Three Pennsylvania Family Businesses Detail How Tariffs Are Affecting Them in New Webcast

Three Pennsylvania Family Businesses Detail How Tariffs Are Affecting Them in New Family Enterprise USA Webcast

Executives from Houck, Paul Zimmerman, and Sahd Metals Explain How They Are Managing in “Uncertainty”

In a new webcast from Family Enterprise USA, three Pennsylvania companies discuss how they are coping with tariffs and managing in an era of “uncertainty.”

In the webcast, available to at FEUSA.us, host Pat Soldano, President of Family Enterprise USA and Policy and Taxation Group, discusses short and long-term impacts President Trump’s tariff policies will have on the three firms: a construction company; a retailer/wholesaler; and a metal recycling company. All are based in central Pennsylvania.

The executives of these family-owned businesses are Lin Sensenig, Chief Executive Officer of Houck, a commercial contracting business, Corey Weaver, Buying Group Manager of Paul Zimmerman, Inc., a retail/wholesaler, and Dan Sahd, a third generation owner of Sahd Metal Recycling.

Managing Uncertainty

The overriding message throughout the webcast was planning and managing in a climate of “uncertainty.”

In the discussion, host Soldano asks the family business leaders how tariffs are affecting them, whether positive or negative.

Houck’s Weaver begins the discussion by stating that tariffs have “very much affected” Paul Zimmerman’s retail and wholesale business Based in Lititz, Pa., Zimmerman’s businesses serve homeowners, industrial, commercial, and agricultural customers around the world.

“Uncertainty is the theme here,” said Weaver. “Every product now has to be handled differently, and priced differently, and in many cases we’ve seen prices quadruple just this year alone,” he says. “Gone are the days of yearly price changes.”

Lin Sensenig, CEO of Houck, based in Harrisburg, Pa., with 500 employees, says his company’s main issue with tariffs is the lack of “predictability.”

Sensenig says the company has been impacted the least of the three firms in the webcast, and despite the tariffs, it has been able to “maintain margins and profits.”

Metal recycler Sahd, based in Lancaster, Pa., says the “changing news affects everything.”

Sahd’s issue with the tariffs is the random nature of the tariffs, saying that “ad hoc policies affect our business every day.”

The webcast is part of a series of webcasts and podcasts focused on the critical issues facing family-owned businesses.

Americas Largest Private Employer

According to research, America’s family-owned businesses contribute $7.7 trillion annually to the U.S. gross domestic product, accounting for 83.3 million jobs, or 59 percent of the country’s private workforce.

“Though not all family businesses are affected the same by tariffs, the uncertainty and seemingly weekly changes in the policies affect short and long-term planning,” said Soldano. “These executives hope this uncertainty fades and they can get back to logical planning for growth and success over the next year,” she said.

For more information on the webcast and Family Enterprise USA go to FEUSA.us,

Policy and Taxation Group is the Voice for Family Offices and Successful Individuals in Washington, DC focused exclusively on the critical tax and economic policies that impact them.

Since 1995, Policy and Taxation Group has been the leading advocacy group working to reduce and eliminate estate tax, gift tax, and generation skipping transfer tax while blocking increased income tax and capital gains taxes, the creation of a wealth tax, and other hostile tax policies that punish hardworking taxpayers and success.

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