Businesses may start at a modest size; with two friends talking over a dinner, a group of peers huddled around a computer – and others start elsewhere. “To share a little bit about Matthews, we’re a fifty-year-old company,” says Owner and President of Matthews Studio Equipment, Ed Phillips. “We started, literally, in a garage.”
Expanding a company is an evergreen goal of most independent businesses – but building a company to last is a long-term strategic target that successful businesses should aim for. Luckily in this case, Ed Phillips hit the target. Ed’s son is helping to build an enduring legacy with the business’ second generation. Vice President, Tyler Phillips explains how the company grew beyond the garage and what Matthews Studio Equipment specializes in. “We design and manufacture film, photographic, and media equipment ranging from lighting stands, to camera dollies and different lighting fabrics or diffusion, and everything in between.”
In an effort to progress the company and expand their reach further, Matthews established a culture of transparency. Chief Operating Officer Bill Hines explained, “We have an open-door policy for anyone who is interested in showing us a product – anything they might want to bring to the market. So, we work with those people as well.”
Inspiring an empowered and closely-bonded workforce is paramount to Matthews Studio Equipment’s success. HR Director Valerie Taylor expressed the importance of their employees’ satisfaction and closeness, saying, “People enjoy what they do, they enjoy being with each other, and they want to create a quality product. So they come in with a good attitude and they do their work, they get it done, and they have fun.”
Matthews was built on close relationships, and Hines emphasizes that importance. In fact, the nucleus of the company has been working with one another for several years. “Ed Phillips, Julio Benosa and myself have all been together for at least twenty years, so there’s a mutual trust and a mutual satisfaction with our relationship. I really think we all enjoy coming to work every day and we look forward to the work product we can turn out here as a result of that.”