L TO R: Morgan Jarrett (COO) , Carolyn Farrell (President) and Kevin Farrell (CFO) in front of a 500 ton, 22’ long press brake at their downtown plant.
When Kevin Finazzo and Ken Kuhlmann decided to sell their metal fabrication business in St. Louis, a business broker reached out to one of Kevin Farrell’s real estate partners about the value of the building on South 22nd Street.
J. Gerard Mudd, senior associate at Center Commercial Real Estate, told Farrell he might want to consider buying the business. Farrell initially decided it wasn’t something he knew how to do and walked away, but three months later he and his wife, Carolyn, revisited the issue in December 2018.
“Carolyn talked about that it might be fun to do something new,” Farrell recalled. For several years, Carolyn Farrell had supported her husband as he pursued various ventures. Those included a foray into manufacturing in 1990 when Farrell formed St. Louis Steel Products to buy the assets of Missouri Rolling Mill. A subsidiary of Tyco bought the company in 2001 and it later closed.