Superior Machine & Welding Inc.: Jan Tina Lunsford didn't want to own her own business. But she loved a challenge.

When Jan Tina Lunsford was a kid growing up in Alaska, if you had asked her if she would someday take over the family business, she would have laughed and went right back to daydreaming. Her father bought Superior Machine & Welding Inc. when she was just 5 years old. Lunsford remembers, "I watched him go through so many struggles, and because of that I never wanted to own a business."

As she grew older, gaining experience at the shop, it was the challenge that intrigued her, and after working side-by-side with her father for many years, the business became hers.

Superior Machine & Welding Inc. is a machine shop, currently employing 10 people. Established in 1950, when Jack L. Whitmore purchased the first shop across from the Alaska Railroad, they have grown into a business with revenue nearing $1 million annually. The shop relocated to the current property on Ship Avenue in 1959. An addition was added in 1964, along with new oilfield equipment and training for oilfield work, creating a current shop size of 10,000 square feet. Lunsford states it is their superior equipment and qualified and friendly personnel that give them a leg up on the competition. A strong desire to be the leader in the machining and repair industry allows Superior Machine & Welding the ability to provide services in the most efficient manner available.

Lunsford credits her employees and the service they provide with Superior Machine & Welding's success. Lunsford has employees who have been with the company a minimum of five years and are well-trained in situations where general machine shop work is required. Some of the services Superior Machine & Welding offers are aluminum welding, custom fabricating, gas and arc welding, marine propeller repair, tool joint cutting and facing, oilfield equipment repair, and welding and sandblasting. The business even offers pick-up and delivery service.

But, as Lunsford shares, it is not only what Superior Machine & Welding has to offer, it is how they offer it to their customers. "This is a service industry, and building relationships is very important. If you can't give good service, you won't have good working relationships."

And Lunsford feels these good working relationships are what keep Superior Machine & Welding profitable.

Carla Peterson, pay clerk at Superior Machine & Welding, states that things have really changed for the better since Lunsford took over the business from her father. "She is a great manager, and really likes to get to know the people who work for her. She has the ability to help them in different areas of their jobs."

Truly, the mark of a great manager is one who can give credit to employees. Lunsford believes her employees have helped to carry Superior Machine & Welding to new heights.

"We have a foreman who is really good with people-that helps build our business 100 percent," Lunsford says. With a low turnover rate, and effective job training, Lunsford can trust her employees' decisions without rail.

Lunsford finds it important to give back to the community when she can, and this includes involvement through community donations and time spent volunteering. Superior Machine & Welding has participated in such community activities as Special Olympics, Boy and Girl Scouts of America and the municipal library.

"We love our customers, all the people we do business with, and it is very important to give back to them in some way when we can," Lunsford says.

Lunsford looks ahead to the challenges of growing her business, and adding new machinery and training for employees. She fin& that newer technology is not necessarily integral to her business strategy.

"Sometimes people just need to get things fixed," she shares bluntly. This simple perspective has allowed Lunsford to establish clear, primary goals and achieve them. "I think it is important to learn from your mistakes, and to realize all successes are big successes-whether the achievements are small or large," shares Lunsford. Her positive attitude and willingness to have an open-door policy with her employees have no doubt added to Superior Machine & Welding's bottom line.

Taking into account her own hesitations as a child in owning the family business and her experiences as the successful leader of Superior Machine & Welding, would Lunsford encourage other women to start their own businesses? "Go for it," shares Lunsford. "I am never bored," she laughs. "This business keeps me stimulated, and that is so important."

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