For Michael Cudahy Jr., a love of auto racing in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) has turned into a full-time job, as owner and operator of Glendale-based Prototype Composites, a manufacturer of body panels for the motorsports industry.
Most of the company’s customers want carbon fiber or fiberglass panels for high end sports cars or race cars, but it also does work for customers in the military contracting and aerospace industries, as well as occasional one-off work.
“We made Bucky Badger’s head out of Kevlar,” Cudahy said. “The guy that’s out there doing pushups (on the field) is wearing it.”
Founded in 2006, Prototype Composites has 11 full time employees and recently moved to a 20,000-square-foot facility in Glendale. The company averages about 20 percent growth per year, Cudahy said.
“I could go beyond that, but we’re selective on the orders we take in,” he said. “We want to maintain our quality, our delivery and our cash flow.”
Cudahy’s father is Michael Cudahy, the well-known Milwaukee philanthropist and former owner of Marquette Electronics. While he benefits from his father’s business experience, the company has been built without the elder Cudahy’s financial assistance.
“He’s my No. 1 consultant, and I can get that for free,” the younger Cudahy said. “And I can usually get lunch out of it too. It’s been a big advantage to have him guide me. He ain’t no dummy.”
