Old Member, Old Taco, New Vision! (Essay Post Beware)

Hey everyone,

Full disclosure time! I used to be a member here years ago - some of you may remember me as StealthTaco that made simple mesh grilles under ECG Fabrication. I realize mentioning this is probably a bad idea, and even years later, I'd like to clear the air. I could skip this and take the risk of that connection never being made, but I'd much rather take a moment to offer an honest explanation.

When I started that company I was still in school - a couple hours from my hometown. I started making mesh grilles with hand tools in my apartment (holy elbow grease), and moved up to a small garage in the house I was renting the next year. After a while, looking to better balance the new growth, I hired on my friend from home that was looking for some side work.

Let me stop here by saying this is where I screwed up, in the long term at least. Being young and inexperienced in the business world I had NO idea what I was getting myself into. I'll save turning this into an even longer essay post by saying hiring my friend simply didn't work out after a while (constantly missing order dates, shoddy work, failure of some parts). Pile that on with being a student hours away (with a lot of involvement in school groups) and trying to manage the company it gradually dwindled into a hole I couldn't climb out of.

I tried to bear with him until I was out of school - that was a mistake. Build quality was getting worse and eventually I told him that working with me couldn't continue. You can say I expanded too fast, expected too much, and made some poor decisions - but at the end of the day, regardless of any excuses, its on me and I'm owning up to it. Over time I paid restitution to those that either had product issues or didn't receive them at all (hopefully everyone, if you never heard from me please message me and let me know - we'll work to get things straightened out.

Now, I'm currently under Cutting Edge Offroad, and have completely overhauled how I do business - its just me! I spent years investing knowledge into trades such as powder coating, welding, CNC laser cutting, automotive painting, and more. Everything is done in house and backed by a lifetime warranty. But I'll save the sales pitch for a different time.

Just really wanted to make that post, for better or worse, and hopefully clear up any other longstanding issues. I strive to meet high quality expectations with a quick turnaround, and am very OCD about my work. I can understand if this post brings some negativity from the past, if so then it's deserved and I'm prepared.

On a lighter note, the fam still has a old 1999 Tacoma with ~300k miles on it, converted to a farm truck. Will post some pics of that soon! Even mounted a diesel container in the back for the tractors.

 

I can always appreciate someone who is willing to own up to their sh*t & not hide it or make excuses. And I respect that. I didn't ever deal with you or your past company, but I do wish you luck in the future of your current venture.

Welcome back to Tacomaworld!

 

Best of luck!

 

Welcome!

 

You don't owe me any money, so Welcome!