LEARNING CURVE: TD MATERIALS INC. : Steely Resolve : Daughter Forges a Career at Metals Firm
Chic Lippman had a career in education, but when her father died, she inherited a metals supply company in the flagging aerospace industry. She survived a sink-or-swim situation with TD Materials Inc. by refocusing the company and enlisting the help of her adult children. Lippman was interviewed by Karen Kaplan.
My dad started this company in 1937 in Brooklyn. World War II and the Cold War meant lots of business, and he opened divisions all over the country, including one in Los Angeles in 1959.
We are a metals service center supplying aluminum in thousands of shapes to the defense and commercial aircraft industries. We stock 45,000 different shapes of aluminum and we sell more than 4 million pounds of materials a year.
When I was growing up, I helped out at the company on the weekends and in the summers. But no one expected that a daughter would go into the aerospace business, so I became a special-education teacher.
In 1986, I got divorced and was suddenly a single parent with three kids to send to college. When my father’s health was failing, a light went off in my head that I’d better start paying attention to my dad’s business if I wanted to pay my bills.
I joined the board of directors, set myself up in the sales office and got to know the people. I started a newsletter and did projects around the company that needed to be done. It wasn’t the most interesting work, but it was a way to learn about the business.
I had to learn everything very quickly. I had picked up a lot from my dad over the years--a lot more than I had thought. I joined the aviation group on CompuServe, and I read a lot of trade magazines and industry newsletters.
I officially took over the company in 1992. I was the chairman of the board, but I didn’t have a management position. My oldest son, Bill, became the chief executive officer, and my second son, Andrew, became the chief operating officer. My daughter, Tamara, was still in college, but she now works in international sales.
It was quite an experience to learn how to manage 50 people in a complex industry during the recession. By 1992, the defense cutbacks had hit us pretty hard. It wasn’t a good time to sell a company in this field. Also, when you have something that’s been in the family for 55 years, you think a long time before you decide to sell it.
We worked to diversify the company. We have increased our business in commercial and international markets, and we have gone after new customers that are smaller companies than we’ve had before.
At first it was difficult being accepted in the industry, because I’m a diminutive woman. Plus there is always some skepticism when you inherit a company. But as people realized that I understood the business, they were very nice to me. At first I was underestimated, but now people take me seriously.
This was definitely a family affair. I wouldn’t say that I couldn’t have done this myself, but it was a tremendous help that my kids were interested in the company and they were the right age at the right time.
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On why she decided to take over the business . . .
“When my father’s health was failing, a light went off in my head that I’d better start paying attention to my dad’s business if I wanted to pay my bills.”
On how she brought herself up to speed . . .
“I had to learn everything very quickly. . . . I joined the aviation group on CompuServe, and I read a lot of trade magazines and industry newsletters.”
On the benefits of a family business . . .
“I wouldn’t say that I couldn’t have done this myself, but it was a tremendous help that my kids were interested in the company and they were the right age at the right time.”
AT A GLANCE
Company: TD Materials Inc.
Owner: Chic Lippman
Nature of business: Metals service supply center
Location: Los Angeles
Founded: 1937
Number of Employees: 55
Annual sales: About $20 million
