Anthony Toth Interviewed by UAFS.

Transcript

Anthony:

So, SPF America is a precision metal manufacturer specializing in the manufacture of copper busbars.

It all started with my grandfather, who would have been a World War II bomber pilot. After the war, he was living out in L.A. working as a press brake operator for Hughes Aircraft. Some bad times came about and he actually got laid off from Hughes Aircraft and started his own manufacturing facility in his garage. He grew that for a few years into the late 50s and early 60s, and grew to a substantial business.

During his military training, he had spent some time in the Little Rock area out here in Arkansas and just fell in love with the area. And then in ‘77, my grandfather and uncle actually got into business – started a paint shop here in Fort Smith, and then that eventually morphed into a metal fabrication facility.

Jump forward about a decade later, we started getting into copper bus manufacturing.

Manufacturing has been in the family for a very long time – 47 years this year, at least in Fort Smith. It’s the topic of discussion all the time at the dinner table.

We kind of live it throughout our lives as well. You know, the nuances of manufacturing, needing to make things better, continual improvement, how much do things cost, how do you make things. It’s hard to go on a family trip with everyone in the family and not just look at things and argue about how much things cost, or how things are made. It’s been great, you know. It’s really embedded in our family and has carried us on.

We employ about 100 people here in Fort Smith, and you know, Fort Smith has been a great community for us.

It’s been great, working with my father day in and day out. You know, coming back when I joined the business in 2011, just being able to come into the office and say “Hey Dad” or say “Hi Dad.” It’s been awesome just to be able to work with each other, and he’s really set me up for growth. He had a lot of trust, and kind of let me take my own wheel and learn from some experiences.

You know, there were certainly some hard lessons I learned of coming up in the business and making the wrong decisions. But the great thing was, he allowed me to make those decisions, which has really helped me get to where I am today and have a great vision for the business, and help lead us and our community into the future.

My name is Anthony Toth and this is My Manufacturing Story.

Anthony Toth, Director of North American Operations and third generation family business leader of SPF America LLC, was interviewed by the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith for their inspirational WATC program.

Here, he gets to talk about the family history behind SPF America, and what it’s been like to be a part of the family leadership.

Thank you to the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith, WATC, and the UAFS CED!

Video Description:

Listen to Anthony Toth tell the story of how his grandfather started their family business in his garage, turning what started as a small business into a thriving member of the Fort Smith manufacturing community.

For more information about the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith, the WATC program at UAFS, or the PEAK Innovation Center use the links below!

UAFS Information
https://uafs.edu/

WATC Information
https://uafs.edu/admissions/concurrent/watc/index.php

PEAK Innovation Center Information
https://peak.fortsmithschools.org/

For more information about SPF America visit the url below!
https://www.spfamerica.com/