In this episode, we hear the fascinating journey of Hausbeck Pickles and Peppers, a family business that went from humble beginnings to playing on an international stage. The interview with the president and CEO of Hausbeck Pickles and Peppers, Tim Hausbeck, takes us through his early life, education, and the decision to join the family business. He talks about the challenges the company faced, their growth journey, and their transition from supplying local grocery stores to becoming a major supplier of Burger King, Subway, and other fast food chains.

Today, they ship out around 60 semis a week to Canada and the U.S, and their pickles are a part of over a billion meals a year. Tim also shares his business philosophy, giving insights into his leadership style. Finally, he talks about his proudest moments in the company.

Show notes:

00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Acknowledgement

01:19 Getting to Know Tim Hausbeck

03:56 The History of Hausbeck Pickles and Peppers

06:29 Challenges and Growth of the Family Business

07:28 Transition of Leadership in the Family Business

08:26 Tim's Journey into the Family Business

09:49 The Growth and Expansion of Hausbeck Pickles

13:02 The Journey of Landing Major Fast Food Chains

19:00 The Challenges of Expansion and Growth

22:36 The Decision to Stay in Saginaw

23:48 Tim's Ascension to President and CEO

Links:

Hausbeck Pickles and Peppers Website: https://hausbeck.com

Sponsor:

Stevens Center for Family Business: https://svsu.edu/scfb

Today's episode is brought to you by the Stevens Center

2

for Family Business, whose mission

is to support the success of family

3

businesses through the generations with

education, networking, and collaboration.

4

Tim Hausbeck: This is now 1980.

5

Things really changed for us.

6

Yes, they did.

7

Now it may not seem like a lot,

but they, at the time, they gave

8

us the state of Michigan to supply.

9

Our business transformed.

10

Cliff Duvernois: Hello, everyone, and

welcome back to Total Michigan, where

11

we interview ordinary Michiganders

doing some pretty extraordinary things.

12

I'm your host, Cliff DuVernois.

13

So today I'm in the very up

and coming city of Saginaw.

14

I love talking to family businesses

and family business owners and their

15

stories to me are just so compelling.

16

And there seems to be just this

recurring theme lately with a lot of the

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episodes I've been doing, which we're

going to talk about later on today.

18

Uh, but what this company did started from

very humble beginnings and is literally

19

now playing in an international stage.

20

Ladies and gentlemen, I am coming

to you from the headquarters of

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Hausbeck Pickles and Peppers with

the, uh, president, uh, Tim Hausbeck.

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Tim, how are you?

23

Tim Hausbeck: I'm doing well, Cliff.

24

I'm very honored to be

part of your show today.

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Cliff Duvernois: Excellent.

26

Thank you for being here.

27

Why don't you tell us a little bit about

where you're from and where you grew up.

28

Tim Hausbeck: Our plant is here located

29

My parents, their first home,

I'm number five or seven kids was

30

literally across the street, four

homes across the street from here.

31

And actually in the hallway, there's

a picture of my dad holding me and

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in the driveway and in the background

is where we're located, but there

33

wasn't a pickle company back then.

34

There was actually a company

that made wooden rulers.

35

Many of us might have in our toolbox

a Lufkin brand ruler, tape measure.

36

Well, they had a plant here in Saginaw.

37

Now, it's a pickle plant.

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Cliff Duvernois: So I, I, I think I

remember when you talk about one of these,

39

is it one of those ones that like unfolds?

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Tim Hausbeck: Yeah.

41

Remember those wooden rulers back then?

42

Yeah.

43

So there was a large foundry here

that or plant that made wooden rulers.

44

And that was part of the first

industry in Michigan or in

45

Saginaw was the lumber industry.

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We have a tank yard, a fermentation yard

on the other side of the river, a mile

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and a half, two miles is a crow flies.

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Before that was a pickle facility.

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It was a toothpick factory.

50

You know, you got all this lumber and

what do you do with the pieces that aren't

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being made to make homes or buildings?

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Well, they made toothpicks

out of the scraps.

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Cliff Duvernois: Man, we could spend

an hour just talking about that right

54

there, but we got to talk about pickles.

55

We got to talk about you.

56

Okay.

57

So you grew up here in Saginaw.

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Tim Hausbeck: Yes.

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Did you go to college?

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Yes.

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Where'd you go?

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Uh, first went to Delta Community

College, followed my older

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brothers and my older siblings.

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And again, I'm number five of seven kids.

65

And then after that, I followed in

the same path, didn't even apply

66

anywhere else but Michigan State.

67

There you go.

68

So go green.

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Cliff Duvernois: Go green.

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What did you, what did you

study while you were there?

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Finance.

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Finance.

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Tim Hausbeck: Why, why finance?

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You know, when you come out of high

school, a lot of times you don't know what

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you want to do, and I'm just like, I'm

not untypical than others, a counselor

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said, Hey, this might be something good.

77

I, you know, that, you know, you just

sort of, I tried, uh, I thought maybe

78

I wanted to be an engineer, physics

and chemistry was a little too much

79

for me to really I knew that that

wasn't going to be for me, right?

80

I liked economics, so I just went

into business and, and at one

81

point in time, I thought I might

want them to be a stockbroker.

82

So I followed finance.

83

I did an internship at a Merrill

Lynch between my junior and senior

84

college did not like that work.

85

So I still stuck with my degree and

I found that sales was best for me.

86

Oh, interesting.

87

Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

88

Well, so what I'm going to do is

I'm going to put a pin in that right

89

now, because as you're growing up.

90

As you're going to college, Hausbeck

Pickles is going in the background.

91

Was it started by your grandparents?

92

Tim Hausbeck: Yes, and

actually we're celebrating our

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100th anniversary this year.

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Happy birthday!

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Thank you.

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It was founded in 1923 on M13, which is

just outside the city limits of Saginaw.

97

We were there for 80

years, very small facility.

98

We were landlocked.

99

So as we were trying to grow,

we couldn't go any, you know,

100

there was no place to expanse.

101

We found this property where we

are sitting on four city blocks

102

that we can control and expand.

103

But back then it was founded

by my grandfather, Charles

104

and his wife, Rose Hausbeck.

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Cliff Duvernois: Did you, did you

ever learn the reason why they decided

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to go into the pickling business?

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Tim Hausbeck: It was the great depression.

108

And there wasn't a lot of work.

109

So they knew a little

bit about making pickles.

110

So there was literally just a

few people that were fermenting.

111

Small cucumbers in barrels, 50 gallon

wooden barrels, which actually the

112

interesting thing there where they got

their barrels from were from distilleries.

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Oh, I did not know that.

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Yeah, so they would unload these barrels

and what the main item we make made back

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then was you would take fresh cucumbers

and put them in this 50 gallon barrel

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with brine with a lot of dill weed.

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Yes.

118

And so they were called genuine deals

and they were a big hit back then and

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they were drop shipped to different.

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Tiny corner grocery stores all over the

state of Michigan, but interesting thing

121

about these distilled barrels I hope I

don't get in trouble because I didn't do

122

it but back then They would take these

barrels and there would still be some

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whiskey They'd put them in the Sun and

let them dry out Maybe they should have

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just fermented pickles in whiskey barrels

and that would have been something, you

125

know It'll had maybe a bourbon taste to

them but but they'd actually get a one

126

or two quarts of whiskey out of these

barrels and And again, it was prohibition

127

and, uh, I was just going to ask that.

128

People had access to liquor.

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Cliff Duvernois: Cause I'm

sure the statute of limitations

130

has long since expired.

131

So nobody's going to come

and arrest you today.

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So initially it, it was your

grandparents started making pickles,

133

putting them in jars and then

sending them out to grocery stores.

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Tim Hausbeck: Yes.

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Uh, my dad.

136

Uh, who's no longer

with us, lived to be 93.

137

He's been gone six years.

138

He would go with his father

on this, these old style steak

139

trucks to the, around the state.

140

They'd spend a weekend dropping cases of

pickles off at these little corner, tiny

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grocery stores that we all used to have.

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We don't, and it wasn't like the big

stores that we have today, whether

143

it be a Kroger or Meyer or what have

you, but tiny little corner markets.

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Cliff Duvernois: And then the company gets

up and running, things are going rather

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unexpectedly, your grandfather passed.

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Tim Hausbeck: Yeah, first big

challenge to our hundred year company.

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I mean, it could have

folded right then and there.

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The founder dies, leaving

his wife and six kids behind.

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So what did she do?

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Well, some of her oldest sons were

part of the business, so, and she

151

had someone helping her, so they kept

trudging on, trying to do what they did.

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Again, fortunately, they had, she

had two older boys that were probably

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around 18 years old at the time.

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Good.

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That were able to at least carry on.

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But it coulda, coulda

ended right then and there.

157

And then, you know, the next

challenge came along as World War II.

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So now she, we lose half our

workforce going off to either

159

World War II or the Korean War.

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Sweet Moses.

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Yeah, so now you're left with a,

again, a skeleton crew once again.

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Cliff Duvernois: Now, how long

did your grandmother and the two,

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the two sons, I think you said,

how long did they run the company?

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Tim Hausbeck: After like my father and

two of my uncles came back from World War

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Two and Korean War, they, they started

helping out with their mother again, and

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it was somewhere in the mid 70s that she

turned over the ownership and control

167

of the company to four of her sons.

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Cliff Duvernois: So she was involved with

the business from the very beginning,

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in 23, and ran it until the mid 70s.

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That's 50 years!

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Tim Hausbeck: Yeah.

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Even back when I was young,

growing up in the business, phone

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calls, so at my grandparent's

house were right behind the plant.

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And so phone calls would

actually come through.

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My grandmother and she would, she was

the secretary if you are the, you know,

176

person answering calls and then she

would transfer them to the plant if

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someone needed to talk to someone else.

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There's a memory for you.

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Yeah, it was interesting.

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Cliff Duvernois: You said you, she

transferred it to your father and

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then three of the other brothers.

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Yes.

183

Okay.

184

So there's four of them now that

are basically running the business.

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Yeah.

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Oh, yes.

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At that time.

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Right now, if we fast

forward a little bit.

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You've now graduated from college.

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What made you decide to get

into the family business?

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Tim Hausbeck: Well, I have to back

up a little bit more than that.

192

Working in the family business

with my siblings, my cousins,

193

a lot of hard work for minimum

wage, and it was my generation.

194

That was the first generation to,

to actually get a college degrees.

195

So there was a lot more opportunities

for everybody else to go elsewhere.

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So it was my brother, Joe,

who's the other owner, who's 70.

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Received his degree in food

science from Michigan State.

198

He was actually the first one to

come back after getting a degree.

199

He helped a lot by what he

took and what was learned.

200

There was a lot of research being

done on fermentation and how

201

to improve quality and yield.

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So he took a lot of these things that

were being done in the 60s and 70s.

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He graduated in 1976 and was able to

start implementing these things in our

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fermentation process, which started

improving quality and our yield.

205

So then back to me, I wasn't part

of the company after I graduated.

206

I was out working for a couple different

companies for a couple of years and not

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really thinking about the family business.

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But as I matured, got a little bit

older, I'm like, you know what?

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I think I can come back and

make the company better as well.

210

Just like my brother, Joe.

211

Cliff Duvernois: So when you talk

about making the company better,

212

did you have some ideas when you

were coming back, like already?

213

Tim Hausbeck: Not initially, but I had a

desire, I didn't have any visions at the

214

moment, but I felt that, you know, I knew

how to do things, they were starting to

215

grow, uh, this is now 1992, uh, we had

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that was our first fast food facility, or

fast food customer that we've ever had,

217

and we still are with Burger King today.

218

But the company was still quite small.

219

You had seven employees and

I knew how to do everything.

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Cliff Duvernois: Wait a minute.

221

You still had seven employees in 92.

222

Yeah.

223

Tim Hausbeck: There was only

still a handful of employees.

224

Sweet Moses.

225

Yeah.

226

Now in the summertime, you might have,

you know, 10 seasonal employees that

227

would help you through a pack season.

228

But again, mostly you're seven people

and, uh, four of those were the owners.

229

Cliff Duvernois: And how many

employees do you have today?

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Tim Hausbeck: A hundred.

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A hundred.

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Year round.

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So you've grown.

234

Yes, we, we will still, now in, in the

summertime, when we're at our grading

235

operation, and a little bit here at our

production, we will bring on about another

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hundred employees for two to three months.

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Cliff Duvernois: So between 92

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Yes.

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That's a tenfold increase.

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Tim Hausbeck: Yes.

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I never wanted to grow to where

we have a thousand employees.

242

My philosophy has been, and

still is today, that through

243

automation, I don't want a thousand

people making minimum wage.

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I'd rather have a hundred

people making a living wage.

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Cliff Duvernois: And for our

audience, we're going to take a

246

quick break and thank our sponsors.

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When we come back, we're going

to talk about how all of these

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skills have Hausbeck Pickles

on the international stage.

249

We'll see you after the break.

250

The Stevens Center for Family

Business supports the success of

251

family owned businesses throughout

the Great Lakes region of Michigan.

252

It provides a wealth of resources that

family owned businesses can access to

253

leverage the unique strengths that are

inherent to the family owned enterprise.

254

The center provides educational

opportunities about managing the

255

Often complicated combination

of family and business.

256

Members attend networking

events where family leaders can

257

share their experiences, learn

from one another, drawing on

258

experts from around the country.

259

The center also focuses on topics and

issues that are unique to family business.

260

This includes maintaining family harmony,

succession planning, preparing the

261

next generation, conflict resolution,

governance, family dynamics, policy

262

development, company culture, and.

263

On and on, regardless of the size of the

family business or the number of years

264

in your history, the Stevens Center for

Family Business is a valuable resource for

265

helping to secure the ongoing legacy of

your multi generational family business.

266

The Stevens Center for Family

Business, where networking and

267

knowledge meet to support the

success of family owned businesses.

268

For more information, please go to svsu.

269

edu slash scfb or contact

270

Two seven, seven, six.

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Hello everyone.

272

And welcome back to total Michigan,

where we interview ordinary Michiganders

273

doing some pretty extraordinary things.

274

I'm your host, Cliff Devenois.

275

Today, we're talking with Tim

Hausbeck from Hausbeck pickles and

276

peppers out of Saginaw, Michigan.

277

One of the things that you mentioned

before was landing Burger King.

278

As a client, your little pickle company

with seven employees, servicing.

279

Burger King.

280

Sweet Moses.

281

So your dad wins his contract.

282

I guess my question, my first question

is what in the world made him think

283

that your pickle place here in Saginaw

could support a major franchise?

284

Tim Hausbeck: My dad was a middle

child and he was very charismatic,

285

but he was our first salesperson.

286

So this is back in the mid to late

seventies that he was actually going

287

and talking to local franchises of

both McDonald's and Burger Kings.

288

So we were actually just taking a

truck, like those corner grocery stores

289

I mentioned, he was drop shipping

pails of pickles off to small Or

290

local McDonald's and Burger King's.

291

There we go.

292

We were actually doing well with that,

but as McDonald's and Burger King's, which

293

were still somewhat in their infancy,

they became a little bit more professional

294

or if you, as they were growing, they

realized they can't have all these

295

franchises buying whatever they want.

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They need to consolidate the purchasing.

297

Cliff Duvernois: Yes, because a

Whopper needs to taste the same,

298

whether it's in Detroit, Michigan,

or Los Angeles, California.

299

Tim Hausbeck: That is correct.

300

We actually.

301

These stores told us they

couldn't buy from us anymore.

302

So this is like 1976, 78, and we were

just starting to do well with them.

303

And this was, you know, good

revenue for a small company.

304

And I remember that year,

you know, it was a lean year.

305

I was in middle school and losing

some of these local stores that we

306

were starting to count on, uh, was.

307

A big challenge for us.

308

It, it hurt financially.

309

Thank goodness for a franchisee

that was located in, in, in Lansing,

310

Michigan, his name is Norm Spaulding

was a large franchisee or was growing

311

as a large franchisee for Burger King.

312

His store in Lansing was the

number one store in Michigan.

313

And we owe a lot to Norm Spaulding.

314

It was he Shout out to Norm.

315

Yeah.

316

It was he that said, I don't like

the pickles that I'm told to buy.

317

I like these Hausbeck branded pickles.

318

So Burger King, he was a big enough

franchisee that they listened to him.

319

They listened to him and they

approved us as a supplier.

320

This is now 1980.

321

Things really changed for us.

322

Yes, they did.

323

Now, it may not seem like a lot, but

they at the time, they gave us the state

324

of Michigan to supply our business.

325

Transformed just supplying the

whole state of Michigan was

326

a large hurdle to overcome.

327

Cliff Duvernois: So let's put this in

a little bit of perspective because

328

you say the state of Michigan.

329

Yeah, but there could have

been like three Burger Kings.

330

Tim Hausbeck: Well, now

there were probably 100.

331

Cliff Duvernois: Okay, so that is huge.

332

Yeah, that is huge.

333

Tim Hausbeck: Yeah.

334

Taking probably using three, four pails of

pickles a week or pay a pails of pickles

335

a week and you times that that's a lot

of pails for us to deliver or to produce.

336

Yes, no, I didn't leave a lot of

time to do some of the other things

337

like the retail items we were making.

338

Cliff Duvernois: Was this one of those

situations where like your dad goes out,

339

puts out this bid, says we can do it.

340

Burger King says, Yeah, we'll

give you the state of Michigan.

341

He says, awesome.

342

You guys celebrate.

343

And then all of a sudden, like,

how are we going to do this?

344

Was it?

345

Was it one of those?

346

It was.

347

Tim Hausbeck: Yeah.

348

Yeah.

349

I mean, a lot of You know, that's

part of what coming back is they

350

were working five days a week to

just to supply one major customer.

351

Now at the other time we were actually

supplying Meijer Thrifty Acres with

352

and other smaller chains of grocery

stores with our retail items.

353

And we would.

354

Package all those up for the most part

in the summer and into the fall, but

355

the rest of the year was just supplying

Burger King and Burger King, like many

356

other quick service restaurants like

McDonald's, we're growing at 40 percent

357

a year where our, our grocery store

stuff was very flat and in some ways

358

shrinking, uh, because that section on

the shelves were starting to shrink.

359

I think my biggest thing that I was

able to offer when I came back to

360

the company is you see this growth.

361

It was pretty.

362

Fast food chains are continuing to grow.

363

I was I was able to convince my,

now it was just my dad, my brother

364

Joe, and my dad's youngest brother,

Richard, were the owners, and I was

365

able to convince them that we should

really focus on more fast food chains.

366

And, and perhaps I even said we

should probably leave retail behind.

367

My dad said we needed to have

some market research done, so we

368

found a company out of Midland.

369

And they did a bunch of market

research, which basically supported

370

what I was already offering.

371

So they had evidence behind it.

372

And so that's what we started doing.

373

We started calling on other

fast food chains and slowly but

374

surely pulled away from retail.

375

Cliff Duvernois: Well, I think

another part of this puzzle too,

376

is that if you get comfortable

with just having a Burger King.

377

Which is probably a large

portion of your income.

378

Yes.

379

If Burger King decides one day, you know

what, we don't like pickles anymore.

380

You guys are out the door.

381

Correct.

382

Then, you know, 80 percent of

your revenue just evaporated.

383

Correct.

384

Overnight.

385

So it almost makes sense that like, you

know what, we need to find more clients.

386

Like a Burger King and move

forward and get them so we're

387

not if so if we lose one, we're

388

Tim Hausbeck: okay Yes, very hard

to do one because our company was

389

very conservative with regards to

debt and we didn't have any debt

390

My my dad and his brothers all

grew up in the Great Depression.

391

So you didn't stand is evil.

392

Yes I another hand was different

393

Cliff Duvernois: So I didn't

394

Tim Hausbeck: have trouble borrowing money

and spending it to increase capacity.

395

Cliff Duvernois: That's right.

396

Cause you're an eighties kid.

397

So let's talk about this here because

you brought this up and you talk about,

398

we need to find more Burger Kings.

399

Tim Hausbeck: There's

even another challenge.

400

So we're doing a good job for Burger King

and they want more and more and more,

401

and they want to give us more states.

402

So now you're also trying to keep

up with this capacity, just growing.

403

Still, the problem is getting worse

where you're, you're sole sourced or

404

you're one customer now is representing

over 90 percent of your revenue and

405

they want to keep giving you more.

406

So times are good, but

you need to diversify.

407

Cliff Duvernois: So Burger King

comes back to you and says, you

408

guys are doing a bang up job.

409

Yes.

410

Michigan's covered.

411

We love you.

412

Did they say, here's Indiana?

413

Or did they say, here's

the Eastern half of the U.

414

S.?

415

How did that work?

416

Tim Hausbeck: In between.

417

Like, here's the upper

Midwest we want to give you.

418

Cliff Duvernois: Oh, Sweet Moses.

419

Right.

420

Now, how much lead time did they

give you to be able to do that?

421

Tim Hausbeck: Usually the contracts

are based on one year at a time.

422

So typically six months.

423

Notice now, there's a lot

that has to go around that.

424

I mean, first of all, you got to

have enough fermentation space.

425

These are all fermented pickles.

426

And then there's the whole

fermentation process, which you need

427

tanks to store them in, and then

you got to go out to your farmers.

428

So when it comes to the

food business, ramping up.

429

Finding more acres, more farmers

to plant more cucumbers for you.

430

You got to have the storage to hold them

and ferment them in those processes.

431

Even though they may want to give you

business, you have to just plan for it.

432

And even though they may give

you six months, it still takes

433

a year to two years of planning.

434

So we knew that it was happening.

435

So we kept increasing

our capacity as we could.

436

So we always were ahead

of the game a little bit.

437

We never took on more

than what we could handle.

438

Cliff Duvernois: When you first

started out Hausbeck, you made a

439

comment about being landlocked.

440

Oh, right.

441

You really couldn't get more

land to get to, to build a bigger

442

facility versus where we are today.

443

So was was it about this time?

444

Tim Hausbeck: No, this would've

445

Oh, oh, okay.

446

That we, you know, we

needed to expand more.

447

Our customers were going now in

448

were started supplying Subway.

449

So that volume.

450

They were a large QSR and they

weren't just buying pickles.

451

They were buying now jalapeno

peppers and banana peppers.

452

They actually came to us

453

But at the time we didn't know anything

about how to make a jalapeno or pickles.

454

Yeah.

455

And again, we didn't know

where to source them.

456

We were able to play around with it,

but the opportunity came back around in

457

2001 because Subway was growing so fast.

458

They needed to expand their supply base.

459

Cliff Duvernois: Because in

addition to Subway, it's.

460

Taco Bell, it's Chick fil A, Domino's,

Pizza Hut, and the list goes on and on of

461

all of these fast food chains that have

come to you and said, we need pickles, we

462

need jalapenos, we need banana peppers, we

need, and you're able now to provide it.

463

Tim Hausbeck: Yes.

464

To give you a little bit of scale, out

of Saginaw, Michigan, right here, we ship

465

out on average around 60 semis a week.

466

Going out between Canada and the U.

467

S.

468

Oh, sweet Moses.

469

Yeah.

470

Conservatively, if you assume that,

the pizza places that we supply,

471

if you want a jalapeno or banana

pepper on your pizza, at one of those

472

chains I mentioned, there's a good

chance it's coming from Hausbeck.

473

And assuming that there's a large pizza

serves four meals, I would say, and when

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you add up how many slices they might

put on a burger, a chicken sandwich,

475

Subway, uh, deli style sandwich,

we're on over a billion meals a year

476

between Canada and the United States.

477

Okay, so let's go.

478

I know, it's a big number.

479

Cliff Duvernois: No, it, it, well,

yeah, it is a big number, but.

480

I just, I, uh, I admire it.

481

Why did you choose to stay in

Saginaw versus go out in the middle

482

of like nowhere where you could

get land, probably a lot cheaper.

483

Tim Hausbeck: I was thinking

about leaving Saginaw.

484

We're in a peninsula state and all

these trucks are coming up out of

485

the main arteries of thoroughfare.

486

So I actually started looking at

properties in Southern Michigan,

487

Northern Ohio, Northern Indiana.

488

I actually found a site that was pretty

good in Northern Indiana around Angola.

489

But then again, I started thinking,

you know, this particular site

490

came up and back in the twenties on

the eastern edge of this four city

491

block, Heinz had a small operation.

492

One of the problems of moving into

a new area is not everybody wants to

493

rezone land to have a pickle company.

494

And then I also thought about the

synergies of not having any, this is

495

where our roots are and no one would have

to move and you start this plant while

496

we're still running the other plant and

they're only a mile away from each other.

497

So employees aren't being put

out if they're having to work

498

at one plant versus the next.

499

I think in hindsight, we might've

failed moving to another facility

500

and trying to operate out of two

people out of two different areas.

501

Sure.

502

Cliff Duvernois: And one of the

things that I would like to cover

503

is that, you know, you join the

company, things are expanding.

504

At some point, you stepped up.

505

To be the president and

CEO of Hausbeck Pickles.

506

Talk to us about that journey there.

507

How did you do that?

508

Tim Hausbeck: It's hard to remember

exactly how that came down.

509

I just know that when I was invited to

be an owner, my brother, Joe, who's the

510

other owner was running this tank yard.

511

He actually left for a short

512

My brother wanted to buy this tank

yard that was owned by Vlasic Pickle.

513

That's.

514

On the other side, on the west

side of this, uh, of Saginaw.

515

And, uh, my father and my uncle

didn't want anything to do with it.

516

It was a lot of work there

late in their careers.

517

They didn't want to invest in this thing.

518

I thought it was an interesting

opportunity, so my brother didn't want

519

to pass on it, so he left Hausbeck

Pickle to go start this company.

520

It was called Custom Foods.

521

So now I was left behind, and again,

we were, we had maybe 20 people at the

522

time, and you know, I was just thrust

into this leadership position where

523

my brother had been filling that role.

524

He then ran this fermentation yard.

525

We became one of his customers.

526

So he was running that.

527

Uh, and then our company started growing

with Subway and other organizations.

528

I was running sales.

529

I was running production,

overseeing all the departments.

530

And my dad just had decided that.

531

I proven to be a good leader.

532

He crowned me the next president CEO.

533

Cliff Duvernois: Tim, if somebody is

listening to this and they want to

534

check out more about Hausbeck pickles,

maybe find you guys online, what would

535

be the best way for them to do that?

536

Tim Hausbeck: Hausbeck.

537

com gives you everything you need to know.

538

And we're also on Facebook.

539

Cliff Duvernois: Tim, thank you so much

for taking time to chat with us today.

540

I really appreciate it.

541

And this is one of those interviews

I'd love to see here and pick your

542

brain all day, but thank you so much

for taking time to chat with us today.

543

Tim Hausbeck: Cliff.

544

Thank you for this time.

545

And it was a very much as much

of an honor to be here today.

546

And so thank you.

547

Cliff Duvernois: And for our audience, you

can always roll on over to total michigan.

548

com and click on Tim's interview and

get the links that he mentioned above.

549

We'll talk to you next week when we

talk to another Michigander doing

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some pretty extraordinary things.

551

We'll see you then.