How many of you remember the 1980s Van Halen song “Unchained?” David Lee Roth sang, “Change. Nothing stays the same. Unchained. Yeah, you hit the ground running.” Believe it or not, that’s how HGR Industrial Surplus in Euclid, Ohio, got its name. Founder Paul Betori had left his previous employer with a vision for a new business model. As he sat in his living room listening to Van Halen, Paul decided to hit the ground running (HGR) and formed HGR Industrial Surplus in 1998 with 13 employees.
Since then, the company has grown to more than 110 employees with a showroom of 500,000 square feet and recently purchased and dedicated its Nickel Plate Station building on Euclid Avenue. The mission of the company is to serve as a conduit between customers looking for affordable used machinery and equipment and manufacturers hoping to recoup some portion of their capital investments.
Because of its passion for manufacturing and the growth and development of industry in Northeast Ohio, the company decided to work with John Copic, publisher of The Euclid and Collinwood Observers, to offer this monthly column to showcase the amazing, fun, interesting and cutting edge manufacturing taking place in the region. It’s just another way of connecting customers and industry. There’s so much going on right in your neighborhood that you may not know about, but it affects you directly. Your friends and neighbors work for these companies. You buy their products. Their taxes improve your roads and schools. You have a vested interest in their success because they are contributing to a recovering and, hopefully, stable economy.
And, as the song says, change is inevitable, especially in manufacturing and industry. The economy has been a roller coaster ride for quite a few years. Families and businesses have had to learn to adapt and creatively problem solve to overcome challenges and turn them into opportunities.
In this column, we intend to showcase some of those opportunities and inspire you with success stories. What are local businesses doing in the community? What new development is happening in The Euclid Corridor? Let’s hear firsthand from some local businesses. What are their plans for the area? What tips and tricks do they have for others? What best practices can we apply to our own businesses for success? What weird and wacky manufacturing and product photos can we share?
Speaking of wacky photos, did you know that HGR Industrial Surplus buys and sells everything? Literally! Here is an example of an interesting item that recently became available in its showroom. These GM gears are 19,000 pounds each. Does anyone know how they might have been used? We started the conversation on Facebook.
You also can see this article in our new monthly column “Hit the Ground Running” in the Collinwood Observer and the Euclid Observer.
