Believe it or not, Vulcan Wire was founded in 1975 by a single mother, Alice, who knew nothing about baler wire. She didn’t even know recyclables were baled until a few days before she made her first wire sale. And that wire broke!
The helpful buyer, desperate for baler wire, suggested she get samples from his scant remaining good wire. Assisted by a dictionary, she quickly educated herself about the necessary specifications. Her second sale was the charm, and for all but a struggling five-year period, Vulcan Wire has been a healthy business.
People were stunned to hear that Alice sold industrial baler wire for a living, and they peppered her with questions: What is industrial baler wire? What kind of bales is this wire used for? Is this mainly your husband’s business?
How did you ever get into this?
The complete answers were complicated, so she whittled it down to, “I found a need and filled it.” Nobody was satisfied with this simple answer, so they followed up with a barrage of exhaustive questions. The interrogations became so tiresome Alice would try to change the subject. It became apparent that the bizarre series of events which led to Vulcan’s founding could fill a book. However, Alice was too busy running Vulcan for such a pursuit, especially when she struggled against collapse due to a predatory competitor.
One day an informant told her this competitor had just declared bankruptcy. An hour later their best salesman, Mike Graffio, and Alice struck a deal: Mike would gradually acquire Vulcan stock for a fifteen-year period, after which he would become the majority owner. Those fifteen years ended in 2012. Alice then began to write her book, which was published in 2019. The Lady with Balls: A Single Mother’s Triumphant Battle in a Man’s World is available online and in stores as an audio book and an ebook, too.
For more information, please visit: https://ladywithballs.com/
