Flashback Friday

With Bo’s birthday coming up in four days, we’d like to dedicate this Flashback Friday to him! Happy (early) Birthday to bo-mar’s President, Bo Buchanan.

Let The Good Times Roll...

This year got off to a slow start for us, but it seems that business is finally picking up! It’s always a good day when we get to the mailbox and find multiple Purchase Orders from Amtrak. We love our railroad work! As you may already know, Bo and Mark both worked for Amtrak before starting their own sheet metal fabrication shop. They have been making parts for the railroad ever since. We currently have sixty-four bunks to fabricate for Amtrak! These bunks are placed in Superliner Sleeper Cars for overnight travelers. Next time you’re traveling the country by train, there’s a good chance you’ll see our work up close!

Flashback Friday

Since last week's Flashback Friday featured Bo and Mark's dad in an early celebration of his birthday, we missed our opportunity to feature a Mother's Day photo!  This week, we figured we should go ahead an honor the boys' mother in a late Mother's Day celebration.  Better late than never, right?

Mark, Mrs. Buchanan, and Bo (circa 1966)



The boys with their mom and dad at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last summer.

Flashback Friday

Next week, Bo and Mark's dad will celebrate his 82nd birthday!! Although it's a little early, we wanted to share some pictures of Bob Sr. throughout the years. After all, there would be no bo-mar without Bob Sr. passing on his love of cars and teaching his sons the value of hard work! For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting Bo and Mark's dad in person, he is truly one-of-a-kind!

Happy Birthday, Mr. B!

Flashback Friday

It’s hard to believe that May is here already! Although you never know what Indiana weather will be like in May, one thing you can always count on is the Indy 500! This week, we have a photo of Bo and his girlfriend, Cindy, enjoying a day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Employee Spotlight: Keith

Name: Keith
Hometown: Westfield, IN
Area of specialty at bo-mar: Quality Control
Employed at bo-mar since: 3-21-05
Other job experience: Worked at Ellis Race Cars; built asphalt and dirt modifieds.

How did you find yourself joing the team at bo-mar? The company I worked for shut down, and Bob Buchanan called me over the phone.

Favorite part about working at bo-mar?  Flexible with work and family life (racing).


Interests/hobbies outside of bo-mar: drag racing, family, friends

Favorite movie:  Hoosiers

Favorite quote: "Live your life a 1/4 mile at a time."

Favorite car: 1972 Buick GS Stage 1

Favorite team: Colts

Flashback Friday

With the Pacers headed to the Playoffs tomorrow night, we thought this was a great time to post some old Pacer-related photos!

Here is a picture of Kelly & her friend Melinda posing with Boomer a couple years back.

Kelly with former Indiana Pacer Derrick McKey.  Circa 2006.

Beech Grove Police Department

Last summer, bo-mar designed, fabricated, and donated a mobile combat training door for the Beech Grove SWAT team.   We have since established a relationship with the Beech Grove Police Department.  Last week, we were given another opportunity to work with the officers when they asked us to design and fabricate a custom K-9 kennel for their department.  We have three weeks to fabricate a kennel with rear window guards and custom drawers for storing multiple firearms.  The kennel will fit inside the back of a GMC Yukon.  We'll try to post pictures as the project progresses!  

Flashback Friday

With the Space Shuttle Discovery retiring to the Smithsonian Institute's National Space and Air Museum this week, we thought it was fitting to post this picture of Bo & Mark at Cape Canaveral.  The Buchanan brothers visited the Kennedy Space Center with their parents in the late 1960s. 

Project Update

This week, we had another project for Harry Connick, Jr.  For those of you who missed the post last month, bo-mar fabricated custom piano legs for Harry Connick's role in an episode of NBC's Law and Order: SVU.  We recently received another assignment for the musician/actor.  Now, we are fabricating custom carts for his upcoming tour!  In addition to the carts, bo-mar is also customizing a flat screen mount for Harry Connick's piano case. The projects will be completed by the end of the week.     

Flashback Friday

Bo & Mark's great-grandpa Spencer.



Flashback Friday

Yesterday bo-mar's Vice President Mark and his wife Jill celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary!  We thought we'd use this opportunity to post some wedding pictures from 1980. :-)  Enjoy!!

Can you believe these two have made it through 32 years of marriage and 20 years of working at bo-mar together?! Congratulations to them!

Flashback Friday

A couple weeks ago, our Administrative Assistant, Nicole, brought in some old pictures of her grandpa and his race cars.  We thought we'd be unbiased this week and feature some pictures of a Chevy instead of a Ford (Don't tell Mark!)  Here is Nicole's grandpa and his '57 Chevy Bel-Air back in the late '50s:

Owner Spotlight: Bo

Name: Bo

Hometown: Biloxi, MS/Indianapolis, IN

Area of Specialty: President

Other job experience: Amtrak engineer

How did you find yourself starting bo-mar? [There was an] opportunity to follow a project that left Amtrak and went to Hornell, New York

Favorite part about owning bo-mar: Making really cool stuff

Any funny memories/stories about bo-mar? We almost threw in the towel in the summer of 1995.  [We] had a "bad project" that was taking all the fun out of life.  Mark and I sat in the middle of the shop at 3 AM and debated about leaving and not coming back.  We obviously changed our minds.  The project was finally completed.

Interests/hobbies outside of bo-mar: church, racquetball, skiing, car racing

Favorite song: Roxanne by The Police

Favorite quote: "It's not what happens in our life that defines us, rather it is how we respond to what happens in our life that really defines who we are."

Favorite car: 1970 Boss 302

Favorite sports team: Indiana Pacers

Anything else you want people to know? I'm a big family man!

Flashback Friday

In honor of the first race of the IndyCar Series coming up this weekend, we have a picture of Bo, Mark, their friend Dave, and Mark & Dave's oldest daughters.  In 1983, Bo, Mark, and Dave went in together to purchase this IndyCar.  The guys had no plans to race the car, but they all thought it would be a neat vehicle to own.  Eventually, they went ahead and sold it.

   

Kitchen for Railplan

Last week, we sent out a project for our customer, Railplan.  bo-mar fabricated a prototype kitchen for the newly remodeled 8400 Viewliner dining car. The car has been in service since 2011 and has been met with great reviews from Amtrak and their patrons. We are now building 25 additional car sets for the next generation of the Viewliner Fleet!

Flashback Friday

We got ourselves a new scanner this week, so we have lots of fun pictures for the upcoming Flashback Fridays! This week, with the weather so nice, and the thought of spring just around the corner, we thought we'd share this picture of Bo and Mark feeding a flock of ducks.  Of course, we don't condone going around feeding wild animals (especially feeding them people food!), but the picture was too cute to pass up. :-)

Flashback Friday

While our pictures this week aren't very old, they are technically still a 'flashback.'  This time last year, Mark was down in Gainesville, Florida for the NHRA Gator Nationals.  Last year was important because Clayton Harris, the crew chief Mark worked under during the late '90s, was honored with an induction into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.  Sadly, Clayton passed away in a plane crash back in 2000, but his wife was there to receive the award for him.  Mark's wife, Jill, and their daughter Kelly were also down in Florida for the ceremony, along with a few other crew members from the old team.  During Mark's years with the race crew, Clayton became like family.  It was a great little reunion after many years apart. 

A couple days after the induction ceremony, Mark, Kelly, and some of the guys headed down to Ocala, Florida to go through Don Garlits' Museum of Drag Racing, where Mark worked in late 1986/early 1987.  Here are a few pictures from their trip to the museum:

Part of the old crew, plus Clayton's son Rex and a friend.



  

The guys outside of Don Garlits' museum- March 12, 2011

Recent Projects

In the past couple of weeks, we've completed two projects for some guys you may have heard of: Singer-songwriter/Actor Harry Connick Jr. and 2009 NHRA Top Fuel Funny Car World Champion Robert Hight!

This season, Harry Connick Jr. has guest-starred on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.  In an upcoming episode, Harry Connick will play his piano in the streets of New York City.  First, he needed a special piano stand built.  bo-mar recently had the privilege of working with  Jonas Productions to fabricate piano legs for the television appearance. 

bo-mar has also had the honor of manufacturing parts for NHRA drag racer Robert Hight.  Robert called Mark last month about a project for his funny car.  We sent the final product to John Force Racing last week, and everyone at their shop seemed very happy with the results!  Robert just complimented Mark on the parts today!  We hope they bring the team luck in Gainesville this weekend.  :-)

Flashback Friday

About six and a half years ago, the Indianapolis Business Journal featured an article on bo-mar.  The author was certainly correct when she mentioned "only growth on the horizon."  We are very blessed that we're continuing to succeed 20 years after starting the business.   Since the article was written, we're up from 32 employees to 43!  Some years have been slower than others, but 2010 and 2011 were two of our best years. Hopefully 2012 will follow in 2011's footsteps.    

Employee Spotlight: Luci

We asked our employees to fill out a fun (optional) survey for the blog.  We're still waiting to hear back from more of them, but we thought we'd start posting the few we have now.  Enjoy our first Employee Profile!

Name: Luci

Hometown: Valparaiso, IN

Area of Specialty at bo-mar: Purchasing/New Order Entry

Employed at bo-mar since: 10/24/2005

Other Job Experience: Worked in the Medical Industry & Building Material Industry

Favorite part about working at bo-mar: Great people to work with

Any funny memories/stories about bo-mar?  When Maggie burned the popcorn in the microwave & Adam ran through the shop with the microwave pouring out black smoke.  The office stunk for days!

Interest/Hobbies outside of bo-mar: Reading -- Historical Fiction & Biographies

Favorite music: 1970's Rock

Favorite car: Jeep

Favorite Athlete: Walter Payton (Chicago Bears)

Flashback Friday

bo-mar's President, Bo, just had shoulder surgery this week.  We know he'd rather be skiing or playing racquetball, so we thought it'd be a good time to show a picture of him in Colorado doing what he loves. 

Here are a couple of photos of Bo in Colorado with his best friend, Doug.

We're sure he'll be right back out there as soon as his shoulder lets him go!

Flashback Friday

Sticking to the car theme, here's an old picture of Bobby and Mark playing with their race car track in their parents' family room (circa 1964).  Their love for cars has only grown since then, and they're still just as competitive! On a side note, how cool are those lamps in the background?!

Let the 2012 Racing Season Begin!

Last weekend marked the beginning of NHRA's new season of drag racing, and three of us were there for all the action!  bo-mar's Vice President Mark, his daughter Kelly, and laser operator David all made the trip to Pomona, California last week for the Winternationals.  This is a trip that Mark and David have made for many years and a trip that Kelly certainly loved as well.

Here's a little break down of their trip:

After their plane arrived in Southern California on Thursday, Mark, David, and Kelly drove over to Carroll Shelby Engine Company to pick up a couple of car parts.  While they were in the shop, they were given a tour of Carroll Shelby's impressive personal car collection.  Later, they headed over to Capitol Records to watch Sir Paul McCartney receive his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!  With so many McCartney fans around, Kelly and David were able to get fairly close but had trouble seeing Paul over the huge crowd. 

Friday afternoon, Mark, David, and Kelly went out to the race track for round two of qualifying.  The weather was beautiful and the qualifying session wasn't too bad either!  Saturday, the weather completely changed.  The sun was hidden behind clouds all day, and the temperature had dropped quite a bit.  This was good news for the cars trying to qualify because the weather helped them get down the track even quicker!  However, it started to rain (pour, rather) by the afternoon, and the final round of qualifying had to be cancelled.  Mark, David, and Kelly waited out the worse of the rain underneath the Morgan Lucas hospitality tent.  Afterwards, they headed over to 'Big Daddy' Don Garlits' 80th birthday Rat Roast!  This was a special fundraiser presented by The Quarter Mile Foundation.  It consisted of seven "Roasters" from the racing world, including Tommy "TV" Ivo and Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, telling old stories about Garlits.  It was a nice evening, and Mark even had a chat with his former employer ("Big Daddy") at the end of the night. 

Sunday was, of course, race day--the first race of the season!  It was an exciting day of close racing, and we're looking forward to seeing how the rest of the year turns out.

Monday morning, Mark woke up to a call from 2009 Funny Car World Champion Robert Hight! Robert wanted bo-mar to make a part for his funny car and called to see if Mark would be up for fabricating it before their next drag race.  Of course, Mark agreed to the job offer.  A little later, before heading back to the airport to come home, Mark, David, and Kelly decided to stop over at John Force Racing's shop in Yorba Linda.  When they got there, the sign said the shop/museum was closed on Mondays.  Mark called Robert Hight to see if he was around.  Not only was Robert there, but he came outside to open the gates for Mark.  He then proceeded to give Mark, David, and Kelly a personal tour of the facility!  Not a bad way to spend your last day in California, getting a personal tour from a World Champion.  :-)

Even when Mark is away from bo-mar, he continues to talk fabrication and cars!  He spends much of his time at the race track walking around in the pits to chat with his customers on the different race teams.  He's always asking questions about car parts and continually gets new fabrication jobs for the business.  While the motorsports sector is a small portion of our business, it's a fraction that everyone here enjoys.

Flashback Friday

In honor of the new NHRA racing season starting this weekend, here's a picture of Mark and his daughter in the Buchanan Brothers dragster (circa 1989).  It's no wonder she loves drag racing so much!

Superbowl XLVI

Who would have ever thought Indianapolis would host a Superbowl?! This is by no means a diss on our city, but spending a week, or even just a weekend, of February in Indiana couldn't sound very appealing to the rest of the country.  Luckily, we showed America just how capable we are of hosting the biggest sporting event of the year!  We could not have asked for better February weather, and overall Indianapolis did a wonderful job promoting itself.  It was an honor to see so many people speak so highly of the city.  (Did you all catch the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon episodes that were filmed downtown at the Hilbert Circle Theatre? They were great!)

While Indianapolis was awarded the privilege of hosting Superbowl XLVI, bo-mar's Vice President, Mark Buchanan, had the pleasure of being invited to Forrest & Charlotte Lucas' Estate for game night!  Because of the work bo-mar does for Morgan Lucas Racing, one of Lucas' crew members added Mark to the Superbowl Party invitation list.  Mark took his wife, Jill, and daughter, Kelly, to the estate on Superbowl Sunday.  The place was beautiful, and it was an honor for them to have been invited!

Flashback Friday

In honor of Superbowl XLVI being in Indianapolis this weekend, we wanted to post some football pictures!  Unfortunately, we only have one for now.  Here is a picture of a much younger Mark with his football team.  Can you spot him?

Mark: bottom row, third from the left.

Enjoy the big game on Sunday!!

Bo's Trip to England

Last month, Bo spent about five days over in England to promote bo-mar's business within the motorsports sector.  We asked him for a summary of his trip.  He gave us a day-by-day recount of his time there.  Enjoy!


Day 1: We had a five hour layover in Newark, New Jersey.  Scott Stranko (Bishop Steering), Rollie Helmling (Indiana Economic Development Corporation), and I took the subway to visit Ground Zero.  It was a very emotional visit!

Day 2: We arrived in Birmingham, England and met our tour guide, John Kirkpatrick.  John is a Scottsman with an incredible history in motor racing.  When John was young, he was friends with Jimmy Clark, a two time Formula One World Champion.  (Jimmy won the Indianapolis 500 in 1965.)  John also owned a race car driving school, where he taught the likes of Dan Wheldon, Dario Franchitti, and Jacques Villeneuve to drive open-wheeled cars.  John escorted us to the Lola Factory for a wonderful field trip.  We saw the entire race shop, including the wind tunnel.  The three of us had our picture taken in front of the winning 1966 IndyCar built by Lola and driven by Graham Hill!  We then visited RML Racing.  RML builds complete Road Rally cars and supports other forms of Road Racing cars. The tour ended at about 2100 (9PM).  We were exhausted from the jet lag, plus the lack of any real sleep.

Day 3: I took the high speed rail to London and spent all day sightseeing.  I visited some attractions by foot and took a 2 1/2 hour sightseeing boat down the River Thames. Day 3 ended with a return train ride back to Birmingham at 2200 (10 PM).

Day 4: In the morning, I visited a potential lighting customer.  After that, I headed to the Motorsport International Association (MIA) tradeshow.  MIA had arranged (5) one hour sessions with potential customers.  Scott, Rollie, and I were all treated like royalty by MIA during the entire show!

Day 5: I visited MIA as a total spectator.  I saw more F1 cars, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis than ever before.  It was a wonderful display of European racing cars.  I ended up staying at the show all day!

Day 6: We traveled back to Indianapolis and arrived back at 5:30 PM.  We were very tired but had a wonderful trip!


To see pictures from Bo's trip to England, visit our facebook page at www.facebook.com/bomarind .

Flashback Friday

A few years back, Mark received a call from a long-time friend and former co-worker at Freightliner.  His friend, Stacy, had a job proposition for Mark.  Stacy's wife was a volunteer at the Indianapolis Zoo, and the zoo staff was looking for a way to accurately weigh their rhinos.  Together, Mark and Stacy developed a platform that could be set on scales for the rhinos to walk right up to.  The two spent months planning and fabricating the platform, which they eventually donated to the Indianapolis Zoo.  The "Plains Biome" staff can now weigh the three white rhinos with ease!  As a special treat after installation of the platform, Mark and his family got a behind-the-scenes tour of the rhino and lion exhibits.