Darius Kania was bullish coming into 2020.
His company Lynn Welding Co. in Newington — which he owns with his father, Jan Kania who is president, and specializes in high-precision welding for the defense and aerospace industries — was coming off a strong 2019 in which it recorded $9 million in revenue.
It was also ramping up production to prepare for major growth in the commercial aviation industry, in which hundreds of aircrafts were expected to be delivered monthly for the next quarter-century.
Kania was also readying the launch of a new business venture called Intelligent Cutting Solutions LLC that would specialize in waterjet cutting, which uses a high-pressured stream of water to cut metals.
Then the coronavirus hit in mid-March, sending Lynn Welding’s sales into a tailspin. The company was facing revenue declines as high as 40%, Kania said.
Lynn’s commercial aviation business, which made up 50% of revenues coming into the year, had dried up quickly as airlines across the country grounded flights amid the rapid spread of COVID-19.
“When business dropped, it dropped fast within a week or two,” Kania said. “We had plans if a recession hit, but we didn’t have a plan for a crisis like a pandemic.”
But rather than panic, a plan was quickly adapted to stabilize Lynn Welding, which appears to be working so far.
That’s allowed Kania to push forward with his new business venture, despite the tough conditions.
Lynn Welding secured a Paycheck Protection Program loan so it didn’t have to lay off any of its 70 employees, and it used money in its cash reserves to implement a major sales and marketing campaign to maintain existing customers and recruit new ones.
It immediately offered current customers a 5% to 10% discount to maintain as many orders as possible. It also went after less profitable commercial work to keep its employees busy and on payroll.
All that helped stabilize Lynn Welding’s sales — revenues this year are likely to be down still, but only around 15% or so, not nearly as bad as it could have been, Kania said.
Orders are also now starting to pick back up.
“If we sat back and didn’t do or change anything we would have lost 40% of our business,” Kania said.
Just as important, the coronavirus didn’t dampen Kania’s entrepreneurial spirit. The plan to launch Intelligent Cutting Solutions, or ICS, as a sister company was hatched last year and there were serious talks to shelve it amid the pandemic.
However, Kania said he still sees a good opportunity for the business, which he is launching with his partner Ibrahim Ibrahim as part of a $750,000 investment.
That’s covering the cost to purchase two, $250,000 waterjet cutting machines that will be used to cut sheet metal for aerospace, defense and medical device manufacturers, among other potential clients.
They also paid for a new website and an old rundown industrial building at 39 Progress Drive in Newington, which is currently being renovated ahead of a planned August opening.
Kania said there are few Connecticut companies that specialize in waterjet cutting services, which are coveted in the aerospace industry because the cold-cutting process doesn’t use heat that could thermally damage or destroy metals.
The coronavirus has dampened some of his expectations. He was originally projecting $500,000 in sales in year one, and $1.5 million in sales by year two. He’s cut those estimates in half, but is still bullish and excited to be launching the business despite the tough environment.
“That entrepreneurial spirit is still out there, that way of figuring out how to do business no matter what the conditions are,” Kania said. “I think that’s what makes America a great country.”
