How many of you remember the 1980s Van Halen song “Unchained?” David Lee Roth sang, “Change. Nothing stays the same. Unchained. Yeah, you hit the ground running.” Believe it or not, that’s how HGR Industrial Surplus in Euclid, Ohio, got its name. Founder Paul Betori had left his previous employer with a vision for a new business model. As he sat in his living room listening to Van Halen, Paul decided to hit the ground running (HGR) and formed HGR Industrial Surplus in 1998 with 13 employees.

Since then, the company has grown to more than 110 employees with a showroom of 500,000 square feet and recently purchased and dedicated its Nickel Plate Station building on Euclid Avenue. The mission of the company is to serve as a conduit between customers looking for affordable used machinery and equipment and manufacturers hoping to recoup some portion of their capital investments.

Because of its passion for manufacturing and the growth and development of industry in Northeast Ohio, the company decided to work with John Copic, publisher of The Euclid and Collinwood Observers, to offer this monthly column to showcase the amazing, fun, interesting and cutting edge manufacturing taking place in the region. It’s just another way of connecting customers and industry. There’s so much going on right in your neighborhood that you may not know about, but it affects you directly. Your friends and neighbors work for these companies. You buy their products. Their taxes improve your roads and schools. You have a vested interest in their success because they are contributing to a recovering and, hopefully, stable economy.

And, as the song says, change is inevitable, especially in manufacturing and industry. The economy has been a roller coaster ride for quite a few years. Families and businesses have had to learn to adapt and creatively problem solve to overcome challenges and turn them into opportunities.

In this column, we intend to showcase some of those opportunities and inspire you with success stories. What are local businesses doing in the community? What new development is happening in The Euclid Corridor? Let’s hear firsthand from some local businesses. What are their plans for the area? What tips and tricks do they have for others? What best practices can we apply to our own businesses for success? What weird and wacky manufacturing and product photos can we share?

Speaking of wacky photos, did you know that HGR Industrial Surplus buys and sells everything? Literally! Here is an example of an interesting item that recently became available in its showroom. These GM gears are 19,000 pounds each. Does anyone know how they might have been used? We started the conversation on Facebook.

You also can see this article in our new monthly column “Hit the Ground Running” in the Collinwood Observer and the Euclid Observer.

According to the Machinery Dealers National Association, on Friday, Dec. 18, President Obama signed the $1.8 Spending and Tax Bill into law.  Earlier on Friday, the Senate gave final congressional approval to the bill, which includes nearly $700 billion in tax breaks.

The new permanent Section 179 expensing limit allows a business to take a current year deduction of the full purchase amount up to $500,000 for assets under $2 million.

Example Savings*

Original Equipment Cost:                  $500,000

New Potential Tax Savings:               $175,000

Final Equipment Cost:                       $325,000

Cash Savings on

Equipment Purchase:                        $175,000

*Assuming a 35% tax qualifying purchase

This information does not constitute tax advice, please check with your tax advisor on how this applies to your business.

HGR Industrial Surplus spent months searching for the perfect place for our call center in Austin, Texas. After finding the best location for employees and visitors, the company renovated the space to suit its needs. Last week, employees relocated from downtown Austin at 210 Barton Springs Road and opened shop in North Austin at 1826 Kramer Lane.

At this location, there is free parking, no downtown traffic congestion, and visitors as well as employees can drive up to the front door without a long walk or having to trek through inclement weather conditions.

Our employees in Austin make outgoing calls looking for surplus to buy. It all starts with them!

If you are in the Austin area, pay us a visit!

In partnership with Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network (MAGNET), HGR is building the materials to create a manufacturing resource center inside of its customer lounge. The center will house pamphlets, handouts, books and periodicals that provide information about educational and manufacturing opportunities, as well as information about MAGNET’s services and programming. HGR also will create an online center with links to additional resources.

Some of the organizations that will have information available in the center include: Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International; National Association of Manufacturers; the five Ohio regional representatives of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MAGNET, TechSolve, CIFT, PolymerOhio, APEG and FastLane); local colleges and universities with industrial, technical and manufacturing courses and programs; Ingenuity Cleveland and the Nickel Plate Historical & Technical Society.

Once the resource center is up and running, HGR will make an announcement so that you can stop by to peruse the materials.

HGR loves to partner with other organizations, as well as provide sponsorship, to promote manufacturing in Ohio. This year, we have had the opportunity to work with three groups of folks doing amazing things to stimulate the growth of the area and enhance the life of its residents.

First, the company worked with Bob Torrelli, Euclid High School Science Department chair and physics teacher, and his six-student robotics team to prep for its Apr. 25 Alliance for Working Together (AWT) RoboBot Competition as part of the science, technology, engineering, arts and technology (STEAM) initiative. AWT is a coalition of more than 75 local companies that encourage youth to consider jobs in manufacturing. This year, 35 high schools participated. The team worked for more than six months to create an indestructible, remote-controlled battle robot made from a 15-pound aluminum frame with three motors, heat-treated steel blades and Lexan armor. Its robot faced off in battle with the robots of the other high school teams. Euclid made it to the fourth round of competition, tying for ninth place out of 35 and won the award for best sportsmanship. Several working sessions with breakfast were held at HGR’s office at 20001 Euclid Avenue. The company offered design tips and provided materials and equipment. Members of the team and Torelli will be at HGR’s Oct. 1 dedication ceremony and sale to show off their robot and answer questions, as well as to be recognized by HGR for its efforts. The 2016 team is beginning to organize. Stay tuned for a future blog post on its progress.

Next up, HGR is sponsoring the Sept. 30 [M]Power Manufacturing Assembly put on by The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, aka MAGNET, at the John S. Knight Center in Akron, Ohio. The event’s purpose is to address the “challenges of today’s changing manufacturing landscape. “The event will explore how attendees can maintain their competitive advantage, tackling essential issues of workforce development, ideation strategy, digital marketing optimization, and operations management,” states MAGNET’s website. This year’s keynote speaker is Sean Stack, CEO of Aleris. HGR has purchased a table for 10 and will have a display table to distribute information. In addition, we partnered with MAGNET to create a manufacturing resource center inside of HGR’s customer lounge. The center will house pamphlets, handouts, books and periodicals that provide information about manufacturing opportunities, as well as information about MAGNET’s services and programming. HGR also will create an online center with links to additional resources.

Last but not least, HGR is sponsoring Ingenuity Cleveland’s eleventh-annual Ingenuity Festival on Oct. 2-4; this year, it’s being held at Voinovich Park. This festival of creativity and innovation celebrates art, music, technology and the maker’s movement. We will have a table at the event and host information on Ingenuity Cleveland in our new resource center. HGR also provided monetary and in-kind contributions for the Iron Architect event, a competition where four teams compete to create a unique seating environment within the festival grounds using an array of materials, $200 at Home Depot and a “secret ingredient” that will be selected from the plethora of items available at HGR’s showroom.

(Photo courtesy of Belt Magazine (http://beltmag.com/train-dreams/)

In anticipation of HGR’s Oct. 1 dedication of its recently purchased building as “Nickel Plate Station,” we wanted to take you on a walk down memory lane to the history of the site from the 1800s to the present day.

• In the 1800s, the Logan Family farmed 68 acres of land along Euclid Avenue in the Village of Euclid then sold the land to a realty company in 1912.
• 1912-1926: The realty company and the Village fought over the land’s usage as commercial versus residential, respectively. In 1926, the Supreme Court found in favor of the Village as the landmark case that enabled fledgling zoning laws.
• 1942-1945: In spite of the residential ruling, The Defense Plant Corporation, part of the U.S. government, built then leased a wartime plant to Cleveland Pneumatic Aerol to manufacture landing gear and rocket shells for the WWII effort.
• 1945: The war ended, and the land became vacant.
• 1946: The structure housed Cleveland Ordinance District offices, surplus goods and federal government offices.
• 1947: Ferguson Tractor bought the property with the intent to create a tractor factory, but that plan never came to fruition; so, the land was sold to The Fisher Body Division of General Motors.
• 1948: Fisher Body began manufacturing bodies for delivery trucks and Chevy and Oldsmobile station wagons then transporting them for assembly via a rail loading bay inside the building that was a stopping point for The Nickel Plate Road, a rail line that connected New York, Chicago and St. Louis since 1881.

• 1958: 100,000 units were produced by 2,900 employees, including bodies for the El Camino.
• 1960: Bodies for convertibles were added to the line.
• 1965: The Euclid plant became the sole producer for two muscle cars, the Oldsmobile Toronado and Buick Riviera.
• 1970: The cost of manufacturing auto bodies and transporting them to final assembly plants became too expensive. GM stopped production and retooled the plant into a sewing center to make interior trim and upholstery.
• 1970-1980: Labor disputes and strikes took place.
• 1972: The plant began to make 100,000 units of GM’s first airbag system for high-end 1974-1976 cars, but stopped when only 10,000 were sold in three years.
• 1982: GM planned to close the plant but UAW workers nationwide negotiated concessions to save the plant, where it continued to make seat covers, door panels, sun shades and other interior parts.
• 1986: The plant received a contract to make boat seats and cushions for Sea Ray Boats.
• 1993: GM closed the plant.
• 1996: GM sold the property to a development company.
• 1998: HGR Industrial Surplus moved into a portion of the building to realize the owner’s vision of an ongoing industrial garage sale.
• 2014: HGR purchased the entire 900,000-square-foot building and property and began improvements.
• Oct. 1, 2015: HGR officially dedicates the property and facility, including tenant space, as “Nickel Plate Station.”

What’s in the future for HGR, Nickel Plate Station and the City of Euclid? Stay tuned!

A team Euclid High School students, under the direction of Bob Torrelli, began preparing for the AWT RoboBots competition months ago, and their work paid off with two wins at the battle robots tournament held Saturday, April 25 at Lakeland Community College.

Check out videos of The Untouchables.

Sponsored by HGR Industrial Surplus and SC Industries, The Untouchables claimed an opening round win over The Gang for Good. In the next round, The Untouchables claimed a decision over The Vikinators.

Next up was a meeting with Dreadnaught, the team that would eventually claim the tournament championship. The Untouchables fell short in that match, and slipped into the consolation bracket to take on Polaris. Again, The Untouchables came up short against on of the tournament’s top teams, ending their run with a 2-2 record and tied for ninth place in the tournament.

The sparks will fly when area high school students square off in the 2015 RoboBots Competition Saturday, April 25 at Lakeland Community College.

Team Euclid, made up of Euclid High School students and sponsored by HGR Industrial Surplus, is one of the teams preparing to put its 15-pound remote control battle robot into the arena.

RoboBots is a program of the Alliance for Working Together, a Cleveland area group of companies focused on advancing manufacturing through training and education, outreach and strategic partnerships and grants.

RoboBots teams began preparing their battle bots back in December. Team Euclid visited HGR and picked up a few items to add to their battle bot. Over the past few months, students have been able to enjoy hands-on experience in manufacturing, working alongside engineers and machinists to create a winning battle robot.

For more information on RoboBots, take a look at the video from the 2014 competition.