A twenty-year-old, naïve entrepreneur longs to grow Nix Welding, even though his grandfather, father, and aunt are content with the way things are. Small. Status quo. Good enough. Beginning in 1902 in tiny Poseyville, Indiana, his great, great, grandfather spent his work days as a blacksmith thwacking a cross peen hammer onto white-hot iron, shaping it into submission on an anvil.

Nearly 100 years later, despite family pushback, Matthew Nix begins to look beyond the cornfields that his family thinks confine Nix Welding. He works his own kind of forge, to bend, mold, and expand the business, often finding himself in his own self- stoked fire as a trial-by-error entrepreneur.

His father and grandfather said he was “just young and naive enough” to build a yacht in the middle of farmland, nearly plunge the business—that previous generations had worked hard to build— into financial ruin, and endure the angst that can arise when family dynamics mix with business growth.

Forging Ahead reveals how Matthew, now CEO, and the team he methodically curated that includes his wife and brother leaned on small-town values guided by faith to transform humble Nix Welding into Nix Industrial, a revered custom manufacturing and industrial repair powerhouse. Today Nix Industrial is one of the fastest growing companies in America.

Throughout the narrative, the symbiotic relationship between Matthew’s vision and drive and the team’s more methodical and disciplined approach illustrates how contrasting yet complementary leadership styles can be an advantageous, harmonious interplay.

Read how the company approaches growth through acquisitions and franchises, largely a foreign concept in the metal fabrication industry. Matthew astutely recognized that the industry would experience a major consolidation as baby boomers retired.

Through compelling storytelling, author Angie Klink gives a behind-the-scenes look at the intricacies and “people first” NIX methods of mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and the delicate balance of integrating different businesses under the NIX umbrella.

Learn more about the author, Angie Klink, and explore her collection of books by visiting the following website: https://angieklink.com/