Jon Waldmann has always liked to tinker.
As a child, he fixed things around the house, building a familiarity with the tools of the trade. Into his teens, Waldmann became a de facto technician at a paintball business, modifying and repairing low-end weapons to save the company money.
So, when the coronavirus pandemic interrupted a job search, he pivoted and decided to build a business that revolved around building, tinkering and repair.
He built up a stable of high-powered, professional-grade metal stamping and fabrication presses. But he had one problem: finding customers who needed the work done.
“If you have the work to keep them moving, there is money to be made,” he said. “It’s just a challenge to get that recurring production work because of overseas competition.”
But Waldmann saw an opportunity.
A billion dollar business opportunity
So, he launched Waldmann Enterprises, a front-to-back manufacturing business that takes a project from design to production and specializes in prototyping.
Rapid prototyping has become a nearly $1 billion business and is expected to reach nearly $4 billion by 2032, according to a study by Canadian research firm Precedence Research.
CNC machining and fabrication has applications in several industries that thrive in Central Florida, such as defense, aerospace and automotive.
That technology sits right in Waldmann’s wheelhouse.
“I can literally print something out of my CAD software and have it by tomorrow morning,” said Waldmann, a graduate of Winter Springs High School in Seminole County with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Central Florida.
As Waldmann’s business grew, evolved and went through some typical startup struggles, he started to add to his business’ capabilities.
Learning the business side at the incubator
That’s where the University of Central Florida’s Business Incubation Program came into the picture.
Waldmann first met the incubator through the director of its Eustis location, Wendy Taylor.
It wasn’t long before she determined that Waldmann Enterprises was a match for the program, with Taylor calling the company “a hidden gem.”
“He’s not a franchise,” she said. “He’s not a big corporation. It’s just him. They lean on us for the connections and the coaching. As a business owner, you generally don’t know what you’re getting into.”
Instead, she said, it’s usually a passion someone has that they need to learn how to turn into a business.
“He has a track record,” she said. “Whether self-taught or not, he went through the weeds of every level of business. That differentiates him.”
In March, incubator leaders decided Waldmann was far enough along to start working with.
“If someone is coming to us with a concept on a napkin, that’s a little too early for us.”
On the flip side, Waldmann’s network – and potential client base – grew quickly.
“They have opened my eyes to some of these industry clusters I was not aware of,” he said. “These tech clusters. That’s what I was hoping they would do.”
One example of Waldmann’s work is with Multicore Technologies, where he designed and built parts for their optic lab and adaptors for sensors.
“We needed very specific items for what we do that would hold up as we experimented with our technology and products,” said Jody Wilson, founder and CTO of Multicore Technologies in Winter Springs. “Our team has been very impressed with the designs and products Waldmann has delivered for us.”
Putting it all together
Before he launched the company, Waldmann spent a good bit of his career overseeing design and production of medical products with a company called Dot Decimal.
It was there that he started to see some unorthodox requests.
The requests – and his bosses – allowed him to essentially build a contract-based manufacturing business within a business.
When he moved on, he didn’t think he was headed into a career as an entrepreneur. Initially, he was just trying to ride out the COVID storm.
As the pandemic lengthened, however, he started to consider that he could turn his skills into a legitimate enterprise.
The final piece of the puzzle came in the form of the business incubation program, he said.
Waldmann admits that there have been times that he considered quitting and returning to full-time work in engineering. In fact, he said, he thought he would likely have been in a comfortable position right now had he done so.
But he still thinks there’s a higher ceiling through handling adversity.
“I see that upside, that potential,” he said. “I don’t want to give up because I’ve come so far. I’m going to make it work and that’s the kind of attitude I have had.”