From Foreman to CEO: Former Boilermaker Brings Innovation to Welding Industry

Four years ago, Brad Pearman, a general foreman with CB&I, showed up to work at his site. As the lead of a 20-man crew, he was focused on getting in and ensuring his team was set to go for their next assignment. They would be in nuclear containment, and it was a warm day in Georgia. Brad knew it was going to be another grueling day. 

The day before, he and his crew had spent nearly 4 hours in 115-degree heat within the containment unit setting up their worksite in preparation for today. Unfortunately, upon arriving, they found that once again, their leads had disappeared.

The hours of setup the previous day were completely wasted, and he and his crew would have to set up their worksite all over again. By 11 am that morning, soaked from the heat and beyond frustrated, they finally finished prep and got to work. 

For years, Brad had been dealing with this problem day in and day out. With no accountability or control over how leads are managed, anyone could walk up to someone’s set up and take it for themselves, avoiding the work that comes from running your welding lead line. Feeling the burn out of having to run leads over and over—and dealing with the conflict that came from his and his crew’s leads being stolen—drove him to a near breaking point.

“I sat down with my friend Steve Romager, and vented my frustration with the problem,” said Brad. “It was extremely frustrating to show up at work each day, wanting to do my job, but the very tools I needed to do that job had to be searched for and re-routed nearly every day for 1-3 hours.”

“We sat there in the office, talking about the problem. Steve said, ‘What if we invented something that could lock welding leads?’ And I said, we can. Let’s do it.” Motivated by sweat, exhaustion, and frustration, Brad threw himself into a patent search.

Blessed with ignorance and a stubbornness that refused to take no for an answer, Brad put his camper up for collateral on a loan. His world morphed from a life of blue collar, back breaking work into a world of legalities, research and development, patent filings and 3D renderings. “When I started this process, I couldn’t even spell the word patent, let alone know what this would take. Intelligent people tend to be pretty safe. I was blessed with being too stupid to know any better.”

Through trial and error, several setbacks, and a lot of help from connections, Brad built AOES, teaching himself every step of the way. The biggest connection he made was just last year, a man named Rob Andrevich. A self-made millionaire with a penchant for finding opportunities and helping them come to life, Rob stepped in and saw the potential for Brad’s ideas. He set Brad up with funding, and the company took off from there.

Within the year, AOES secured four patents. LEADLOCK™, MACHINELOCK™, AIRHOSELOCK™, and 480Lock™. Each product offers the promise of increased safety and productivity within welding and electrical connections.

“AOES’s goal is to make lives better for the welders,” said Brad. “This job is one that is full of mental stress. You’re working 11-12 hour shifts, and often these people are living away from their family. The job can be dangerous, and the environment is rarely positive. These craftsmen and women deserve better.”

AOES’s products do just that. By securing the connections, workers can set up their worksite and know it will be there when they come back. The scenario Brad’s crew faced, and welding crews across the world face every day, is eliminated with the products offered by AOES. “We’re saving welders 1-3 hours every day,” said Brad. “While that is a relief to these workers, the financial savings their increased productivity offers is enormous. Assuming you give a welder an hour back in their day, that saves these sites $600/week. In a year, they’re saving $28,000 for every welder they set up with these products.”

Beyond the productivity benefits, sites and crews experience significant safety benefits. Securing welding lines with LEADLOCK™ and MACHINELOCK™ help mitigate against fires, explosions, electrical shock, dropped objects, arc outs, slips, trips, falls, and even catastrophic failure due to overlooked arc outs.

AOES hasn’t stopped here. Beyond their current four patents, the company has 6 more in various stages of development. “I’ve become very passionate about the opportunity to make a real difference in the industry. There is so much advancement happening in the construction and power industry, and to be a part of that is an honor.”

To learn more about AOES, visit www.ao-es.com, or call 1.855.532.3565.