Founder: John Roembke.
Headquarters: Ossian, Ind.
Number of employees: About 50.
Key family members active in company: Greg Roembke, owner/president.
What it does: Build injection molds for rubber and plastic precision molded products.
Markets served: Medical, health care, automotive, lifestyle, aerospace and consumer markets.
Number of generations involved in the business: Currently in the second generation. No other family members have ownership.
What are the strengths of a family owned business? Close communication with employees, capable of making faster business decisions. It's easier to empower employees.
What are the challenges of a family owned business, such as succession planning? Succession planning was a difficult task.
Many tough decisions need to be made, and most likely they all will not make everyone 100 percent pleased.
It takes a lot of due diligence and communication. These discussions are awkward at times but necessary.
Another difficult challenge in a family owned business is when you need to have critical discussions with employees.
These people are more then just employees; they are part of the company family.
How much does the younger generation of family members influence decisions? Current second generation influences 100 percent of the decisions.
Something you may not know about the company: We are the largest mold maker in North America with a main focus on tooling for the rubber industry.
What advice would you offer a young entrepreneur who wants to start a family run business? Listen and learn. There are many very smart people who can provide you very good advice.
You just need to listen and learn. Also remember that respect is earned.