FAQs Archive - Page 3 of 3 - Johnson Propeller Company Inc.

Q: How many of your employees are second or third generation, and what programs does Johnson have in place to retain employees?

We have a father and son. Michael Kelly has been here, and his son, Devin, just started last year full time. Michael is in the machine shop, and he started in the foundry, and that’s where Devin is.

Q: Workforce shortages are a big issue in the marine industry. Is it a challenge for you to attract and retain good employees?

We no longer hand-finish a lot of stuff. Training someone to do that was always a challenge. When we moved here in 1997, we brought three guys with us from California that had been with us forever. And the four guys we hired the first month we were here are still here, and they learned everything in the shop. We’re still fairly small. One of our guys, Richard Paz, has been here since 1972, and he’s the grandfather in the shop now. He runs the finishing room and balances every propeller. Sue Bright, our office manager, runs the show and has been with us since Day One.

Q: How many props do you produce in a year?

Our average is 10,000 to 12,000 per year. We’ve done 20,000 in a year and as few as 6,000.

Q: How many employees do you have?

Twenty. We’ve had as many as 30 and as few as four. That includes me, so we’re fairly fluid, depending on what we’re doing.

Q: Did you have siblings that grew up in the company?

I had two brothers. Our youngest brother Curt passed from congestive heart failure at the age of 29 in 2000. The middle brother Kris did work in the business, but he’s a chef in California now. We grew up with a small broom that was in the corner, so there were no excuses that we couldn’t push it. We started with the broom and moved into foundry work, shoveling sand and breaking out molds and then cutting and grinding. Back in those days, we did an awful lot of aluminum props for Volvo Penta, and we had to paint them, so I painted a lot of props as a kid.

Q: Was working with your dad a benefit of being part of a family company?

A family business certainly has its ups and downs. Yes, it was a benefit, but it can also be a challenge. It’s difficult to work that closely with your family. Thanksgiving and Christmas, when we’re all together, we’re still talking shop.

Q: How many generations of Johnsons have been with the company?

We are 82 years old, and I’m the fourth generation. Oscar was 60 years old when he started the company with Ivar, and then there’s my father Gary, who is 75.

Q: The company name is Johnson Propeller, but it seems that many people call it OJ Props. How did that come about?

We were founded in Oakland in 1936 by my great grandfather Oscar and his son Ivar. In the early years, we used to stamp the propeller on the side with Oakland, Calif. USA, so people started referring to Johnson Propeller as Oakland Johnson, and it morphed into an homage to Oscar as OJ.

Q: How much of an investment was it?

It was significant and sort of surprising. I spent around the same money on the new equipment as the stuff we bought in 1992. We can make an awful lot more props in a day now than we could previously.