Creative Automation looks back
Abby firm celebrates 50 year mark
Tom Streckert has always had two great passions in life — machinery and aviation. Machinery came naturally enough, with Tom’s parents owning a door manufacturing company in Abbotsford. The second passion led Tom back to the first.
“I grew up in a family business in Abbotsford, which was Streckert Manufacturing,” Tom explains. “So I grew up in that environment, but I also had an interest in flying because my dad flew.”
Tom took flying lessons at an early age, and by the time he was 16, he took his first solo flight. At 17, he had a private license, and by 18, a commercial license.
The passion for flight continued after high school, with Tom going directly into A and P school. He later went into the family door business, but the allure of flight was too much, and Tom flew for a commuter airline for two years.
But it was while working for the family business that Tom developed a new passion, a desire to run his own business.
“I knew there was some automation that really needed to be designed for the wood industry. I guess I was kinda lazy, and after doing manual labor, I knew there were machines that could do the same thing, and I could just watch them run,” he said.
Tom then made a fateful decision. He went into the business of building machinery, combining his passion for manufacturing innovation with his experience in wood processing to found Creative Automation in 1971.
Before he could do this, Tom had to part ways with his beloved private aircraft, for which he received $4,500. Tom put around half of that into his business venture.
As one dream was grounded, another dream took flight, and for the past 50 years, Creative Automation has been one of the finest and best producers of automated woodworking equipment in the United States, working with producers in the housing, countertop, door, furniture, cabinet and lumber industries.
“Right now we compete with the world’s best, and we’re OK with that,” Tom says with quiet pride. “We compete with them all the time, and we’re happy to do that.”
Like many successful companies, Creative Automation has humble origins, starting in a single-car garage in 1971, right across from St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Abbotsford. At that time not even Tom’s wife, Sondra, was working for Creative Automation.
Tom was the business owner, designer and sole employee, and he worked long hours designing, creating and implementing his machines.
“I did everything at first, and then gradually as we grew, I hired people to help,” Tom said.
That number has grown to over 40, with many employees remaining with the Streckerts for decades. Even with that growth, Creative Automation has remained in Abbotsford.
“We’re in Abbotsford because that’s where I grew up,” Tom says by way of simple explanation. “That’s the only reason.”
In many ways, the story of Creative Automation isn’t just the proud legacy of the Streckert family, it also belongs to the city of Abbotsford. That culture of hard work, excellent customer service and quality products has been adopted by Creative Automation’s employees down through the decades.
“We’re very careful to hire people that have a vested interest in the area,” Tom says. “Once you have someone here, and they’re doing a good job, we hope they stay.”
Tom’s small business soon expanded to a two-and-a-half car garage. In 1974, Creative Automation moved to its current location at 102 W. Linden in Abbotsford, though the original structure has certainly seen its fair share of changes, with six additions built on over the course of the last 40-plus years.
“We’ve adapted and upgraded our skills as the need has arisen,” Tom says. “The electrical controls and programming have evolved tremendously. Our customers are demanding more complicated equipment.”
The Streckerts and their employees remain up to the task, and even at 79, Tom continues to sell and design machinery and train new engineers.
“I’m pretty sure Creative Automation has never had a better engineer than Tom,” Sondra adds.
Sondra helped establish the front office — the administration and behind-thescenes work that makes a business flow smoothly.
“I was the first secretary that the company had because Tom needed help,” Sondra said, describing how she got involved in the family business. “I started out twice a week for two hours at a time. I did it because I needed to share some kind of interest with my husband. . .if you can’t beat them, join them.”
As the business grew, additional secretarial help was hired, with Sondra retaining oversight of financial matters and employee benefits.
“I think she underestimates what she did,” Tom interjects. “We were growing, so there was continually more to do, and she took care of all that. That allowed me to do what I needed to do. She’s been extremely important.”
For any business to enjoy great longevity, it also requires great commitment on the part of the people involved with the business, and that includes the employees, and Tom’s own family.
Tom’s son, Mark, his grandson, Tyler, and daughter-in-law, Cindy, are all a part of Creative Automation, and the values of hard work, customer service and innovation have all filtered down to them. Not that Tom ever pushed them to follow in his footsteps.
Mark, co-owner and full partner since 2012, says working in manufacturing came naturally to him while watching his father working and designing new and better machines.
“I grew up with this business, you know?” Mark says. “Dad started the business when I was four, so I was always being exposed to this. I saw what it took to run a business, dad’s ideals, and what he valued, and the technology involved.”
Mark spent summers and after school hours working at Creative Automation. Even though he saw what his father did almost daily, Mark says he wasn’t sure if he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps when he graduated from school.
“My dad and I thought it would be important to get some experience somewhere else, and see what the rest of the world was like,” he said.
Mark spent two and a half years working at Oscar Mayer Foods in various locations and roles, and that experience proved invaluable. It allowed him to hone in on what he was truly passionate about. It turned out the apple did not fall far from the tree.
“It showed me what it was like to work at a big company, and it gave me a better appreciation of working for a small business, and the advantages of that. I realized that building and designing automation is what really appealed to me.”
In 1993, Mark joined the engineering department at Creative Automation, specializing in electrical engineering and programming. His responsibilities soon expanded into administrative duties. In 2004, he was promoted to vice president of the corporation. Today, as co-owner, Mark is responsible for engineering, sales, recruiting, project management, and oversight of all departments Cindy joined the company in 2013 as executive secretary, taking over Sondra’s duties upon her semi-retirement. Cindy has supervised implementation of techonology upgrades in the office, and in recognition of her contributions, was promoted to vice president in 2019.
“I’m always really pleased to hear how much people appreciate the family values of the company,” Cindy says.
The Streckerts also believe in providing for their employees, offering competitive pay and excellent benefits.
“If you’re going to give your life to something, you should come away with something to show for it,” Cindy says. “We want the culture here to be one where you’re glad you came to work today and you feel respected and valued and a part of something that matters.”
Like his father, Tyler also worked at Creative Automation in his teens, and grew up hearing about what was being built and how the business was run. He witnessed the values that have made the business successful for so long.
And, like his father, Tyler felt the need to explore the world beyond central Wisconsin. He went to school in Chicago, and earned a master’s degree from Wheaton College. However, Tyler returned to his roots and Creative Automation in 2017.
“When I started, I was doing a number of tasks, largely just the things that needed to be done,” Tyler says.
That included painting the parts and machines, much as his grandfather had done in the early years of Creative Automation. Tyler found he enjoyed the day-to-day operations, and doing a bit of everything allowed him to know the employees and see each part of the process of creating a machine.
“If you were doing the same thing over and over again you’d get bored with it, but when each project is like a mini adventure, it really keeps you engaged,” he said. “We believe having those challenges is part of what makes us a great company.”
But no story of Creative Automation is complete without its employees, many of whom have been with the business for decades, with the average tenure being nearly 15 years.
All three generations of the Streckert Family agree that while the products and technology will change, certain things will always be associated with Creative Automation.
“We don’t give up,” Mark says. “That’s the culture here; we always find a way to deliver on our promises. The things that are going to stay the same are our culture, the customer service, the ideas, things like that.”
That is the legacy the Streckert family and their employees will always keep. It’s why Creative Automation has been so successful these last 50 years.
While innovation and technology have changed much of the world, some things will always stay the same.
“We don’t just sell machinery, we sell ideas,” Tom says with conviction.
“Creative Automation is a small business, doing business in a big way,” Sondra says. “It’s something for people to be proud of and something that will remain.”
A FAMILY TRADITION -For three generations, the Streckert family has been with Creative Automation. From left to right, Mark and his wife, Cindy, Sondra, Tom, their daughter Christina and grandson Tyler have helped the company stay current with cutting edge technology, while maintaining the culture established by Tom 50 years ago.
HUMBLE ORIGINS -Creative Automation began in a family garage, above, in 1971. Tom Streckert began the business, recognizing a need for more automated equipment in the woodworking field. The business remains in Abbots-ford, but has expanded to include over 40 employees.
