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All in the family: "we are a family firm, but everyone we do business with is part of the family, from the vendor to the customer," says Brian Robbins, CEO of Mid-West Materials Inc., who is convinced his midsize company can "out-relationship" both smaller and larger competitors.

Article Excerpt
In 1996, Brian Robbins left a successful law practice on Wall Street i to relocate to Cleveland and join family firm. Mid-West Materials Inc. was at a critical juncture in its transition to the next generation of family management.

Robbins admits that the move from New York law office to Cleveland steel warehouse did not seem like a good fit initially. "When I first contemplated coming here, my wife said, 'We're going where? To do what?'" They awoke from their first night in Cleveland to waist-high snow drifts, lamenting aloud: "What have we done!"

Since accepting the job as Mid-West's chief executive officer, however, Robbins has no regrets. He and his family have grown to love the community, and he has grown to appreciate the special opportunity he was given as the third generation to steward the family business. Robbins says he is particularly proud to carry on the legacy of entrepreneurship and integrity established by his grandfather and company founder Joseph Koppelman.

"Three generations of family history is something I cherish," Robbins says. "I realize how special it is to be with family and work with them in an atmosphere of personal and professional rapport and respect."

Robbins' mother, Noreen Koppelman Goldstein, is president of the company. An attorney with an MBA, she handles various legal and corporate affairs. Robbins' aunt, Sharon Koppelman, serves as company treasurer. Cousin Scott Koppelman, whom Robbins credits as a valuable mentor, was executive vice president with the company for over 20 years before moving to Florida to open his own steel business.

Mid-West was founded by Joseph Koppelman, along with his brother Harry and a third partner, Eugene Fant, in 1952. Fant eventually left to focus on his other investment, a steel business in Texas now known as Houston-based New Process Steel, while Harry passed away unexpectedly at age 57. At age 88, Koppelman remains active as company chairman, patriarch and inspiration.

"The steel business has always been feast or famine. For one or two years you make a lot of money, then you go through two or three years where you lose a lot of money," says Koppelman, reflecting on his half-century career in steel.

Today, the steel cycles are not as volatile because there are fewer...