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MiMfg Magazine
November 2018
2018 MFG Lifetime Achievement
Al Glick
Alro Steel
Sometimes, all it takes is a little encouragement, a
little persistence and a belief in yourself to accomplish
great things.
Alro Steel’s origin, and Al Glick’s story in manufac-
turing, can be traced back to 1916 when Al’s father
Louis Glick and his family arrived in Jackson and
started a scrap metal business, Glick Iron & Metal.
At the end of World War II, unsure of what
his path might be but still dreaming of becoming a
sportswriter rather than a manufacturer, Al was
offered a chance by his older brother Robert, the
“Ro” in Alro Steel, and a questioning quip that
changed his life — Al, what have you got to lose?
With Robert’s guidance and support, Al became
an asset to manufacturers struggling to purchase
materials due to the steel shortage following the war.
Al networked every day to match up companies in
need with materials in excess. He quickly became the
region’s one-stop-shop for quick resource solutions.
Seventy years later, the legacy of Al Glick and
Alro Steel continues to push Michigan forward. Today,
Alro distributes metals, industrial supplies and plastics,
cut-to-size with next day delivery to over 25,000
customers in North America. The metal inventory
includes aluminum, alloys, carbon steel, cast iron,
stainless steel, tool steel, brass, bronze, copper and more.
Now 92, Al is looking forward to retiring.
“June 1, 2048. That’s our 100-year anniversary
and I’m thinking that’s a good time to step aside; 30
years from now and all of Michigan is invited,” says
Glick, a wry smile on his face as he thinks 30 years
down the road. “Being here, getting up each day to
work with these people — it just makes me happy.
Why walk away when you still love what you do?”
Al’s commitment to people runs deep and is
evident in every aspect of his business.
“It comes down to people and Al has always
done right by them,” says David Schmidt, chief
operating officer for Alro Steel. “He’s committed to
them. Without the people we have nothing — Al
understands that and that way of thinking flows
down to how we all perform at Alro.”
Alro Steel began with family — that conversation
between Al and Robert when a little excess steel changed
their lives — and it continues because of family.
“It’s still funny, growing up, Al Glick was just ‘dad’
to me,” says Randy Glick, executive vice president at
Alro Steel. “It wasn’t until I became an adult that I
realized my dad is just one of the single coolest
people you’re ever going to meet in this business.”
Remembering back to the days when, at five or
six years old, he’d spend Saturday mornings at work
with his father, Randy continues, “Working with your
father is an interesting dynamic whether you are
five, 15 or 35. He taught me to love manufacturing
and to love helping people, but more than that it
was the life lessons learned along the way — honesty,
integrity, loyalty. That’s the legacy of my dad.”
That legacy continues and may be never-ending
for the weight the Glick name carries across Michigan.
Although Al never played football, he gained a
passion for the sport and the teamwork required to
perform at a high level, saying “football is a great
learning experience for life. You learn about team-
work, communications, working together, and you
build life-long friends out of football.”
In 2018, Al added to the family tradition of giving
back to youth and sports, the Al Glick Youth Football
Camp. The one-day camp brought together over 250
children from the Jackson community to work with
local coaches as well as college players and coaches.
Beyond the gridiron, the family foundations are
many — Al Glick Foundation, Alro Steel Foundation,
Louis Glick Memorial and Charitable Trust — and
each works to make an impact, focusing on supporting
and enhancing youth programs, helping the under-
privileged, improving children’s health, and assisting
with manufacturing education and training.
“The way I treat people is a byproduct of how I
was brought up,” admits Glick. “The team here, my
family, the Jackson community and all the people I’ve
met along the way. They are what made all of this
possible. God’s got me on overtime and now it’s about
giving back, lifting people up and saying thank you.”
The hardest worker you’ll ever meet, at 92 Al’s
finally cut back to 12-hour work days — part-time
as he calls it — and he continues to put forth the
effort to change lives because, at the end of the day,
it’s all about a person’s willingness to try.
“He taught me early on that the simplest way to
avoid mistakes is to never try; but if you never try
you’ll never grow,” recalls Randy. “Think of all the
ways Michigan is better because one man with a
little leftover steel from the war took a chance and
was willing to try. Our state would be different
without Al Glick.”
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