Mollenberg-Betz
Happy Hour
Sharing a 12 Pack with Matt Smith
Matt Smith has long been a fixture in the Service Department and integral in its growth and successes, mostly from the field. As he transitions into the office to take on a more expanded role, we sat down with the Service-Manager-in-Waiting to talk about his journey and what the future may hold for him and the Service Department.
Q: How long have you been with MB?
Matt: July 1st, 1991.
Q: Walk me through your first days at MB. If you weren’t a fitter or service technician, then what do you see yourself doing instead?
Matt: I knew a little but didn’t have a clue what a steamfitter was! I was in the fab shop working for Wayne Hinderberger and Bob Balsavage. My first impression of Bob was that he was a salesman; I had no idea he was the Superintendent. We had just bought vans, grey ones, from Sierra Research. I was here for two days and I was supposed to clean the vans out to get ready for use. Bob pulls in looking like a salesman, just the way he carried himself and acted. I was spraying the vans and I accidentally sprayed his car as he was getting out. I said, “Don’t worry, I’ll wash it.” So, I had to wash the car off. The next day, he was back in the shop, and Wayne introduces him as, “my boss.” That was my introduction to MB. It was Bob and Wayne. Only Louie Berger is left from those days, but I have had family and relatives that worked in the machine shop at the start.
I went to ECC for mechanical engineering. I was doing property management, got involved in the mechanicals as I had my own business for a couple of years and I was getting married. I figured that I needed to get a better job with benefits. So, I got a job at Park Lane as a stationary engineer and that’s how I met Van- who would come into see his parents every morning. My boss told me who Van was and he was the one who encouraged me to apply to MB. Then he was mad that I was leaving, so he called Van and told him to stop taking his best guys! If I wasn’t here, I would definitely be in the mechanical industry somewhere, though not as happy. My dad was a tool and die maker, so I used to use the lathe to cut my crayons when I was little.
Q: What’s your first memory of MB? Do you remember the first job you were on?
Matt: My first job was at Bison Foods right down the road here. We did Servo-Con, as we called it back then; service and construction. Shortly after that project, I moved to service full time.
Q: How has the industry, or the job, changed from when you first started? What do you miss most about those early days “in the field?”
Matt: When I started, we didn’t have all the digital system; we were all old school. I think anyone that works here, if you make it to and make it at MB, you’re elite. The tech and electronics only adds that to your skillset enabling you to work smarter than ever before. Smartphones are one thing to help troubleshoot, but you still have to be able to resolve it. It’s much more efficient now. Back then, if you were out, you were alone, on an island. You had a pager and payphone. That was it. Nothing like driving down the thruway with the voice pagers repeating, “Call the office. Call the office.” (Laughs) It forced you to rely on yourself. I was at Rich’s and Rich’s had boilers, HVAC, refrigeration all of it, so I worked on all of it. I was fortunate to learn that way. The exposure was there. Now you’re more specialized.
Q: Over the course of your time at MB, was there one job in particular that stood out or that you’re most proud to have been a part of?
Matt: As far as being proud of what we do, it’s ice rinks. If you had to do a rink, you would go with a veteran to learn it. That set us apart and if you were a “rinker,” that was the ultimate goal when I was coming up. Those are all my favorites. You’re the last one there and turning it on and it’s like, “Wow!” Greenwich (CT) Skating Club is my favorite rink. That has the most nostalgia. From building it, to today, that’s the one for me. You still see the old pictures from 60 or 70 years ago that we put in and we’re putting our name back on it again. I’m proud of that.
Q: Is there a moment or something to this day, that you still think about and laugh?
Matt: For me it was at Vaco Steel on River Road in Tonawanda. It was McGowan, Shondra, myself and Gary and there were a ton of tubing leaks. They shut all the boilers down and it was the middle of winter and we were freezing. Shondra was complaining the entire time. I remember Donny McGowan telling the guys to go over to the boiler to warm up. It always stuck in my mind when, every once in a while, someone would wander over to the boiler hoping it was even a little warmer. (Laughs)
Q: Who were your mentors, either in the field or in the office or in life, that you can point to that helped shape you?
Matt: Don McGowan, John Childress, Mark Seiner. I was the baby, so I was fortunate. David Balsavage was pretty established, so he helped me from his experiences. I was coming in green. David and I were the only apprentices, so I had the best to learn from.
Q: What do you feel you can do to continue the growth and success of the department and MB?
Matt: I’ve been a part of it behind the scenes for a while so I want to keep the growthto keep going. We have young guys and we’re going to be successful and build off that nucleus.
Q: MB is blessed to have so many people come here and stay for such a majority, if not the entirety of their career. That is unheard of in most companies, let alone this industry. What makes this place different, considering both of your long tenures over multiple roles at MB?
Matt: It’s different because it’s a family. Like all families, you’re going to have the crazy uncles, and pain-in-the-rear end cousins, and you may argue with them, but you’ll defend them until the end when it comes down to it.
Q: I know it’s premature, but what are your main focuses as you progress through this transition?
Matt: Working and growing. We have a good direction for the department and the next group can keep building.
Q: What would you say to Van as you transition into this role and from your previous one?
Matt: I’m going to keep the direction intact and keep growing. I want to keep that direction we are traveling in intact and keep growing.
Q: Last one! If MB was made into a movie, who would you cast to play yourself?
Matt: Maybe Jon Voight?