The move from part owner to sole owner of Maine-based Auburn Manufacturing Inc. (AMI) was an exercise in adaptation, but Kathie Leonard is certainly not looking back.

As a 50-percent partner in the company since its 1979 founding, Leonard found the transition in 2000 to sole owner — a result of her partner’s retirement — challenging, as being a team player is a more familiar and comfortable role for her.

But Leonard admits she’s adapted better than she imagined.

“Going back to part owner might be tough now!” she said.

Leonard landed in Maine from Florida after college, and her first job was as a secretary to the president of a textile manufacturing company. The company had some state-of-the-art equipment that caught DuPont’s eye, as it was looking to find a way into the asbestos replacement market with its Nomex® high-heat resistant aramid fiber.

“Seeing an opportunity for growth, I quickly volunteered to get involved with the cooperative marketing program proposed by DuPont,” Leonard said.

But after six years of trying to market just one product to the many high-heat applications where asbestos was once used, it became clear to Leonard that industry was ready for a specialty maker of such textiles — an expert in high heat.

“I founded Auburn Manufacturing with a partner to do just that, and 28 years of sustainable business has proved us right,” she said.

Leonard likes to think of herself as the hub of the company, connecting with the many spokes in the wheel.

“Good facilitating and communication skills have helped me immensely in keeping the wheel turning — and the looms weaving — for the past 28 years,” she said.

Plus, she’s originally from the Midwest, so Leonard said she has “rust in my blood,” making her a natural-born industrialist.

“I’ve been told that my enthusiasm for what I’m doing is contagious to those around me,” she said. “By combining that energy with the desire to clearly communicate information in an effort to help others has helped Auburn Manufacturing achieve its place as the expert in high-temperature resistant textiles.”

Leonard is actively involved in the American Society of Safety Engineers, WEMCO (Welding Equipment Manufacturers Committee) of the American Welding Society and the National Insulation Association. Reading the trade journals of the industries AMI serves (welding, industrial insulation, safety, etc.) as well as other print and digital newspapers and magazines helps her to identify trends affecting the company’s customers.

“Learning to take a leadership role in my business, in industry-related organizations and in my community was a turning point in my career and in my personal growth,” she said.

In her years in the business, Leonard said the biggest lesson she’s learned is that she has no control over some of the problems she faces as a business owner. Providing affordable healthcare benefits for employees and dealing with competitive products from countries with export subsidies and currency manipulation are two examples.

“Issues like these are bigger than one company, so the solutions lie with our government, and we have to wait for them to move before change can take place,” she said.

Leonard is encouraged by the fact that AMI is the first of its competitors to subject its products and U.S. manufacturing facilities to be tested and rated on a first-of-its-kind performance-based standard for industrial hot work.

The company is also poised to build on its success by developing new products to meet its customers’ present and future high-temperature protection requirements.

In her spare time, Leonard loves to cook and spend time with her family, which entails traveling all over the country these days. She and her husband also love to bike, hike and ski.

To learn more, call (207) 345-8271 or visit www.auburnmfg.com.