Company History

Luke is speaking about his position on the list of Houston's Top 100 fastest-growing companies. He started his company in 1988 and made the list in the 51st spot. With 11 employees, the company recorded revenues of more than $1.7 million for 1992, an astounding 167 percent gain over the prior year.

And what is it exactly that this company does? It makes blades for bandsaws, buying blades in 500 foot rolls. As the orders come in for a particular type and length of blade, Metal Sawing measures, cuts and welds the ends together to make a continuous loop. The company ships its customers their custom made blades in seven hours. Metal Sawing also overhauls industrial cutting machines.

Christopher Luke moved to Houston in 1978 from Detroit. From his original position as welder for a company making saw blades, he was promoted into sales. In a short time Luke discovered that the company wasn't very fair with their customers or him. So, like many entrepreneurial-minded people, he quit his job to start his own business. The problem was that he had only $123.00 However, armed with enthusiasm (and "colossal ignorance", he says now), he hired his first employee and went to work.
 

Fortunately Luke had a good reputation with his old customers. They offered him work overhauling their band saw machinery and continued to saw blades.

However, all business was conducted on a pre-paid basis - in cash - as he had no invoices, bank account or capital.

"My customers liked me," he says with a smile. "One of my customers set me up with our first warehouse. He let us use the ladies restroom in the back of his warehouse as a work area. This restroom measured about three feet by three feet and we worked out of it our first year."

The year 1989 offered substantial improvements in the office/warehouse complex of Metal Sawing Technology. Luke bought a building - a portable building - an OLD portable building. "It measured 18 by 7," he said, "and the roof blew off when we moved it. But we nailed it back on and moved in. The same customer who set us up in the ladies room let us use the back corner of his lot as a place to put our building."

The Luke described how he bought a very old welder from Shell Oil Company and how the company rebuilt it at night. The building had no heating, air conditioning or restroom - but it did have a welder.

One of the services Luke offers is the renovation of old cutting machinery. When he says rebuilding, that's exactly what he means. Every nut, bolt, screw, gasket, and seal is replaced. They even make new wiring harnesses. Every surface is stripped of paint, sanded, cleaned, and painted. Every part that can wear is replaced. "These are not high-tech machines," Luke comments, "but nobody - and I mean nobody - rebuilds them like we do. They look and perform like new."

However, due to the size of the old welder occupying the new building there was no place to do the first three major machine rebuilds Metal Sawing was requested to perform, so Luke bought a tent from the Army surplus store. The company dismantled, cleaned, sanded, reassembled and painted those machines in that tent...in the winter...at night. The fires built to generate enough heat to dry the paint also created a nice layer of ashes on the wet paint.

"This was a rough time," Luke said as he pointed out the photograph of the 18 by 7 foot building. "We sold during the day and built the machinery at night - sometimes by flashlight! Looking back now, it was pathetic!"

Metal Sawing Technology moved up and initiated representation of one of the finest blade manufacturers in the business. The line had a limited distribution and the manufacturer was very selective about awarding dealerships. In 1989, Luke decided that he absolutely had to be one of its distributors. He flew to California to call on the factory, and the manufacturers turned him down flat.

However, Luke is tremendously persistent and he finally convinced the factory representatives to come to Houston.

"They drove by our old building four or five times," he laughed. "They told me they thought it was somebody's storage place for junk...but they were polite when they walked in. I told them I would be their top distributor in two years and they gave it to me. It was a long time after that they told me how they laughed about our 'office'." Metal Sawing Technology soon became the number one distributor, just as Luke promised.

Luke's philosophy of pay-as-you-go continued as he bought the company's current building. He operates the company with no debt. "We just recently put in the carpet here," he said, "and we still use natural heat but we will install a heater this year!"

If that aspect of the business sounds primitive, the operations of the company are first rate. The company has a sophisticated computer network that Luke himself designed.

"I looked at a system that could do what I needed - but the computer people said it would cost $190,000!" Luke explained. "I went home that night and started to build the system we use today. All the sales, purchasing, and order-entry systems are interactive, and help us get the orders out in seven hours, which we're currently reducing to four hours."

The people at Metal Sawing Technology make the best saw blades you can buy...in seven hours (soon to be four). They work hard --- They work late. They believe you can't succeed by working 8 to 5 and encumbered by debt. Metal Sawing Technology is a monument to the American dream.

In the years since this article was written, Metal Sawing Technology has consistantly grown beyond expectations.