Client Feature: Long-term growth from a long-term partnership
Tobar, Inc. enjoys the benefits of a large institution with the personal relationship of a hometown bank
As co-founders of a family-owned business, Tom and Barbara Schoellkopf understand the importance of delivering on quality and maintaining a client’s confidence. When a bank acquisition made them unexpected First Financial Bank clients, they found that the transition not only increased the assets and services available, but it also maintained and even enhanced the experience. The long-term partnership has proven fruitful, with steady growth in a complex niche business.
The Problem
In 1987, Tom had been working in the sealing products industry for the last 20 years. As the industry began to globalize, he saw the opportunity to step up as a premium value-added seal supplier. Barbara, though enjoying a successful law career, found it impossible to resist the challenge of embarking on a new endeavor with Tom. The Schoellkopfs founded Tobar, Inc. to bring better technology and quality to the seals used in products like automobiles and recreational vehicles. Tobar developed an OEM in-house quality control system, a seal development laboratory, and a JIT inventory control system to meet the needs of their customers.
In the beginning, the Schoellkopfs selected the local bank that their family had used for years. Their banker listened closely to their goals and found the best lending and savings solutions to meet those goals. About twenty years into the business, though, the bank was acquired by First Financial Bank. Would the new management understand the complex business and its reliance on large advance payments for inventory?
Banking with First Financial
“Of course we didn’t have to be a legacy account,” remembers Tom. “We could have left after the acquisition.”
Changing banks can feel like quite the ordeal, however, and the Schoellkopfs quickly recognized that First Financial was more than capable of meeting their business needs.
Tom describes the improvements, saying, “We’ve been able to keep the small bank feeling with a large bank, embracing assets and areas to move into that the smaller bank may not have been able to move into.”
The Schoellkopfs appreciate the dynamic of their First Financial team, who took the time to understand what Tobar does as a business and how the business runs. Tom describes them as an asset to their growth — and Tobar saw marked growth every single year until the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Even then, the First Financial team was there, accommodating and making sure the Schoellkopfs had what they needed.
The financial support extends beyond the business. The Schoellkopfs have turned to First Financial Bank and its family of companies for personal banking, working with advisors who create plans to help secure their future and their legacy. Barbara and Tom agree that for any banking needs, they turn to First Financial Bank, well, first.
Tobar has a reputation as a company of commitment: to quality, to on-time deliveries, and to its people. Barbara is proud of the fact that the average tenure of their employees is approximately twenty years. She sees similar commitments in First Financial and thinks that’s what has made and will continue to make their partnership so successful.
“It’s a long-term relationship with the bank, and a long-term relationship with the people who work with us,” says Barbara. “I don’t think that’s true of all businesses today, but it’s true of us, our employees, and our bank. That’s why we’re happy with First Financial — they match that goal.”