clients, which include Lockheed Martin, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, as well as companies in the marine, athletic, automotive, and outdoor industries, Kossowski said they have been extremely satisfied with the long overdue modernization of the business, including implementing QR codes for tracking inventory.
“It’s all about improving the quality of the product and the lives of the customers,” he said, noting they plan to add pickup and delivery service this summer, with their service area stretching from Tarpon Springs to Plant City to Nokomis.
For his efforts, Kossowski was recently named the U.S. Small Business Association South Florida District’s Veteran Business Owner of the Year for 2024, an accomplishment he never imagined when he bought the company during the peak of the pandemic and one that he has quickly transformed “from the stone age to the space age,” as he said.
“I found out a month and a half ago, and I was stunned and honored by the award,” Kossowski said. “It’s a tribute to a great team that works so hard every day,” which includes his wife and daughter, Kristina, who works in the office.
With the Veterans Metal buildout complete, room to grow and expand production in the future, the delivery service ready to start and the employee team in place, Kossowski has already turned to the next chapter of his post-retirement career: passing his knowledge and expertise to others.
“I’ve got a new podcast that’s also available on YouTube that covers leading-edge technology in manufacturing, and I’ve been asked to speak many times at industry conferences and events, including FABTECH in Orlando in October,” he said. “One of the main reasons I joined the Bay Area Manufacturers Association board last year was to promote the fact that you can transform your business, and you don’t have to fear it. You just have to plan for it, and embrace it.”
For more information on Veterans Metal, visit veteransmetal.com or call 727-572-9470.