Alloy Bellows & Precision Welding Continues to Grow

At least 53 area employees are wrapped in that toasty warm blanket called job security. They work at , which has a no-layoff policy.

The only catch is that the employee must be willing to cross-train – that is, learn multiple jobs at the plant, located at 653 Miner Rd., Highland Heights.

"If we had a few bad months, I’d rather have them painting walls than lay them off," president and CEO Michael R. Canty said. "Once you’ve invested in skilled employees, you’ve got to hang on to them."

Alloy Bellows does high-precision welding and produces custom-engineered metal bellows and metal tubing for the aerospace, nuclear, biomedical, processing, petrochemical, power generation and semiconductor industries.

The 76-year-old company hasn’t had even a bad month since Canty, a turnaround expert, became a partner five years ago. He bought the company in 2009, the first he’s owned by himself.

"We’ve poured millions into the company," he said. "We’ve doubled sales, and grew in ’09 and ’10 when everyone else was struggling," he said. "And we’ve almost doubled the workforce since I took over."

The company is still in hiring mode as it gets ready to put a fully automated precision welding division in operation.  

Canty lives with his family in Bentleyville, where he was mayor from January 2000 to December 2007.