If you have not had the pleasure to interact with Dick Kotecki, founder of Illinois Valley Millwright Services (now MMI, VFI and OSR) you are missing out! He likes to be in the background, but after much persistence and begging we finally got him to sit down to record his answers. His passion for the businesses and customers in unmatched. Still, at 79 years old, he works 8 hour days, 6 days a week. You can find him at the shops or at his favorite piece of land, often doing things his family deems a 79 year old should not be doing! Over the next few posts, we will take a deep dive into his reasons behind the business and where he sees things going in the future. As we continue to build on his legacy, we hope this gives you a glimpse into our values and culture.
Why did you start the business?
“I started the business to get back home. At the time I was thinking about [starting] the business I was working out of town. I was working seven days a week. My wife would call crying, the kids were crying and [we] had many problems at home. I said I have to get back home and find something to do. That was the “beginning.” I took a job at the former Marquette Cement Company as a carpenter. Dick Ladzinski helped me a lot over there. Eventually, they got me on as a millwright and I was putting on a large addition to the plant. I became the foreman for that job. The plant manager, Roger Campbell, approached me and said we need some competition. Our competition is charging way too much for the jobs. We need a new contractor, why don’t you do it? He said ‘I will give you as much work as I can. I will give you recommendations to whoever needs them’. I went home to talk to my wife, Judy, about it and we thought it was a big move. But, working out of the hall did not guarantee work or if I’d be home at the end of every day. After that I worked at the steel mill. I got a ton of experience there and worked alongside Marvin Schnieder who helped me a lot. After that job was over, I was back on the road and working away from home…thinking about what Roger said all this time. In order to make enough money, we were working 7 days a week, 12 hour days on the night shift in Iowa. When I came back from that long stint…I decided to try it. I bought a truck, a beat-up 66 Ford 3/4 ton pick-up truck, low mileage…really beat up. Marvin Schnieder who was an excellent mechanic was my number 2 guy, I was number 1 and Judy (his wife) was the secretary. One of our first customers was Belrose Silica, now Covia. “
What is different from the beginning to now?
“We did the work on a handshake. Very few quotes. That job will be $40-60k. Handshake, okay you’re on! Today, we constantly have to reinvent”
Favorite thing to do in retirement? Do you even consider yourself retired?
“No. I’m never going to retire. I’m never going to stop. I take care of the outside yard [at the shops]. I do a lot of stuff with our mechanic, running errands. I’m involved in getting stuff ready for the auction and taking stuff to the auction. People in the shop bring things to my attention that I do because they don’t have the time to do it. Whatever is required, I do it. BUT, by the same token I do not have to do any of it. There is no pressure to do anything. I show up and do what I want. I spend at least 8 hours a day between here and the timber. I’m blessed to do it at my age and will continue as long as I can.”
One of his many “retirement” projects, custom built meat smoker.
