July 30, 2023 • 13 mins
Angela Phillips is the CEO of the Phillips Tube Group, which has 3 locations: Shelby and Middletown, OH, along with Richmond, Indiana. The company was started by Angela's father, Ralph Phillips, back in the 1960's in Shelby. The company makes products for the steel tube industry and has around 240 employees, Angela was born in Shelby and tells the story of the company, her family and more on the podcast.
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(00:00):
The CEO you should know. Broughtto you by Robie Foster Miller Eric Insurance.
This week CEO Angela Phillips, CEOof the Phillips Tube Group. Today
we're excited. We're gonna shine thespotlight locally on Angela Phillips, who is
the CEO of the Phillips Tube Groupand they have a location right here in
(00:26):
north central Ohio. Angela. Firstof all, good morning, thank you
for joining us today. Thank youAaron. Great to be here. Absolutely,
I know I've heard that name.Of course, we'll talk about your
father, as this has family ties. But let's begin at the top.
I always say on this program,if somebody is new to this area or
they just don't know, could yougive us a kind of an overview of
(00:48):
your company. Sure? So,I am CEO of the Phillips Tube Group.
We are a steel manufacturer, steeltube manufacturer located in our original facility
which is in Shelby, Ohio,a Middletown, Ohio and then then Richmond,
Indiana set three locations, and wemanufacture steal tube for the automotive,
HBAC and appliance industries. Primarily tubethat you would recognize, the tube that
(01:12):
goes down into the gas tank forthe what we call a fuel filler tube.
The tube that is in your highefficiency furnaces for the eighty plus ninety
plus furnaces is our tube, andthen also for gas fired appliances. We've
got close to two hundred and fortyemployees now between the three locations, and
(01:33):
we started an operation in nineteen sixtyseven, so we've got fifty six years
in the business today. All right, terrific to learn this morning about a
local company again in the Phillips TubeGroup. There CEO Angela Phillips is joining
(01:53):
us via the telephone this morning.So you mentioned it got started here locally.
I'm assuming then the one in Shelby. What was the first one?
I know there's three locations total,but it got started here locally then first.
That's correct. Yeah, So myfather started the business nineteen sixty seven,
started a small machine shop on thenorth side of Shelby, and that
(02:14):
has grown now into three different locationsand two hundred and forty employees later,
and just a great operation. Isit still in the same location in Shelby?
It is? It is actually ifyou are driving north on Route sixty
one heading towards Plymouth and heading towardsheading towards Cedar Point. I tell people
(02:36):
then that you will pass it onthe north side of Shelby and there's a
small garage on the east side ofsixty one North. When you'll see the
plan on both sides of the road, there's a small garage on the east
side, and that is actually theoriginal small facility that he started in in
the machine shop. All right,very cool again to hear the story of
a local company in the voice ofAngela Phillips this week's see EO. You
(03:00):
should know the CEO of the PhillipsTube Group, all right. So as
we talk about the company, andyou've mentioned locations, you've also talked about
employees. So one question I wantedto ask you, and I don't think
I brought it up before we started, but you know, it's been a
challenge with the pandemic and materials.Are things getting better for you guys?
(03:22):
I know I've talked to somebody inlike construction, they say things are getting
better. How is it for youguys right now? For materials it has
gotten better, there's still some challengesout there, certainly material and probably more
challenges for our customer base, butsteel is readily available. We are able
to get steel. We buy allAmerican made steel here in the United States,
(03:44):
and we are able to get plentyof steel for our customers, but
they're typically waiting on chips and othercomponents that maybe are coming in from out
of the country, typically from Chinaor other places, and that's a bigger
challenge now, Angela, as wetalk with you, you mentioned, you
know, a gas tank or ormaybe a furnace or something like that.
(04:05):
For a lot of people, maybein Shelby, North Central Ohio, driving
you know, past, maybe theydon't realize that so many of the products
you guys make or something they useon a daily basis, right, exactly,
exactly, Yeah, yeah, Imean really, when you look around,
tube is everywhere. Our good friendMicro from the Micro Foundation and Dirty
Jobs, he talks about steale tube. It's what holds the world together.
(04:28):
Actually, So there's steal tube andlots of components and it's a very large
industry, but we really focus ona more mechanical type tube that go into
other components and things like vehicles,furnaces, dishwashers, washer dryer, stovetops,
those type of products. Well,Angela, let's step away from work
(04:51):
and find out a little bit moreabout you again. This week's CEO you
should know Angela Phillips, CEO ofthe Phillips Tube Group. Let step back
to the beginning, if you wouldtell us where was Angela Phillips born?
Born in Shelby. Actually, asI mentioned, on the north side of
Shelby. I grew up next toand across the street from our manufacturing facility
(05:16):
there. So my first eighteen yearsof my life was located there on the
north side of Shelby. So highschool graduate in nineteen eighty nine, I
went on to Highram College for myundergraduate and political science and economics. I
was planning on going to law school. I had worked for my dad during
high school and taken a break aftercollege and applied for my law school entrance
(05:41):
exams. And I called him upon the phone, I think because my
card broken down. There's living inTexas at the time, and he said,
why don't you come work for mefor a couple of years first before
you go off to law school.And so that was twenty nine years ago,
and in a couple of weeks hereI'll celebrate my twenty ninth year of
being and working for the family business, and I never looked back. So
(06:04):
got my MBA and just continued tooperate in the family businesses. But yeah,
I grew up there at the plantthat had started from scratch with a
small machine shop, and grew thebusiness. Bought a TV and Tenna tower
company, which is how we actuallygot into tube. Initially, he was
buying tube from actually our competitors todayand ended up expanding beyond TV antenna towers
(06:30):
to the automotive industry. And that'sthat's when we really started manufacturing steel tube
and taking off in the steel tubeindustry. Great to hear the story this
morning. Now you mentioned MBA.Where was that from? That was from
Jack Welch Management Institute, which ispart of Strayer University. And you mentioned
Hiram collegees Am, I right,is that up in the Cleveland area.
(06:51):
It is east of Cleveland, Hudsonarea. Yeah. Great, Well,
Angela, as we talk about this, you mentioned the aspiration maybe you know,
growing up, you know, we'renot going into the family business.
You mentioned, you know, maybebe a lawyer, go to law school.
But of course here you are,you know, years later. I
want to talk about your dad,because when you say the name Ralph Phillips
(07:12):
and Shelby and all across the area, people know that name and all the
great work he has done here locally. Talk a bit about your dad.
Sure. Yeah, So he wasactually not a Shelby native. He grew
up in more north central Ohio andBellevue area, Attica area, moved there
and high school a junior in highschool, settled down in Shelby and started
(07:34):
his business there and uh, youknow, Shelby was he felt, as
a businessperson in the area and oneof the larger businesses, that it's a
responsibility to take care of your communities. And we continue to do that today
and all three locations where we arelocated. But he was extremely involved in
(07:54):
almost every organization I think that Iwas in Shelby. Someone call him the
honorary Mayor Alby. In terms ofhelping different situations that would happen. Shelby
had a lot of flooding over theyears, and he was one that kind
of rolled his sleeves up and dugin, and you know, he would
be down digging and doing whatever heneeded to do to help with equipment and
(08:16):
other things to help the community,and then just a number of different charities
and other things that he was involvedwith over the years, but just really
showed, I think what business issupposed to do when they are located in
a community, that one of thestakeholders is certainly the community that you operate
in, and making sure that thatcommunity stays healthy and is on a growth
(08:37):
path as well as as your ownbusiness. So he's laid that groundwork when
when he was running it, andI certainly carried that on when I took
over and maintained that today. Well, Angela, before I let you go,
but a great conversation, A couplemore questions, Angela Phillips this week
CEO. You should know is onthe telephone this morning, CEO of the
(09:00):
Phillips Tube Group. Now, recentlyyou've been in the news. It's been
great news. You recognize for anaward. I know you're up for a
national award. If you would fillus in about that. Sure. So,
Ernst and Young, the it's atop four accounting firm, recognizes entrepreneurs
not just locally or nationally, butactually globally throughout their network, and they
(09:24):
identify or have nominations from different entities. In my case, my banker,
a PNC Bank, nominated me forthis award, and it recognizes entrepreneurs and
the entrepreneurial spirit, how they've takenan organization either transformed it dealt with a
number of challenges, and how theywere resilient through that process, how they
(09:48):
were able to be successful when othercompanies may not have been successful. And
so they look for that in eachcompany. And so I was one of
the twenty seven finalists for the USAwards. Seven of us won and we'll
move on to the national level.And so it's been a real privilege and
real honor to be recognized on sucha large scale. I mean, I
(10:09):
you know, I have my headdad, I just do what I do.
But for other people to recognize thatthat is something different, it is
pretty special. And I saw Ithink a comment from you, we work
with Richland source dot com, butyou mentioned a lot of the credit goes
to all the hard work from yourteam, right exactly and well, and
then any entrepreneur or CEO is goingto say that, certainly, and that's
(10:33):
our case for sure, that I'monly as good as a team that I've
got around me. And my dadhad a great team when he passed unexpectedly
in two thousand and nine. Icompletely depended on the team to help me
really navigate and grow this and keepthe company intact on target. So it's
it's just a real tribute. Notso much for me, but you know,
(10:56):
I say, for our team.This is a team award and certainly
a team recognition which is getting gettinga lot of attention. Well, Angela,
you told me you've been with thecompany. I think right around twenty
nine years. How long have youbeen CEO? So when dad passed in
two thousand and nine, so nowit's fourteen years that I've been CEO.
(11:18):
Well, before I let you go, I've wanted to find out a bit
more about you. We've found out, you know, born in Shelby High
School and Shelby, then off tocollege. I don't know, married kids.
If you would tell us a bitmore about Angela Phillips and the family.
Sure, sure, yep. Marriedto actually local man from up in
the Shelby area as well. We'vebeen married for nineteen years. We have
(11:41):
two children. My daughter eighteen justgraduated from high school Sydney and she's going
off to Butler University. And thenmy son is twelve years old. He's
named after my dad, Ralph.So we live outside of Cincinnati and I've
been down here in this area forthe twenty nine years I've been involved in
(12:01):
the business. So oh yeah,it's been great. All right, Well,
terrific to hear about that. Now, how about spare time? I
know, running a company and afamily and all that's super busy. But
when you are away from work,what do you like to do? Do
you have any hobbies? I don'thave much time, oh way, but
when I do, it's usually travelingwith family and friends actually all over the
(12:22):
world. So I'd like to gosee them and reconnect with them, and
that's where I spend my time.All right. Last thing is if somebody
hears your voice and they just wantto get more information about the Phillips Tube
group, do you have a website? How can they find you? Guys?
Yeah, sure, you can checkus out at phillipstube dot com.
(12:43):
You should be able to get toknow information all about the company and what
we do, what we make,and what we're made of. So thank
you. All right, you're welcome, very very good this morning to learn
the story and all about this week'sCEO. You should know Angela Phillips,
CEO of the Phillips Tube Group.Well, Angela, it's been great to
(13:03):
learn the story. We thank youso much for joining us and we wish
you continued success. Thank you,Aaron, Thank you Angela Phillips, CEO
of the Phillips Tube Group. Thus, CEO you should know Rita Bio.
See a photo and hear the extendedinterview at WMAANFM dot com. Leading means
(13:24):
having a vision and sharing it withothers. I'm John Robi of r F
and ME Insurance. We're excited tobring you this program featuring CEOs from our
area who will share the thoughts ofwhat it means to work and live in
north central Ohio.
The CEO you should know. Broughtto you by Robie Foster Miller Eric Insurance.
This week CEO Angela Phillips, CEOof the Phillips Tube Group. Today
we're excited. We're gonna shine thespotlight locally on Angela Phillips, who is
the CEO of the Phillips Tube Groupand they have a location right here in
(00:26):
north central Ohio. Angela. Firstof all, good morning, thank you
for joining us today. Thank youAaron. Great to be here. Absolutely,
I know I've heard that name.Of course, we'll talk about your
father, as this has family ties. But let's begin at the top.
I always say on this program,if somebody is new to this area or
they just don't know, could yougive us a kind of an overview of
(00:48):
your company. Sure? So,I am CEO of the Phillips Tube Group.
We are a steel manufacturer, steeltube manufacturer located in our original facility
which is in Shelby, Ohio,a Middletown, Ohio and then then Richmond,
Indiana set three locations, and wemanufacture steal tube for the automotive,
HBAC and appliance industries. Primarily tubethat you would recognize, the tube that
(01:12):
goes down into the gas tank forthe what we call a fuel filler tube.
The tube that is in your highefficiency furnaces for the eighty plus ninety
plus furnaces is our tube, andthen also for gas fired appliances. We've
got close to two hundred and fortyemployees now between the three locations, and
(01:33):
we started an operation in nineteen sixtyseven, so we've got fifty six years
in the business today. All right, terrific to learn this morning about a
local company again in the Phillips TubeGroup. There CEO Angela Phillips is joining
(01:53):
us via the telephone this morning.So you mentioned it got started here locally.
I'm assuming then the one in Shelby. What was the first one?
I know there's three locations total,but it got started here locally then first.
That's correct. Yeah, So myfather started the business nineteen sixty seven,
started a small machine shop on thenorth side of Shelby, and that
(02:14):
has grown now into three different locationsand two hundred and forty employees later,
and just a great operation. Isit still in the same location in Shelby?
It is? It is actually ifyou are driving north on Route sixty
one heading towards Plymouth and heading towardsheading towards Cedar Point. I tell people
(02:36):
then that you will pass it onthe north side of Shelby and there's a
small garage on the east side ofsixty one North. When you'll see the
plan on both sides of the road, there's a small garage on the east
side, and that is actually theoriginal small facility that he started in in
the machine shop. All right,very cool again to hear the story of
a local company in the voice ofAngela Phillips this week's see EO. You
(03:00):
should know the CEO of the PhillipsTube Group, all right. So as
we talk about the company, andyou've mentioned locations, you've also talked about
employees. So one question I wantedto ask you, and I don't think
I brought it up before we started, but you know, it's been a
challenge with the pandemic and materials.Are things getting better for you guys?
(03:22):
I know I've talked to somebody inlike construction, they say things are getting
better. How is it for youguys right now? For materials it has
gotten better, there's still some challengesout there, certainly material and probably more
challenges for our customer base, butsteel is readily available. We are able
to get steel. We buy allAmerican made steel here in the United States,
(03:44):
and we are able to get plentyof steel for our customers, but
they're typically waiting on chips and othercomponents that maybe are coming in from out
of the country, typically from Chinaor other places, and that's a bigger
challenge now, Angela, as wetalk with you, you mentioned, you
know, a gas tank or ormaybe a furnace or something like that.
(04:05):
For a lot of people, maybein Shelby, North Central Ohio, driving
you know, past, maybe theydon't realize that so many of the products
you guys make or something they useon a daily basis, right, exactly,
exactly, Yeah, yeah, Imean really, when you look around,
tube is everywhere. Our good friendMicro from the Micro Foundation and Dirty
Jobs, he talks about steale tube. It's what holds the world together.
(04:28):
Actually, So there's steal tube andlots of components and it's a very large
industry, but we really focus ona more mechanical type tube that go into
other components and things like vehicles,furnaces, dishwashers, washer dryer, stovetops,
those type of products. Well,Angela, let's step away from work
(04:51):
and find out a little bit moreabout you again. This week's CEO you
should know Angela Phillips, CEO ofthe Phillips Tube Group. Let step back
to the beginning, if you wouldtell us where was Angela Phillips born?
Born in Shelby. Actually, asI mentioned, on the north side of
Shelby. I grew up next toand across the street from our manufacturing facility
(05:16):
there. So my first eighteen yearsof my life was located there on the
north side of Shelby. So highschool graduate in nineteen eighty nine, I
went on to Highram College for myundergraduate and political science and economics. I
was planning on going to law school. I had worked for my dad during
high school and taken a break aftercollege and applied for my law school entrance
(05:41):
exams. And I called him upon the phone, I think because my
card broken down. There's living inTexas at the time, and he said,
why don't you come work for mefor a couple of years first before
you go off to law school.And so that was twenty nine years ago,
and in a couple of weeks hereI'll celebrate my twenty ninth year of
being and working for the family business, and I never looked back. So
(06:04):
got my MBA and just continued tooperate in the family businesses. But yeah,
I grew up there at the plantthat had started from scratch with a
small machine shop, and grew thebusiness. Bought a TV and Tenna tower
company, which is how we actuallygot into tube. Initially, he was
buying tube from actually our competitors todayand ended up expanding beyond TV antenna towers
(06:30):
to the automotive industry. And that'sthat's when we really started manufacturing steel tube
and taking off in the steel tubeindustry. Great to hear the story this
morning. Now you mentioned MBA.Where was that from? That was from
Jack Welch Management Institute, which ispart of Strayer University. And you mentioned
Hiram collegees Am, I right,is that up in the Cleveland area.
(06:51):
It is east of Cleveland, Hudsonarea. Yeah. Great, Well,
Angela, as we talk about this, you mentioned the aspiration maybe you know,
growing up, you know, we'renot going into the family business.
You mentioned, you know, maybebe a lawyer, go to law school.
But of course here you are,you know, years later. I
want to talk about your dad,because when you say the name Ralph Phillips
(07:12):
and Shelby and all across the area, people know that name and all the
great work he has done here locally. Talk a bit about your dad.
Sure. Yeah, So he wasactually not a Shelby native. He grew
up in more north central Ohio andBellevue area, Attica area, moved there
and high school a junior in highschool, settled down in Shelby and started
(07:34):
his business there and uh, youknow, Shelby was he felt, as
a businessperson in the area and oneof the larger businesses, that it's a
responsibility to take care of your communities. And we continue to do that today
and all three locations where we arelocated. But he was extremely involved in
(07:54):
almost every organization I think that Iwas in Shelby. Someone call him the
honorary Mayor Alby. In terms ofhelping different situations that would happen. Shelby
had a lot of flooding over theyears, and he was one that kind
of rolled his sleeves up and dugin, and you know, he would
be down digging and doing whatever heneeded to do to help with equipment and
(08:16):
other things to help the community,and then just a number of different charities
and other things that he was involvedwith over the years, but just really
showed, I think what business issupposed to do when they are located in
a community, that one of thestakeholders is certainly the community that you operate
in, and making sure that thatcommunity stays healthy and is on a growth
(08:37):
path as well as as your ownbusiness. So he's laid that groundwork when
when he was running it, andI certainly carried that on when I took
over and maintained that today. Well, Angela, before I let you go,
but a great conversation, A couplemore questions, Angela Phillips this week
CEO. You should know is onthe telephone this morning, CEO of the
(09:00):
Phillips Tube Group. Now, recentlyyou've been in the news. It's been
great news. You recognize for anaward. I know you're up for a
national award. If you would fillus in about that. Sure. So,
Ernst and Young, the it's atop four accounting firm, recognizes entrepreneurs
not just locally or nationally, butactually globally throughout their network, and they
(09:24):
identify or have nominations from different entities. In my case, my banker,
a PNC Bank, nominated me forthis award, and it recognizes entrepreneurs and
the entrepreneurial spirit, how they've takenan organization either transformed it dealt with a
number of challenges, and how theywere resilient through that process, how they
(09:48):
were able to be successful when othercompanies may not have been successful. And
so they look for that in eachcompany. And so I was one of
the twenty seven finalists for the USAwards. Seven of us won and we'll
move on to the national level.And so it's been a real privilege and
real honor to be recognized on sucha large scale. I mean, I
(10:09):
you know, I have my headdad, I just do what I do.
But for other people to recognize thatthat is something different, it is
pretty special. And I saw Ithink a comment from you, we work
with Richland source dot com, butyou mentioned a lot of the credit goes
to all the hard work from yourteam, right exactly and well, and
then any entrepreneur or CEO is goingto say that, certainly, and that's
(10:33):
our case for sure, that I'monly as good as a team that I've
got around me. And my dadhad a great team when he passed unexpectedly
in two thousand and nine. Icompletely depended on the team to help me
really navigate and grow this and keepthe company intact on target. So it's
it's just a real tribute. Notso much for me, but you know,
(10:56):
I say, for our team.This is a team award and certainly
a team recognition which is getting gettinga lot of attention. Well, Angela,
you told me you've been with thecompany. I think right around twenty
nine years. How long have youbeen CEO? So when dad passed in
two thousand and nine, so nowit's fourteen years that I've been CEO.
(11:18):
Well, before I let you go, I've wanted to find out a bit
more about you. We've found out, you know, born in Shelby High
School and Shelby, then off tocollege. I don't know, married kids.
If you would tell us a bitmore about Angela Phillips and the family.
Sure, sure, yep. Marriedto actually local man from up in
the Shelby area as well. We'vebeen married for nineteen years. We have
(11:41):
two children. My daughter eighteen justgraduated from high school Sydney and she's going
off to Butler University. And thenmy son is twelve years old. He's
named after my dad, Ralph.So we live outside of Cincinnati and I've
been down here in this area forthe twenty nine years I've been involved in
(12:01):
the business. So oh yeah,it's been great. All right, Well,
terrific to hear about that. Now, how about spare time? I
know, running a company and afamily and all that's super busy. But
when you are away from work,what do you like to do? Do
you have any hobbies? I don'thave much time, oh way, but
when I do, it's usually travelingwith family and friends actually all over the
(12:22):
world. So I'd like to gosee them and reconnect with them, and
that's where I spend my time.All right. Last thing is if somebody
hears your voice and they just wantto get more information about the Phillips Tube
group, do you have a website? How can they find you? Guys?
Yeah, sure, you can checkus out at phillipstube dot com.
(12:43):
You should be able to get toknow information all about the company and what
we do, what we make,and what we're made of. So thank
you. All right, you're welcome, very very good this morning to learn
the story and all about this week'sCEO. You should know Angela Phillips,
CEO of the Phillips Tube Group.Well, Angela, it's been great to
(13:03):
learn the story. We thank youso much for joining us and we wish
you continued success. Thank you,Aaron, Thank you Angela Phillips, CEO
of the Phillips Tube Group. Thus, CEO you should know Rita Bio.
See a photo and hear the extendedinterview at WMAANFM dot com. Leading means
(13:24):
having a vision and sharing it withothers. I'm John Robi of r F
and ME Insurance. We're excited tobring you this program featuring CEOs from our
area who will share the thoughts ofwhat it means to work and live in
north central Ohio.
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