From Germany to Detroit
It all started in a basement.
The year was 1935, and Herbert Link was selling tools and odds and ends out of his own home. He had arrived in the United States from Germany about a decade before, not planning on staying for more than a few years. He started off in St. Louis playing professional soccer, but when he broke his leg a year in, his soccer career abruptly ended.
Herbert then decided to move to Detroit and turn his focus to the car industry, working for several car manufacturers before eventually establishing Link Engineering Company in his basement. He soon got into equipment testing and bought a patent on a spring tester. Herbert moved Link Engineering Company to a Detroit storefront, where the company thrived building brake testing systems amidst the growing automotive industry.
“He loved a good challenge, and seemed to be able to fix any item that was brought to him,” said Matthew Link, Herbert’s grandson and current president and co-owner of Link Group, Inc. (LINK), now the parent company of Link Engineering Company. “He was always thinking three steps ahead. He could troubleshoot anything, and with his great mind, he established the company’s legacy of being a high-precision custom solution provider.”
In 1970, Herbert’s son, Roy Link, began working full-time for the company. Roy was willing to take even greater risks, and soon took Link Engineering Company to the next level. Roy spearheaded the founding of Link Testing Laboratories, Inc., a means to offer independent testing services at the automotive component level. He also took the company globally, acquiring businesses along the way and expanding LINK’s offerings. Today, the company has facilities and support teams around the world.
A Clean Future
As a family-owned company, LINK is continuously working to do their part for their employees and the communities they serve. They have many team members who have been with the company for decades, and even employees who are from different generations of the same family.
“When you hear employees speak about the company, you can tell they really feel connected and feel the values of the Link family,” said Gabriele Ullrich, marketing director, Link Group, Inc. “That’s what the culture is like, and it keeps people here and feeling good about where they work.”
Link Engineering Company also wants their employees to take pride in the measures they’re taking to reduce the company’s environmental impact. A critical element for LINK is making their highly engineered equipment energy efficient, an initiative they continue to focus on and improve. They also recently enrolled in DTE Energy’s MIGreenPower program, a voluntary renewable energy program that attributes LINK’s electricity use to DTE’s wind and solar projects.
“We’ve worked with DTE on many levels throughout the years, and MIGreenPower is a great way to support them in the fight against climate change and support the industry as it continues to emphasize sustainability,” said Matthew Link. “Being a family business, this program helps us look to a cleaner future for my kids and for future generations of employees.”
To learn more about Link Engineering Company, visit www.linkeng.com or www.linkedin.com/company/link-engineering-company.
To learn more about MIGreenPower and sign up for as little as $1 a month, please visit www.migreenpower.com.
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