{An Interview With CEO of Eli Bridge Company}

Patty Sullivan, President and CEO of Eli Bridge Company, directs one of the leading carnival ride construction companies. It was her great grandfather who pioneered the portable Ferris wheel. She explains not only the technical side of her businessbut also the touch, human story behind her company's success.

What are the steps that Eli Bridge Company takes to create a new ride?

• First, you develop an idea about a new ride and rough out a basic concept of what the ride will do and how it will look.
• Second is the "market testing phase" when you talk to customers and people in your factory about whether they think it will make money and whether it is practical to build. Will people be willing to buy it for what you need to charge to cover the costs and make a reasonable profit? The cost of building a Wheel is always supposed to be less than the selling price. However, sometimes the first model or two (hopefully no more!) of a new type or size cost more, considering all the research and development that goes into redesigning and rebuilding when something does not work like you anticipated.
• Third is the design phase when the basic structural calculations are done to be sure the trailer or base is going to be strong enough. Then you begin generating drawings of all the parts to put the ride together.
• Fourth, you start scheduling and making work orders for all the prints so the shop personnel know what needs to be built and in what order.
• Fifth, you fabricate each of the parts and put them together in weldments (where the individual parts are welded together).
• Sixth, you begin assembling all the remaining parts and weldments into the ride.
• Seventh, the crew does starts wiring all the electrical components so the ride will run properly and the lights will all work.
• Eighth, you test the ride to see if it runs the way we expected: that it will hold the weight of the passengers, that the seats are designed and built properly to keep the passengers in their seats, that the seats stay on the ride, and that the ride will still run safely when you try to run it the wrong way. This part is important, because people can make mistakes and rides need to have features built in that do not allow the ride to malfunction in a way that could hurt passengers even when mistakes are made.

What ride makes you most proud?
The ride design of which I am most proud is the Construction Zone, our new kiddie/family ride with dump trucks that actually have a dumping motion as they bump around as if they were on a construction site because it was my idea and I helped design it. It is extremely satisfying to see your own idea go from you head to your team's head for improvement to paper to cutting steel all the way to providing a finished ride that your customers like and buy!

My Dad, Lee, is probably the most proud of the Scrambler and trailer mounted Wheels that he helped design. My Great-grandfather was probably the most proud of his ground model Wheels. I like to think that my Grandpa, who was the best businessman of all, (he brought Eli through the Depression) looks down and is proud that the name of Eli Bridge Company is still among the most respected in the industry and the company is in business.

Yes, there is a great deal of competition in the ride business and it is really tough. But also, in the last ten years, the manufacturers have become very cooperative in terms of working together very hard to improve safety in the industry.

As a leader in the industry, can you tell us what has touched you most?
The founders of the company were my great-grandfather, who passed away before I was born, and my great-grandmother, who I knew when I was little and on whose birthday I was born. She lived to be ninety-eight years old. They were both people of great perseverance, faith, and integrity. They put everything they owned into starting the company and had a number of rough years in the very beginning. Fortunately, they got to see the joy and entertainment the BIG ELI Wheel brought to thousands of people who rode it and got to see the company prosper.

I could tell you lots of stories about our workers and their dedication. One that I, personally, will never forget was at Christmas time in 1997. We were still struggling after coming out of bankruptcy Chapter 11 in June of that year. We were two paychecks behind to our employees after we had all worked so hard for so long. I knew that some of the single income employees, especially, would have fewer presents for their children around the Christmas tree, which just broke my heart. But we still had a Christmas party at work anyway. I cooked turkey for everyone and a couple of the folks in the office helped me with side dishes. My youngest brother and board member, Paul, had donated enough money to buy each of the employees a $15 gift certificate at the local grocery store. I had gone without paychecks for so long that all I could afford to give were a home-made Christmas ornament and a loaf of bread for each one. After the presentation of the gift certificates to the employees, several of them came forward and presented two shirts embroidered with BIG ELI Wheels on them to me from all the employees. You cannot imagine how humbled I felt at their generosity and show of support for what we had accomplished. I could barely thank them through the tears, and I will never forget those who stood behind me during the darkest hours and roughest times.

Citation:
Sullivan, Patricia A. Email interview on Big Eli Company.
Permission to use the interview and Big Eli Company photos granted by email. July 2000.

Deem, Roger A. A Century of Big Eli Wheels. Eli Bridge Company: Jacksonville, Illinois. 2000. Permission to use photos and text granted by email by Patricia A. Sullivan, CEO. July 2000.