When Webco Industries was struggling in the early 1980s, owner F. William (Bill) Weber met with an under-performing engineer he planned to terminate.

During the one-on-one, however, he learned that the employee’s wife had been diagnosed with a brain stem tumor and needed life-saving treatment.

So, instead of firing the engineer, Weber gave him six months of paid leave.

“He looked at me and said, ‘I can’t destroy that man’s life,’” Webco Industries CEO Dana Weber remembers her father saying. “‘If this is the difference between success and failure, then we don’t deserve to succeed.’”

That was one of the many anecdotes Dana Weber, a member of the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s executive committee, shared about the company’s patriarch at an OK Ethics luncheon Feb. 29 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tulsa Downtown.

She talked about the Sand Springs-based manufacturing firm’s more than 50-year run and the lessons learned from her father. Bill Weber, who founded the company in 1969, died in 2018 at age 92.

“He always developed people, promoted from within and rewarded our employees by sharing our successes,” Dana said of her father.

Dana Weber started working at Webco, which makes specialty steel tubing, in 1971, beginning her full-time career years later. She became CEO in 2011.

Reared during the Great Depression, Bill Weber learned early on the value of hard work. Formerly employed by U.S. Steel, he started Southwest Tube (now Webco) with the help of a small group of investors.

Eleven years later, he owned the company outright, quickly confronting the challenges involved with ownership.

To keep operations going during the turbulent 1980s, Bill Weber on several occasions had to cut the pay of workers, including those in leadership positions by as much as 30%, Dana said

“My father was determined to win, no matter what,” she said. “We did whatever it took to survive…

“It’s really rare for an entrepreneur to be able to transition from entrepreneurship to leadership. That means trusting others, developing others and then letting go. He mastered those skills over the years. He taught us. He mentored us. Then, he let us take the reins. And he taught us to do the same with those who follow us.”

Webco has built its “forever culture” with brand traits that include strength, agility and innovation, Dana said.

“We teach our people that we always have many options out in front of us,” she said. “The question for the company, the division, the department or individual is, ‘What is the next right thing?’ Sometimes, it’s a small choice. Sometimes, it’s a big choice. And sometimes, it’s a bold choice.”

One of those bold choices for Webco was building the F.W. Weber Leadership Campus, which is scheduled to open in May in Sand Springs. The more than 72,000-square-foot building will house Webco’s corporate leadership team, Webco University and the Webco Tech Center.

“As we look to the future, we must stay true to who we are, our guiding principles,” Dana Weber said. “Choose purposeful actions at every area of Webco and make all decisions with the future in mind.”