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Cooperation and compromiseBy Pamela Cotant
It represents one way the brothers approach the 60-year-old, third-generation business - Oasen Plumbing - differently than their father, John. "He wouldn't have liked it," Ken said about the shop at 3862 Johns St. on Madison's East Side. "He would have liked it but he would have been worried about it," Jim said, noting that his father didn't rock the boat as long as the boat was sailing smoothly. "He was from the old school. He didn't like big changes," Ken said. But while John and his two youngest boys may have differed in what risks they were willing to take, they worked well together. "He was easy to get along with. He wasn't too hard on us," Ken said. "He realized we're just learning." John Oasen was still coming into the shop until he died five years ago at age 69. "Plumbing was his life. He just loved it," said his wife, Louise, who still does the books for the family business. Arthur Oasen, who was John's father, started in the plumbing business by working for Hyland Hall of Madison, which is now H&H Group. Then in 1946, Arthur Oasen started a business out of his house with his son, Bob, who had returned from World War II. While he was at East High School, John Oasen helped out in the business. He served in the Korean War and then started his apprenticeship around 1955. In 1956, the Oasens built a shop with apartments above at East Johnson Street and North Lawn Avenue. Several years later John got his journeyman license and he and his brother Bob took over the business. At the same time, Arthur Oasen kept a hand in it until he died in 1964. John and Louise Oasen have four children - Mike, Diane, Jim and Ken - and the three boys worked for the business doing odd jobs like breaking up concrete and carrying tools. Jim graduated from East High School in 1978 and started his apprenticeship in 1979 although he was already working for his father. John Oasen needed the help because Bob was getting ready to retire. "Jim always wanted to be a plumber from the day he could talk," Louise said. The youngest, Ken Oasen, didn't take the same clear path. He graduated from East, went into the Air Force Reserve and then did carpentry before deciding that wasn't for him. He started his apprenticeship at Oasen Plumbing in 1986. The business, which had moved several times but always on the East Side, was relocated to Cottage Grove Road in 1993 where it occupied half a building. John figured the other half should be rented out. "We couldn't really change his mind on that," Ken said. Jim and Ken Oasen, who became master plumbers in 1992 and 1995 respectively, took ownership of the business in 1997 although there was no formal succession plan. Because Jim, now 46, was older, he was named president while Ken, now 43, became vice president. In reality the two are equal partners. Their brother Mike chose a different career path and is now a senior electrical designer. Their sister's son, Dan Truschinski, 29, who previously ran his own plumbing business, joined Oasen Plumbing in 2006 along with his apprentice, Joe Thies, 21. Jim and Ken Oasen, who share the same laid back personality as their dad, think they work well together because they are similar. It also helps that they each have their responsibilities - Jim handles most of the phone calls and scheduling and Ken orders materials - in addition to going on jobs. "I can't remember the last time we argued about anything," Jim said. They each have days when they work longer and weekends when they come in. It just seems to work out so neither feels like they have to work more than the other. They also share similar ambitions. While their dad, John, was content with installing water heaters under a contract with Madison Gas and Electric and going on some service calls, he didn't stand in the way when his sons wanted to get into the remodeling business by hooking up with a few builders. Now that's about half of their business. In the future, they would like to add a couple more plumbers but don't envision expanding their business much beyond that. While both Ken and Jim say they don't want to push plumbing on their kids, maybe some of the new hires will come from the family. Ken, who is married, has two boys ages 15 and 13. Jim, who is also married, has two grown stepchildren and two other boys, ages 17 and 13. The 17-year-old, Dustan, will work at the shop this summer. "If I wanted to go really big and Kenny wanted to stay small, we'd have problems," Jim said. "But we're in the same spot." Pamela Cotant is a Madison freelance writer. pcotant@mailbag.com madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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