Burlington County Times: Robert Vogelbacher Named Miles Young Entrepreneur 2006
By CHRISTOPHER BISHOP
Burlington County Times
EDGEWATER PARK, NEW JERSEY – Robert Vogelbacher proudly points out that his girlfriend, Kristen Carlin, got a lot of attention a few years ago in the local media when she was a standout tennis player at Moorestown High School.
Now Vogelbacher is receiving some recognition himself.
The 24-year-old Westampton resident is president of Men of Steel, a company that fabricates rebar, the steel reinforcement used in some concrete and masonry structures.
Vogelbacher has seen his company's revenues explode in one year from $50,000 to $1.5 million. He has also overseen a work force that increased from three employees shortly after the company started in July 2004 to 14, a number that may change soon as Vogelbacher is planning to hire more employees.
Because of Men of Steel's growth, a South Jersey business group honored Vogelbacher on May 19 with the annual Miles Young Entrepreneur Award.
Created by Chris Miles, owner of Miles Technologies in Moorestown, the Miles Young Entrepreneur Award is presented to a business owner under age 30 whose company has enjoyed growth in revenues and work force. The Entrepreneurs Forum of Southern New Jersey and Rowan University co-sponsor the award, which was given out for the first time last year.
Vogelbacher started Men of Steel in 2004 in a 6,000-square-foot shop next to the Burlington Coat Factory on Route 130 in Burlington City .
"It was prehistoric," he said, "and very labor intensive."
As business increased, Vogelbacher needed more space.
So, in the spring of 2005, he moved Men of Steel to a 30,000-square-foot building on Route 130 that had been occupied by a hardware store.
Vogelbacher is in the process of settlement on the property for $1.1 million, using in part an $850,000 loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
With the additional space, Vogelbacher had room for many more of the 40-foot-long steel rods that are turned into rebar.
Men of Steel employees measure, bend and cut the rods according to the specifications in customer blueprints. They then tag, bundle and ship the finished product.
"It's not rocket science," Vogelbacher said last week. "It's bend it, shape it, ship it."
The business demand is clearly there, Vogelbacher said, pointing to his growing list of customers — concrete and masonry contractors — who need reinforcing steel for a host of commercial jobs. He said he is also developing a customer base for smaller, home-based do-it-yourselfers.
"I had no idea there was so much need for reinforcing steel," he said.
Vogelbacher attributes much of his inspiration to his father, Ray, a construction contractor in Burlington Township , and his future father-in-law, Dan Carlin of Moorestown.
Carlin has a wholesale steel business in Cherry Hill.
"He's my number-one supplier," Vogelbacher said.
Carlin's daughter, Kristen, was a three-time Burlington County Times Player of the Year.
The second- and third-place winners of the Miles Young Entrepreneur Award were David Hoffman, 26, owner of Hoffman Landscape Contractors in Moorestown, and Nicholas J. Mink, 27, owner of Brink Mortgage in Westmont, Camden County.
E-Mail: Christopher Bishop
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