Metal Masters
Customers Count on Quality and Variety at Lambright Aluminum by Six Mile Welding
Writer / Matt Keating
Photography Provided
Norm Mishler, co-owner of Lambright Aluminum by Six Mile Welding in LaGrange, says he enjoys owning a family-operated business.
He treasures the time he gets to spend at a business that everyone in his family loves.
My wife, Katie, is a co-owner of the business, Mishler says. She works very hard to make this the successful business it is. She does a wonderful job.
Mishler notes that four of their children work at Lambright Aluminum.
Our son, Myron, is responsible for our production, Mishler says. He has a lot of duties that he is able to perform very well. Our daughter, Loretta, is responsible for all of our aluminum orders and processing the inventory, and all of the shipping.
Mishler also has twin sons, Dale and Daryl, who serve as welders at Lambright Aluminum. They also thoroughly enjoy their work.
I also have two nephews and one niece that work here, Mishler says. My father, John, also works here, and he punches holes. I handle everything that is done on the aluminum side of the business. We have a total of 11 employees.
Mishler started Six Mile Welding, the welding side of the business, in 2005.
I worked in the RV business at Keystone RV in Goshen, Indiana, for a while before I started my business, he says. I did not see a future in the RV factory so I decided it was time to go out on my own.
Mishler started the Six Mile Welding side of the business in a little hog barn.
I previously had a hog business, Mishler says. The prices on the hog market fell in the 1990s so it was time to do something else. Welding is something that has always fascinated me, and I decided it was something I could do more of. We just started out slow with the welding side of the business and it grew from there.
Mishler was fortunate to have a steady workload.
We also got busy making chairs for Lambright Comfort Chairs and that was great, he says.
Mishler eventually took over Lambright Aluminum from Owner Raymond Lambright. I took two different companies and combined them, Mishler says. We have a lot of high-quality aluminum products to choose from. We are the leading welding and fabrication specialists in the area.
Mishler notes that this includes a lineup of hose reels that are 100% aluminum or stainless steel. No part will rust, he says. We have cart-style and wall-mount-style reels that are excellent.
The laundry carts at Lambright Aluminum are very popular. They are our number-one seller, Mishler says. There are a lot of women who use these when they are doing their laundry, and we sell a lot of those. We also have laundry tubs, aluminum spinning wash lines, and battery carts. Another hot item is our aluminum folding clothes-drying rack. The advantage of these racks is that an aluminum rack draws heat, and you can put them on a heat register and they will dry faster.
Lambright Aluminum also makes bike racks, buggy trailers and play carts for kids.
Kids love them, Mishler says of the carts. They enjoy pushing and pulling them. They are especially popular with smaller children. We also make generator carts and we can make them in three different sizes. We also make lawn and garden carts.
Mishler notes that their mailboxes are also popular. We make them in two different sizes, he says. We also make ping-pong tables, pony carts, and aluminum and poly screen doors. We make the screen doors custom sized. We also make folding step stools, wheelbarrows, and wood carts to haul firewood. They are all aluminum. Ninety-five percent of our work is aluminum.
Mishler says he has been blessed with regular customers who praise their work and keep returning to buy more. We have some really good-size accounts and that has really helped the business grow to where it is today, he says.
Lambright Aluminum by Six Mile Welding is located at 6160 West U.S. 20 in LaGrange. For more info, call 260-768-3126 or visit sixmileweldingllc.com.
