Sisterhood Spotlight

You are the President of manufacturing company, Lawrence Brothers Incorporated. Can you tell us a bit about what your company does and your role as President?

I am a proud to serve as President of Lawrence Brothers and continue on the family legacy that is rooted in strong customer relationships and quality products. Incorporated in 1974 by James Mark Lawrence, my grandfather, Lawrence Brothers began by fabricating steel battery trays for underground coal mining applications by hand. As technology developed and the business grew, James brought on his son Mark Lawrence, who took the helm in 1993, propelling Lawrence Brothers into a period of transition toward a automated manufacturing. My father, my husband and I worked alongside each other for 10 years as we learned the nuances of the business, laid strategy for diversification of product, and diligently pursued my father’s vision of growth. When my father retired in 2018, Fernando and I stepped in as CEO and President and we truly enjoy working together as a team. As President, I oversee HR and Employee Health and Wellness, as well as accounting. My favorite part of my role at Lawrence Brothers is leading and mentoring our young and thriving management team. We strive to align people with their innate strengths, while also empowering them to think, operate and implement just outside of their comfort zones where they can experience greatness happen!

November is known as Career Development Month. What does Lawrence Brothers Inc. do to engage with youth and help them develop the knowledge and skillsets needed for the workforce?

Earlier this month we hosted 30 students from our local career and technical school. These youth are engaged in classroom learning of robotic welding or mechatronics, alongside studying for their high school diploma. While visiting with us, the students were able to tour our facility, including our newly operating automation center, which host 3 autonomous robots, participated in a skills session on the job application process, and view our soon to be open Welding Apprenticeship school. In my 17 years of experience working in manufacturing in Tazewell County, I have found a gap between development of knowledge and skillsets needed for the workforce when it comes to our K-12 and career and technical educational institutions and the true needs of employers working with those youth on a daily basis. While some of that can be explained by lack of effective and consistent engagement between those partners, a great deal can be attributed to failure to adequately understand the ever-evolving workforce. In a concerted and collaborative effort to address that gap, and the region-wide workforce crisis we are experiencing, our Welding Apprenticeship Program was borne. We plan to launch a pilot of this program in Q1 of 2024, with support and collaboration from our local and regional partners, other area business leaders, and Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Lisa Coons. Stay tuned for more information on this!

As someone who lives in rural Southwest Virginia, what was most helpful to you in developing your own career? Do you know of any resources that could be helpful?

Working alongside a mentor had the most positive impact on my career (and personal!) development! I encourage all of our team members here at Lawrence Brothers to seek out a mentor- and become a mentor- as I believe this is one of the keys to re-igniting a community-focused society that recognizes and serves one another with compassion, dignity and respect. We are very proud to have a Fresh Start program that works with justice-impacted individuals as they reintegrate into society and the workforce. I strongly believe that if we want peace, we must work for justice, which has become the focus for the Fresh Start program. Currently, we are honored to report that 40% of our workforce are graduates of that Fresh Start program—simply put: individuals who just needed a second chance, a measure of grace, and someone in their corner supporting and empowering them. That is a part of my daily work that inspires me to get out of bed! While there are some resources in SWVA supporting recovery from addiction, life after incarceration, and rehabilitation, what we are sorely lacking is a centralized and structured cohort of these resources where justice-impacted individuals can find that assistance and support.

Do you have any advice for Virginia’s Women+girls who might be starting off in the workforce, or hoping to rejoin the workforce after having children?

I would love to see more women+girls participate in STEM opportunities that are becoming more and more prevalent all across the Commonwealth and the Nation as a whole. STEM helps to instill such powerful insight into the world of advanced manufacturing, IT, engineering, bioscience, automation and beyond, while at the same time injecting self-esteem and confidence for so many women and girls that excel in this arena! In order for the younger generations to BELIEVE they can have meaningful careers in any industry they desire, they need to see and hear from women leaders in these industries. I sought that out at the beginning of my career in manufacturing, and let me just say: It has paid dividends! After all, I came to Lawrence Brothers from 5 years of having lived abroad, teaching English in Spain, studying for my Masters of International Law in Belgium, learning about female empowerment in Dubai, and developing Peace Education Curriculum alongside Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia. What did I know? Through these connections, I found that I actually knew more than I realized about people- and manufacturing, like anywhere you land in the workforce, is about people. In fact, I believe my education and life experiences helped me to prepare even more adequately for my current role, as I’ve always been willing and able to think outside of the box and take risks. Whether you’re re-entering the workforce today, or just starting off, I believe the single most important thing you can do to prepare is to engage with a mentor. There are a number of organizations you can connect with, some which are industry-specific.  The one I use and love is WiM (Women in Manufacturing), where I have had the honor to engage with women from all walks of life- from high-level C-suite executives with multibillion dollar corporations to interns with burgeoning startups. I am serving as a mentor now through their program, and I am so grateful to be learning at least as much from my young mentor as she is from me.

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

My favorite holiday tradition is one that my family embraces every few years is to travel to Europe and spend 2 weeks with friends and family there, experiencing their culture, food, and traditions. The Christmas markets are such a unique and fun experience, while engaging with people from different countries is just one thread in the tapestry of humanity. When at home in SWVA for Christmas, my favorite tradition is sitting by the fire with my husband, our 15 year-old son and 10 year-old daughter and two ‘human’ doggies, drinking hot chocolate and watching Christmas movies.

About Melanie Protti-Lawrence 

Melanie Protti-Lawrence is the co-owner of Lawrence Brothers, Inc., a third-generation family owned and operated metal manufacturer located in Bluefield, Virginia. She and her husband, Fernando Protti, have spearheaded the company’s strategic growth and diversification over the past 15 years and have led LBI into some of the most prosperous years to date. With 50 years of excellence in manufacturing and a high standard for quality, LBI serves several industries, including motive power, energy, underground mining, ground support and warehousing. Melanie and Fernando have woven that history of excellence into their leadership philosophy, as they’ve shifted the company culture toward one of trust, inclusion, team-work and accountability. Melanie holds a dual BA in English and Spanish and a LLM in International Law and International Relations. Having lived in 5 different countries and traveled around the world, Melanie considers it an honor and challenge to have returned to her roots in Southwest Virginia and continue the family legacy. She and Fernando are continuously striving to better serve members of the LBI team, their community, and the broader Central Appalachian region. ”Our greatest fear should not be of failure…but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”