Innovation

Ben Huffman in his role as CEO is an intrapreneur at Ellwood. Along with his team at Ellwood, they are building a sustainable business model by being a leading recycler in the steel industry. Over 90% of Ellwood’s metals are formed from recycled material, and the company plans to increase this proportion in the future.

Lack of awareness of the benefits of renewable energy is another problem Huffman and Ellwood are trying to address. Every year the company has been growing its utilization of renewable energy in its manufacturing operations and even supplying many steel parts to companies trying to address this same issue. Ellwood’s goal is to be 100% environmentally compliant. They strictly follow all government regulations, which can prove to have questionable returns for many companies. However, Ellwood found that many projects with a positive environmental impact also have reduced operating costs.

Huffman believes that if you are not growing, then you are dying, and the best way to grow as a company is by helping its people grow. Some of the ways the company is investing in its employees' career growth are by paying above-average market wages for the industry, tuition reimbursements and university scholarships for younger students, implementing employee appreciation programs to commend excellent work, conducting awards such as the Environmental Conservation Optimization Award for innovations, and by having events outside of work to help involve their employees in the communities they live in. Huffman also travels to Ellwood’s locations to help inspire and motivate employees. By putting so much time and effort into the team, Huffman has dramatically improved the business through numerous employee innovations and helped strengthen the community and economy by giving Ellwood’s employees a firm career path and wages that allow them to live comfortably.

Inspiration

With a background in the financial sector, early in his career, Huffman worked at Ernst & Young where Ellwood was one of his clients. He then became the controller of one of Ellwood's business units, and from there, he worked his way up to CFO, COO, and CEO. Hufman credited his rapid move up the chain of command with his ability to roll up his sleeves and pay attention to the details. He really takes the time to get to know all the employees at Ellwood and learn all of Ellwood’s operations and processes that go into making their products. Throughout his career journey, he saw the significance of his employee's talents in creating a successful business. He stated in our interview, “Anyone can buy the equipment they have, but it's the people that make the difference.” Huffman is not an innovator of technology, but he became good at creating an environment where the employees of Ellwood could thrive through innovation. When becoming CEO, one of his first actions was doubling down on employee engagement efforts by helping his employees grow in their careers and encouraging them to innovate.

Overall impact

By putting considerable investments into the team, Huffman has dramatically improved the business through numerous employee innovations and helped strengthen the community and economy by giving Ellwood’s employees a firm career path and wages that allow them to live comfortably. Huffman desires to significantly affect the communities in which his employees live and those in which his factories operate. Ellwood's brand and reputation in these communities is an integral aspect of the company, and Ellwood hopes to coexist with these communities and help them thrive.

Huffman's efforts to decrease Ellwood's environmental footprint led the company to win the Environmental Conservation Optimization Award. The company has not only met all required government regulations but has also gone above and beyond these regulations to make serious efforts to impact the environment positively. Metal processing companies are typically known to have a detrimental environmental impact. Huffman's actions have shown that Ellwood is different from its counterparts. The company only invests in technology that can reduce its environmental footprint, and every decision is based on sustainability goals. This has been evidenced through the company's awards and leadership in the industry. Nowadays, companies' success can greatly depend on their ESG efforts, leading to collaborations or partnerships in the same space. Ellwood has shown that it is one of the US's most efficient, sustainable, and profitable metallurgy companies.

Business benefit

Ellwood Group has built a robust employee-first culture within its many locations and business divisions. The team environment helps the company become a strong market player and strive for growth which is unique to the steel industry.

With a strong team, Ellwood can focus additional resources to grow their business. Ellwood has a continuous improvement culture with actions to optimize production methods, create new products, and supply goods to new customers and markets to steepen their growth curve. As Ben Huffman commented in our interview, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.” Along with the business growth, much of the profits from the company's businesses go back to the employees. Ellwood’s success occurs in a circular loop, where the thriving culture built into the company is a critical component of its continued growth and success. Ellwood reinvests much of its additional revenue into the company's resources and the community.

Social and environmental benefit

Through Ellwood's effort to help their employees grow, they have significantly impacted building sustainable cities and communities. By investing in its employees, paying them good wages, and continuously giving them opportunities to grow, Ellwood has put their employees in an excellent position to help the community prosper. These people can invest in homes, cars, and a family, strengthening the economy and society. People want to live in a community they are proud of, and Ellwood has enabled its employees to build such a community. As a result, cities flourish when these communities thrive.

Ellwood also supplies metals to help build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation. Even though Ellwood itself is not fully sustainable, it is a leading steel manufacturer in the sustainability sector. The company has many innovation-focused manufacturing programs, allowing Ellwood to compete with the best in the industry. So by supplying these high-quality metals from a sustainable source, Ellwood is helping to build a robust social ecosystem.

Interview

Ben Huffman, CEO