Kirby Sheet Metal: A proud family company with roots in the early 1920s
In his office, Robert Novick keeps a framed vintage receipt dated May 15, 1928. For him, this piece of company history is a special reminder.
“I think back to those people who have come before me and carried the legacy on, and that’s why I pursued buying the company when it came available,” Novick said. “I was interested in continuing to find ways to change the company for the better and make sure the people working here still had their jobs.”
In the early days of Kirby Sheet Metal Works, the company was known for its work with furnaces, downspouts, gutters, skylights, smokestacks and ventilation. Today, Kirby has become a custom fabrication shop for the greater Chicagoland manufacturing industry, including commercial ventilation, guarding for machinery, stainless steel countertops and more.
Novick’s journey with Kirby started when he was just a child. His father spent his career working for Kirby in its original Chicago location and eventually became a partner, so Novick spent much of his childhood near the family-oriented company. In 1996, Novick began working for Kirby as he pursued his apprenticeship with Local Union 73 — a path he says most of their employees have done at one time.
In August 2019, Novick purchased the company and became sole owner. Despite the pandemic hitting only a handful of months into his ownership, Kirby has found ways to grow and thrive.
“I’ve really tried these last few years to bring the company to a higher level and advance our HVAC capabilities on the industrial and commercial sides,” Novick said. “We recently installed a precision laser cutter, which I hope will continue to advance us. And two years ago, I became aware of a company named Frank Kreutzer that did similar work to us and was closing. I ended up buying his book of business, which turned out to be a great thing for us. Customers that had been strong with him remain so with us.”
Kirby’s reputation for specialty work has allowed the company to take on a number of interesting projects in varying industries, including the trainyards, plastic manufacturing, universities, movie sets and bakeries. They were even recruited to make a pizza pan big enough to fit the world’s largest deep-dish pizza made right in Chicago.
“Most of my guys see something different here all the time. There’s always a different project going on or item they’re making,” Novick said. “To see some of these manufacturing processes we engage in to help a customer fix something or make their process better — that’s what I enjoy.”
Despite his company joining SMACNA Greater Chicago as a member well before his time as owner, Novick has found himself becoming more involved within the last year.
“I guess I want to stir the pot a little bit,” he said with a chuckle. “In the last few months, I’ve learned things as an owner that I need to have in place that I didn’t know before, so I’ve been leaning on SMACNA to benefit from their industry knowledge and resources.”