Strong Family, Strong Business



C.F. Maier Colorado Relies on Family to Succeed



by Deanna Strange





Take a shower, drive to work, walk the dog in the park — every day is the same routine. Most people can go through the motions without much thought, relying on the dependability of the products that make those steps possible.



The bathtub, the car and the park bench are made possible through the use of composites. In fact, it is next to impossible to go through the day without encountering composites, whether they are fiberglass-reinforced plastics (FRPs), metal matrix composites or engineered wood. Products that use composite materials make up everyday life. The production of a vast array of composite materials can be found in Lamar, Colorado. Surprisingly, working from Golden, Colorado, at the helm of this thriving production facility is a small and accommodating German family of three — Walter, Ursula and Axel Thurner.

C.F. Maier in America



Walter Thurner was born and educated in West Germany, receiving one of the first educations specializing in fiberglass-reinforced plastics in the world. In 1982, he moved to America to open a branch company in the fiberglass industry in order to produce parts for the American bus company Neoplan, and Walter’s achievements did not go unnoticed.



The Germany-based C.F. Maier recognized the accomplishments Walter had reached in America, and he was asked to use his expertise to begin a new company for C.F. Maier based in the United States. “We planned to stay in the United States for six months,” joked Ursula Thurner, secretary of corporation. “But we got drawn into production. We started C.F. Maier in Lamar in 1990.” Presently, Mr. Maier is a shareholder in the Colorado-based C.F. Maier, but it is more of a family-owned business.



This new venture gave Walter the opportunity to expand the composites he manufactured beyond the transit industry. However, when the Thurners established C.F. Maier, they did so with only three employees — Walter, Ursula and their son, Axel, and they had the added challenge of having zero clients and no product line to produce. Walter rose to this challenge by designing fiberglass replacement parts for existing products composed of steel and other materials. He also attracted new clients by convincing them of the merits of using fiberglass as an alternative material. Upon opening the Lamar facility, the Thurners had no sales force but were able to rely on positive word of mouth from their clients to spread their business.



In 1999, an additional location was opened in Golden, Colorado, near Denver. This location predominately houses the Thurners’ offices and offers all customer service. Golden gives a marketing edge to C.F. Maier because of the more urban surroundings. “In 1999, we got bored and found competition in Denver,” Ursula admits. “We design and create prototypes in Golden, but the main production still happens in Lamar.”





Types of Products



C.F. Maier has proven to have few, if any, limits to what is possible to produce. Composites go beyond buses, including motor homes, hard tops for Jeeps, utility trailers, panels for the car wash industry, recycling collection containers, fish tanks in many different shapes and many more items for various industries. Walter expanded his design capabilities even further, creating composites for hospital equipment, such as MRI machines, playground and park equipment and artwork — many of these can be seen in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and at the Denver International Airport.



“We make everything custom-manufactured,” Ursula explained. “If a client says, ‘I have a vision for a new bicycle,’ we produce the materials he needs until he is satisfied.” When the molds for the composites are designed, they may be created from a blueprint the client has provided, or they may be based on a client’s idea alone, but it is essential to construct a product that meets the client’s specifications.



One of the fields that C.F. Maier has been exploring and expanding is aquatic composites. This field ranges from swimming pools to fish tanks to hazardous waste containers. But the biggest innovations for C.F. Maier are fish culture tanks. As concerns for the environment grow, overfishing has become a carefully observed issue. Overfishing introduces the risk of altering an ecosystem in any body of water. If smaller fish are overfished, the numbers of larger predators that feed on those fish dwindle, threatening a body of water overpopulated with the faster-reproducing smaller fish.



History has taught that shifting ecosystems can result in catastrophe. The aquaculture tanks C.F. Maier produces allow fish to be raised for consumption without human handling or risk of harm to a natural environment. Farm-raised fish and aquaculture are the future for seafood if the planet is to be preserved without drastic changes. The aquaculture tanks are custom made for clients and can be done in a variety of shapes and sizes. The environment is an issue of importance to the Thurners, and it is definitely a subject C.F. Maier will continue to pursue and expand work on.





Additional Environmentally Conscious Efforts



The go-to method most people consider when trying to be green is recycling. In most large cities, recycling programs are provided in the same manner as trash pickup, but recycling pickup is not feasible in a rural town like Lamar. C.F. Maier manufactures recycling containers for drop-off facilities, and Walter has given assistance to many rural areas throughout the United States and Canada to establish recycling programs.



The types of containers C.F. Maier is presently manufacturing accommodate the different categories for recycling — including, for example, paper, plastic bottles and glass — while, at the same time, being compact. Walter has pursued and furthered recycling drop-off in rural areas in Colorado, and his methods have been replicated for similar areas across the country.





Looking to the Future



The Thurners take a humble approach to their nationwide success. “We are basically a family business. I run the office, and my husband takes care of the customers, and our son, Axel, runs the day-to-day production in our Lamar production facility.” Ursula offered. “But we are always looking for new expansion, and we are always flexible to adapting to new product lines.”



Dave Kline, senior sales representative with North American Composites, expressed his appreciation for C.F. Maier and the Thurners. “Walter and I have been working together since ’83, and we treat each other with a lot of respect,” he continued. “He thinks things should be done right the first time. He has high expectations, and we do our best job to live up to his expectations.”