The president and CEO of Irwin Seating Company, a close-to-home family business that has furnished seating for area hot spots such as the Fifth Third Ballpark and DeVos Performance Hall as well as Carnegie Hall in New York City, shared his success story at “The Secrets of My Success” at Grand Valley State University’s Pew Campus on Thursday.

The family business aspect was beneficial for one student who said she sees herself working in a similar atmosphere.

“I don’t want to work for a big company,” said Katie Armstrong, a GVSU junior. “Helping a small company do better is important.”

Irwin Seating Company was founded 103 years ago in Grand Rapids, and is the world’s largest manufacturer of public seating, according to their website.

President and CEO Earle “Win” Irwin shared some of his secrets with GVSU students and discussed what opportunities lay ahead for them in West Michigan.

Irwin was brought up to not borrow money. As he gained interest in the family business, he was able to work through the company ladder to replace his own father as CEO of the company. As his family has built up the company, Irwin has kept it alive for the 27 years he has been president.

Now, in the midst of an economy-wide recession, the words, “secret of success” may be daunting. For Irwin, success during these times simply means surviving.

Irwin said there are key elements students must remember.

“You need to have something to truly differentiate yourself to be successful,” he said. This includes being both creative and innovative.

In terms of business, he said product solutions must be focused on being able to meet customers’ needs.

“It’s all about the customers,” Irwin said.

In addition to this, Irwin said he strongly believes in lifelong learning.

“Gain skills, and then more skills and more skills, and when you’re tired of learning new skills, retire,” Irwin said.

In a similar way, he said instead of guaranteeing employment, employers should provide employees with the opportunity to continuously gain skills applicable to different areas. If at some point an employer cannot provide employment to a particular person, they should be able to get a job elsewhere with the skills they have gained while working with their past employer.

GVSU student Liz Deller said she most appreciated Irwin’s insights on “soft skills,” which he said were important in addition to educational and technical skills.

“By soft skills, he meant that you need to be able to work well in a team environment, have the ability to communicate with those in your team, and so on,” Deller said.

Irwin’s third-generation CEO status may lead to a fourth generation Irwin CEO at the company. Three of Irwin’s
five sons are also working at Irwin Seating Company and are also working their way up, just as Irwin did, to maybe one day earn their seats as president or CEO.
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