U.S. Senator Portman visits Braun in VW

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

U.S. Senator Rob Portman visited Van Wert’s Braun Industries plant on Friday as part of a tour of northwest Ohio businesses, and was impressed by what he found there.

Scott Braun, one two third-generation members of the Braun family to operate the business, along with his sister, Kim, provided information about the local premier ambulance-maker to Portman and also provided a tour of the plant to the senator and Ohio Representative Tony Burkley. Van Wert Mayor Don Farmer and City Economic Development Director Cindy Leis were also on hand for Portman’s visit.

Portman also was impressed with the wind farms located in the area, noting he saw them in operation while driving into the city.

“Every darn windmill was moving, which I love to see,” the senator noted. “A pretty impressive wind farm.”

Ohio Representative Tony Burkley agreed with that assessment, noting that the wind farms have been very beneficial to the 82nd Ohio House District that he represents.

Braun provided some basic information on the 43-year-old company, noting that the company had a great year in 2014.

“2014 was outstanding for us as a business, broke every record in our business for the life of our business — most sales, highest volume, best quality — just a remarkable 2014 and 2015 is looking to exceed that as well,” Braun said.

He noted that the company, which began as a pattern shop in 1961 in the small community of Lithopolis, started making ambulances in 1972 and moved its operations four years later to the Paulding County village of Oakwood.

In 2000, second-generation owners Phil and Charma Braun made the decision to relocate the growing company to Van Wert and a new 76,000-square-foot facility was dedicated in 2001. The company has overcome several challenges while in Van Wert, including extensive damage to its local facility during the November 10, 2002, tornado that ripped through Vision Industrial Park.

The local Braun plant has undergone expansion as the company operations grew and the company also recently purchased the former Life Star Rescue business, which is located north of Braun in Vision Park, which had provided sales and service to the company for a number of years.  Purchasing Life Star, Scott Braun said, allows the company to do its own remounting and renovating of existing ambulances, which provides another revenue stream for the company, while also keeping Braun ambulances on the street for extended periods of time.

Also representing Braun during the meeting were Gary Kohls, executive vice president for operations, and Chad Brown, executive vice president for marketing, who both talked briefly about their responsibilities in the company.

Market share of the company in Ohio is approximately 35-40 percent, Brown said, noting that the company has sold ambulances in 47 of the 50 states in the U.S., while also selling vehicles in China and other foreign countries.

Braun also noted that new state purchasing guidelines have been positive for the company, since it allows communities to purchase a premium ambulance like those Braun Industries makes, instead of cheaper vehicles that don’t last as long and are not as good a value as Braun’s ambulances.

For his part, Portman not only asked questions of Braun executives concerning their business, but also invited them to provide him with information on challenges the company’s faces, including federal health care concerns, EPA regulations and other federal oversight.