December 6, 2009
Good News: From chicken coops to a nest egg
Lexington twins built future on alternative power sources
By LOU WHITMIRE
News Journal

LEXINGTON -- Graywacke Engineering co-owners Mark and Scott Huffman started their business in 1993, working in their grandmother's chicken coop in the dead of winter. "It was the coldest winter. It was only the third time The Ohio State University ever closed the campus. We were in that shop with a wood-burning fireplace," Mark Huffman said.
That's when the twin brothers, 39, started the business. Six years later they incorporated their shop. For the next 10 years, the company operated from the Braintree Incubator on Fifth Street in Mansfield.

This month, the co-owners relocated to 120 Industrial Drive, a move triggered by progress and necessity. "We were just out of space," Scott said. The 1988 Lexington High School graduates are leasing a 10,500-square-foot building that will enable them to grow. Even before Graywacke, they dabbled in business. When Scott Huffman graduated from Ohio State with a degree in business agriculture, he and his brother Mark, with a degree in finance, started their own business installing ventilation ductwork. Then they went into the lawncare business in Columbus for a couple years.

Graywacke and alternative power products has been their success story. The success didn't happen overnight, both brothers said. They had jobs while growing their company. "We started very modestly," Scott said. "Mark and I knew that this job wouldn't support both of our incomes ... We operated our business on weekends." Although they each are in tune to all facets of the company, Scott is president; Mark is vice president. About six to 10 loyal employees are working per day.

In its first year, the company sold 20 power supply units used to run portable radios for the U.S. Marine Corps. The Marines came back wanting another 100 units that same year, having realized almost a quarter million dollars in savings from the 20 units Graywacke built for them. Currently, the co-owners are working on a second generation of the original product line. It's a long way from the chicken coop. "We're growing on our terms," Scott said, adding the hours may be long, but the results are rewarding. Looking back, the local entrepreneurs said they were finishing their last quarter at Ohio State when an opportunity to bid on the small Marine Corps contract arose. The goal was to pay off their student loans. "We really winged it. We had to do it from scratch. We ended up getting awarded the contract and the only place we had to build it was my grandmother's property in Madison," Scott said. The company evolved from there. Mark said they built those initial 20 units over six months. "Today we could probably build 100 a week," he said. The small company has now found its niche serving private companies that cater to the defense industry.

The co-owners said they are happy to be back in Lexington, where they grew up. They live in Delaware with their wives and families. Mark recalled how their parents, at a young age, had them tend a one-acre garden. The boys had to do their chores (the garden) before they could go play. "We traded tomatoes for ice cream cones at the old JB's," Mark said. "He (the owner) let us make our own ice cream cones." They sold pumpkins, too. They're still selling, just a different product and to a different clientele. "We get calls at all hours," Mark said of military customers. "You have to be ready every single minute of every day. You can get a phone call at anytime, especially in this field. The Army, there's no hours if they've got replacement parts they need, or some problem in the field."

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The October Tech Thursday sponsored by the Northern Ohio IT Association was held  on the beautiful campus of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Ted Rice, director of the college's Burton D. Morgan Innovation Greenhouse Program, shared with the 50 attendees the entrepreneurial endeavors of various students and how the college was assisting them with ideas, networking, building space, and mentorship. Ted spoke of various students who presented their ideas and products to a committee of venture capitalists in hopes to receive funding for their projects. The students had an array of ideas for their business, from laundry mats to specialty clothing and photography. There were many business owners, representatives, lawyers, and students who attended the event. The night was extremely successful for anyone who was seeking a chance to put their name out there, or to simply make connections.

The September Agribusiness Forum went overseas as Bill Huston related his experiences of 18 months in Iraq helping their agricultural community. Bill Huston has been employed for 23 years as the County Executive Director for Farm Service Agency at the Muskingum-Morgan County office. He also farms, with his family, a 200 acre fruit and vegetable farm near Dresden. Bill was part of the civilian surge sent to Iraq to assist the community in redeveloping the infrastructure of Iraq following the war. Bill related how the area of the Diyala Province of Iraq was an extremely productive agricultural area before the first Gulf War. Following the first Gulf War Sadam Hussein took complete control of this agricultural region and decimated output under a state controlled production model. Bill discussed how the Iraqi people were very hospitable and eager to learn new cooperative arrangements to maximize buying and marketing of their products..

To see WMFD coverage of the event click here