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Forging Ahead: How Five Generations of Small-Town Values Collided with Big Ambitions to Spark One of America's Fastest-Growing Companies
"A delightfully written book about the little business that could." -Julia Scheeres, New York Times bestselling author of Jesus Land
Matthew Nix, age twenty, yearns to grow Nix Welding, even though his grandfather, father, and aunt are content with the way things are. Small. Status quo. Good enough.
In 1902 in tiny Poseyville, Indiana, Matthew's great-great-grandfather opened the blacksmith shop that became Nix Welding. He thwacked a cross peen hammer onto white-hot iron to shape it into submission on an anvil. Nearly 100 years later, despite family pushback, Matthew looks beyond the cornfields that his family thinks confine Nix Welding. He works his own kind of forge, to bend, mold, and expand the business, often finding himself in his own self-stoked fire as a trial-by-error entrepreneur.
Forging Ahead reveals how Matthew, now CEO, and the team he methodically curated leaned on small-town values and faith to transform humble Nix Welding into Nix Industrial, a revered custom manufacturing and industrial repair powerhouse. Today Nix Industrial is one of the fastest growing companies in America.
Author Angie Klink paints a vivid portrait of a business saga from America's heartland. Forging Ahead is a family tale, a coming-of-age story, a business handbook, and a letter to future generations.
Matthew Nix, age twenty, yearns to grow Nix Welding, even though his grandfather, father, and aunt are content with the way things are. Small. Status quo. Good enough.
In 1902 in tiny Poseyville, Indiana, Matthew's great-great-grandfather opened the blacksmith shop that became Nix Welding. He thwacked a cross peen hammer onto white-hot iron to shape it into submission on an anvil. Nearly 100 years later, despite family pushback, Matthew looks beyond the cornfields that his family thinks confine Nix Welding. He works his own kind of forge, to bend, mold, and expand the business, often finding himself in his own self-stoked fire as a trial-by-error entrepreneur.
Forging Ahead reveals how Matthew, now CEO, and the team he methodically curated leaned on small-town values and faith to transform humble Nix Welding into Nix Industrial, a revered custom manufacturing and industrial repair powerhouse. Today Nix Industrial is one of the fastest growing companies in America.
Author Angie Klink paints a vivid portrait of a business saga from America's heartland. Forging Ahead is a family tale, a coming-of-age story, a business handbook, and a letter to future generations.
286 pages, Hardcover
Published December 3, 2024
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About the author
Angie Klink
18 books8 followersAngie Klink writes from the sleeping porch turned office of her circa 1900 home in Lafayette, Indiana. As she looks out onto the heart of the city’s downtown along the Wabash River with the Tippecanoe County Courthouse dome a beacon on the horizon, she writes about lives worth emulating. Her most recent book is "The Deans' Bible: Five Purdue Women and Their Quest for Equality" published by Purdue University Press, March 2014. She also authored "Kirby’s Way, How Kirby and Caroline Risk Built their Company on Kitchen-Table Values," published by Purdue University Press, July 2012,
Angie is honored to bring to life two pioneering Purdue educators who improved the lives of American women in her book "Divided Paths, Common Ground." She authored the popular children’s books "Purdue Pete Finds His Hammer" and "I Found U." Angie is published in "Republican’s Soul," "The Gift of Christmas," "Chicken Soup for the Sisters Soul 2" and "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just for Preteens."
Angie writes advertising copy, essays and profiles. She has won 52 American Advertising Federation ADDY Awards and an honorable mention in the 2007 Erma Bombeck Essay Contest. She has a BA from the Brian Lamb School of Communication, Purdue University.
Angie is honored to bring to life two pioneering Purdue educators who improved the lives of American women in her book "Divided Paths, Common Ground." She authored the popular children’s books "Purdue Pete Finds His Hammer" and "I Found U." Angie is published in "Republican’s Soul," "The Gift of Christmas," "Chicken Soup for the Sisters Soul 2" and "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just for Preteens."
Angie writes advertising copy, essays and profiles. She has won 52 American Advertising Federation ADDY Awards and an honorable mention in the 2007 Erma Bombeck Essay Contest. She has a BA from the Brian Lamb School of Communication, Purdue University.
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July 17, 2025
A beautifully written story that honors the legacy of a family business, grounded in faith, grit, and a deeply respected work culture. The dedication and hard work behind it all shine through on every page, offering a heartfelt tribute to perseverance and purpose.
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