“When a family owns a business, they treat it like it’s their child,” said Brent Saul, Vice President of Weld Wire. “They protect it at all costs.”

With today, June 23, being National Family Owned & Operated Businesses Day, that belief sits at the center of how Saul approaches leadership, growth, and the future of the fourth-generation company his family has spent decades building.

That same mindset is also one of the reasons Weld Wire recently chose Firstrust Bank, the largest family-owned bank in the Philadelphia region, as its financial partner. For Saul, the relationship felt like a natural fit because of the similarities between the cultures of the two multi-generational, family-owned businesses, along with Firstrust’s long-standing reputation and the trust built over years of working with Shawn Niles, who joined the bank in 2025 as Senior Vice President.

“We always heard Firstrust was a great bank, and we valued the relationship we had with Shawn,” Saul said. “But when I learned that Firstrust was family-owned? That sealed the deal.”

For Saul, family-owned businesses operate differently because the investment is personal.

It’s how King of Prussia-based Weld Wire has grown from a company founded in the 1940s into one of the country’s leading wholesale distributors of welding products, serving manufacturers across industries that include transportation, marine manufacturing, infrastructure, and data center construction.

Founded by Stanley Kessler in the 1940s, Weld Wire later transitioned to his son-in-law, Jeff Saul, 77, who is Brent’s uncle, and Alan Saul, 80, Brent’s father. Today, Brent, 57, leads the business while helping prepare the fourth generation: his 29-year-old son Stephen, who has spent the last eight years working at the company and now oversees Weld Wire sales.

While Weld Wire has evolved over the years — it expanded into mobile distribution through the launch of its DuraMax brand in 2016 — Saul said preserving the company’s culture has remained a constant priority.

“When I know a generational business is operating in such a way that their culture comes first, I know I’m with the right people,” Saul said. “The rest of it flows downhill from there.”

That philosophy became even more evident when Weld Wire partnered with Firstrust, itself a family-owned institution with deep roots in the Philadelphia region.

“Your first interaction might not be to know Firstrust is family-owned,” Saul said. “But when you hear it’s an actual family business, it gives you that extra layer of comfort that most people really like to have.”

Saul said that comfort matters, especially in an era where many businesses feel increasingly transactional.

“Working with large companies, you can end up becoming a number,” he said. “When a family owns the business, they protect it differently.”

Niles said Firstrust’s internal culture played a major role in his own decision to join the bank after spending 27 years at another financial institution.

“It’s the culture and the way people are treated,” Niles said. “It starts from the top down. You feel like you’re all rowing in the same direction.”

That alignment has helped create what Saul described as a seamless partnership between Weld Wire and Firstrust.

Weld Wire partners with Firstrust across its financing and treasury management needs, but Saul said the relationship extends far beyond just products and services.

“The power in our partnership with Firstrust is knowing that I have the backing to go and do the necessary things I need to grow my business without worrying about where the financing is going to come from,” Saul said. “I have to make decisions sometimes faster than I’d like to, and knowing they’re back there supporting my efforts gives me all the power to go do what I need to do.”

Saul believes maintaining a successful family-owned business also requires constant reinvestment in both people and processes.

“Invest back into your business, invest in your people, invest in systems, keep yourself educated, and stay flexible,” Saul said.

Weld Wire currently employs 35 people, many of whom have spent years growing alongside the company. Saul said treating employees like an extension of the family has always been a core part of the company’s culture.

“You have to show up for the people that work for you,” Saul said.

For Saul, that commitment is ultimately what defines family-owned businesses.

“People who own companies care way beyond five o’clock or six o’clock,” Saul said. “It’s a 24/7 thought process.”

Learn more about how Firstrust Bank is helping people and businesses achieve success in the very region it calls home.