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Building Bridges Newsletter
Supporting businesses by lending good money to good businesses!
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 We are so excited to be at the start of a great new year with new adventures and experiences awaiting! Our beautiful header picture this month comes to us from Arlene Verborg, a subscriber in Wisconsin, who shared a winter landscape from Finland!
We wish everyone a wonderful January!
Happy New Year!
Lisa Hultz
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American Made: West Bend Aluminum Co.
 When a pocketbook manufac- turing company burned down in 1911, many residents of West Bend, Wisconsin, were thrown out of work. Young Bernhardt C. Ziegler, a local entrepre- neurial dynamo who had organized his own full-fledged fire-insurance company while still in high school, set out to find a substitute industry for the townspeople. Impressed by the growth of aluminum novelty and cookware companies in eastern Wisconsin, he recruited six other men who, with himself, each put down $1,000 to incorporate the West Bend Aluminum Co. on September 27, 1911. Five of the seven founders were businessmen. The other two were skilled tool-and-die makers and immediately began work on the tools and dies needed by West Bend.
 The founders rented an old button factory on the west bank of the Milwaukee River for $8.50 a month and three weeks later had a lathe, shaper, and drill press in place. A draw press capable of turning out about 15 kinds of utensils was ordered from Brooklyn, New York, and 3,000 pounds of aluminum from a firm in Pennsylvania. Six to ten men were employed in the factory initially. The first items to bear the West Bend name were saucepans in four sizes, a frying pan, a pie pan, and a water dipper. From 1911 to 2001, the company manufactured aluminum cookware and electrical  appliances (including the popular Waterless Cooker in 1921 and Flavo-Drip coffeemaker in 1922), and also made two-stroke cycle engines, including outboard boat motors. During WWI, West Bend won a contract to produce U.S. Army mess kits, but just as production began, the war ended. In the 1940s, the company had a contract with the U.S. Navy to manufacture 20mm brass anti-aircraft cartridge cases. During WWII, the company produced more than 300 different items under defense contracts, including powder tanks and rocket containers. By the end of the war, it had earned six Navy "E" awards for outstanding achievement. During the Korean War (1950-1953), it produced such military items as cartridge cases, powder tanks, rocket containers and gas-mask  canisters. After the war ended, the company continued defense production, notably with an army contract to make ammunition.
Bernhard C. Ziegler died on May 6, 1946, but his company remained privately held until it was acquired in 1968 by Rexall Drug and Chemical Co. In its last 12 months as an independent company, West Bend earned $4.3 million on sales of $69 million. Over the following years, the company transformed and changed ownership several times, expanded internationally, increased product lines and brand names, and opened multiple locations. Today, West Bend is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Premark International with worldwide sales in excess of $200 million, employing 1,600 people, who manufacture 3,634 electrical housewares and fans and 3,914 silverware, plated-ware and stainless steel ware.
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This Month In History
 * Emma M. Nutt became the first female telephone operator, Jan. 1, 1878.
* The Pentagon opened
Jan. 15, 1943.
* At 69 years, 349 days old, Ronald Reagan became the oldest person to become U.S. president, Jan. 20, 1981.
* The deadliest earthquake in history struck Shansi, China killing 830,000 people, Jan. 23, 1556.
* The Dental Drill was patented, Jan. 26, 1875.
* U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded 72 seconds after liftoff, killing the seven crew members, Jan. 28, 1986.
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Texas Notary Update
 If you are a Texas notary (or if someone you know is a Texas notary), and may have missed the new Secretary of State notary requirement: "Notaries public who are commissioned for the first time on or after January 1, 2016, and notaries public renewing their commissions on or after that date must have their notary ID number on their seal of office." For more information for Texas notaries visit:
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January Business Book Pick
 The School of Greatness: A Real-World Guide to Living Bigger, Loving Deeper, and Leaving a Legacy, by Lewis Howes. Hardcover, 272 pages; published by Rodale Books, Oct. 27, 2015; ISBN-10: 1623365961, ISBN-13: 978-1623365967.
When a career-ending injury left elite athlete and professional football player Lewis Howes out of work and living on his sister's couch, he decided he needed to make a change for the better. He started by reaching out to people he admired, searching for mentors, and applying his past coaches' advice from sports to life off the field. Lewis did more than bounce back: He built a multimillion-dollar online business and is now a sought-after business coach, speaker, and podcast host.
In The School of Greatness, Howes shares the essential tips and habits he gathered in interviewing "the greats" on his wildly popular podcast of the same name. In discussion with people like Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson and Pencils of Promise CEO Adam Braun, Howes figured out that greatness is unearthed and cultivated from within. The masters of greatness are not successful because they got lucky or are innately more talented, but because they applied specific habits and tools to embrace and overcome adversity in their lives. A framework for personal development, The School of Greatness gives you the tools, knowledge, and actionable resources you need to reach your potential. Howes anchors each chapter with a specific lesson he culled from his greatness "professors" and his own experiences to teach you how to create a vision, develop hustle, and use dedication, mindfulness, joy, and love to reach goals. His lessons and practical exercises prove that anyone is capable of achieving success and that we can all strive for greatness in our everyday lives.
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Thoughtful Thoughts
 Togetherness is a hugely important aspect of life. It unites us, gives us security, much-needed support and a sense of belonging, and encourages us to love one another.
-- Richard Branson
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 January Humor
A woman was driving on the highway one night when it suddenly started snowing heavily. Frightened about driving on black ice, she remembered what her daddy had taught her: "Stop, pull over on the side of the road, and wait for a snowplow, then drive behind it." She waited a couple of hours and then a snowplow showed up and she got back on the road, following it closely for several miles. Then, suddenly the driver of the snowplow stopped and walked back to where she was patiently waiting. "Lady, why are you following me?" he asked. She told him what her daddy had taught her about following a snowplow in bad weather. The driver smiled and replied, "Well, I have finished plowing the Walmart parking lot. Do you want to follow me to Best Buy?" -- Contributed by Sam Gomez, Grand Prairie, TX |
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January Holidays & Events
Jan. 1: New Year's Day; Jan. 6: Cuddle Up Day; Jan. 10: Save the Eagles Day; Jan. 11: Amelia Earhart Day; Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday; Jan. 17: Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day; Jan. 21: National Hugging Day; Jan. 26: Spouse's Day; Jan. 28: Christa McAuliffe Day. January is also National Blood Donor Month, National Hobby Month and National Soup Month!
Note: Mazon's office will be closed Monday, Jan. 18th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday.
FAQ: How long must I be in business to become a Mazon client?
Mazon Associates specializes in helping growing businesses as well as start-up companies with accounts receivable financing. We do not require that you be in business for any specific length of time to participate in our factoring services.
If you would like to find out more about our services for your business and/or apply for an account with Mazon Associates, please phone us at 972-554-6967 (toll-free 800-442-2740 or visit our website at
$$$ Refer and Earn $$$
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Business contacts, friends, family and acquaintances -- you just never know when someone you know might need Mazon's accounts receivable factoring services! Visit our referral page for more information.
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About Our Clients
Our clients are traditionally businesses that are manufacturers, distributors and service companies in the following areas: advertising / marketing / apparel / design / courier & delivery services / equipment repair & maintenance / environmental services / graphic design / signage & printing / staffing & employment services / security services / catering & food services / legal services / light construction / telecommunications / transportation services. Our clients may include start-up, early-stage growth and high-growth businesses; under-capitalized businesses with historical operating losses; businesses with cash flow problems having a cash flow need; businesses with tax liens or turnaround situations; businesses who may not currently meet a bank's credit criteria. Our clients have delivered services or products to other businesses and have business-to-business invoices that can be independently verified. Most of our clients have come to us through referrals from current and former clients. We rely heavily on word-of-mouth marketing to bring in new clients -- and we offer a lucrative referral program. Our clients are located in any of the 50 states in the U.S.A. Our clients are not companies with a majority of consumer receivables such as retail businesses, progress billings, third party pay medical receivables and certain construction-related businesses.
For more information about becoming a client, please contact us by telephone 972-554-6967 or toll-free 1-800-442-2740, or visit our website:
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