CELEBRATING A LEGACY | Meinholdt's Welding And Machine
By MICHAEL MCGRAW | Photo by JOHN BURNS
For Meinholdt’s Welding and Machine, family has remained central to their endeavors as they have grown into a reliable solution for both Topekans and individuals from all over the state of Kansas.
“When we fix something, we work to do it right the first time, so you don’t bring it back,” said Mark Meinholdt, owner of Meinholdt’s Welding and Machine. “My dad was looking over my shoulder and my grandfather was behind him.”
Running their shop at 1900 NW Central Ave, Mark has seen significant shifts in the business since they started in 1923.
“Through the years we were seeing agricultural and construction equipment as a big part of what we did, but that has changed drastically,” said Mark. “Now we are doing all types of work, and that can be challenging.”
Mark explained that being in the repair business entails more than just jumping in and fixing something. It requires having the skills and the expertise to dismantle a piece of equipment to get to the problem. Then you have to problem solve to figure out how to fix it and how to put it all back together. It is like a giant puzzle often without directions.
“One of the things that has changed the most is we used to have sales reps for suppliers that knew the business, knew the types of work and equipment we did, and they were always coming to us with new insights and products,” Mark said. “Yes, they were trying to sell us something, but that network of shared knowledge and ability to get what you needed meant we were able to do a lot more without having to try to figure it out for ourselves. Those sales reps are gone now, and everything has gone to an impersonal sales pitch on a computer. We lost a lot when that happened.”
As costs for new equipment have increased, customers have needed to keep older machines working — a hard shift from the years of a “just get another one or trade it in” mentality. Mark noted customers have even gone looking for those older pieces of equipment like tractors, construction, and specialized machines because they are easier to repair and maintain. For Meinholdt, one of the biggest challenges to business operations is replacing the institutional knowledge held by the family of skilled tradesmen.
“It can mean one of our young people has to spend hours doing research online now, when we used to be able to reach out and get the answer in minutes,” Mark said. “We roll with the punches.”
Mark’s sons grew up in the trade but later moved on to find careers in the railroad industry and as a firefighter. Mark is proud of how they learned to do the work and have the skills to fall back on as they went out to pursue other dreams.
“We need to teach kids that this kind of work can be an option,” Mark said. “Too many high school kids never got the chance to learn a trade and see if it was for them before they were pushed to go to college. We need to give them a chance to see the opportunities to do something where they can work with their hands and see the results.”
These three local businesses have something really important in common — a strong belief in what they do and why it’s important, even if people don’t always notice. But the most important thing is that they believe in their team. It’s their team that helps create their unique story for the future.
