By Carolyn Dunn
It is commonly said that few family-owned businesses make it to the third generation. In Two Rivers, one historic company is proving that old adage wrong. With Carron Net Co.’s 90th anniversary on the horizon, fourth-generation owner Bill Kiel Jr. says the small manufacturer is stronger than ever. The netting company is seeing unprecedented growth and, in the last six years, has doubled its sales.
“Ours is one of the little American success stories,” he says. “My family members who came before me were resilient and adaptable, and all took a longer view for the company and the people who live in Two Rivers. Carron has provided a life for our family and given many families the opportunity to make a good living.”
Kiel Jr.’s grandfather, Norman Carron, and great grandfather, Edward Carron, first started repairing and making fishing nets in their home in 1933. They soon added sports nets to their product line, and when the United States entered World War II, they joined the home-front war effort by producing camouflage nets for the U.S. military in rented factory space.
“In the war years, we made military nets but also camouflage recreational nets for soldiers,” Kiel Jr. says. “I’ve seen old photos of guys playing volleyball on aircraft carriers and can identify some as Carron nets.”
As the war drew to a close, Norman Carron purchased a building and looked to expand Carron’s production of both fishing and sports nets.
In the 1970s, increased trade volume of bulk netting from Japan and China pushed Carron out of the fishing net business. Fortunately, the popularity of basketball, tennis and volleyball kept sports netting a profitable focus for Carron. Then in the 1990s an overseas influx of cheaper sports nets, along with the increase in big-box stores and online shopping, changed the market once again.
“Now our sports netting is mainly protection netting for amusement parks, field houses, batting cages and field goalposts,” Kiel Jr. says. “Our nets are in demand because we can make something high quality, to specification, in a timely way.”
He is proud to point out that Carron nets can be seen at Lambeau Field, American Family Field and Camp Randall Stadium.
But sports netting is only a piece of Carron’s business. In the last 25 years, the growth of distribution centers, large warehouses and big manufacturing facilities has turned Carron to industrial netting. Carron is one of only a handful of American manufacturers producing 100% nylon netting to that market. Netting for sorting systems, pallet racks and conveyor belts is all made to order and customized to each manufacturer’s standards.
Kiel Jr. says he was never being groomed to take over the family business. He had been building his own career in Michigan and Chicago for 12 years when his dad approached him to join the family business in 2000.
“The business was new to me, but it was still old-fashioned work. My dad worked by my side for six years and together we made a lot of improvements, including bringing in heavy-duty sewing machines for border ropes,” he says. “Since taking ownership, I have continued to evolve the company, most recently shifting to buying the bulk of our netting from mills in the U.S. and Canada instead of knitting it ourselves. This has allowed us to use our workforce of 40 people to increase production in our two facilities.”
Kiel Jr. says because his family’s business survived to the fourth generation when most don’t, he feels that legacy every day when he sits in his dad’s office and sees the portraits of Carron’s former presidents.
When asked if there with be a fifth-generation owner of Carron Net Co., Kiel Jr. responds, “I’ll be here for a while yet, but my younger daughter has worked here during college breaks and seems to have a knack for it. I like to think that eventually we may be able to pass it on. A woman owner would be fantastic.”
carronnet.com
