today these wooden structures are shaped by hand with half century old tools made by his father wab wallace. this is a family owned company nearly 150 years old. >> they are described as abandoned relics. actually they are used today in plenty, in new buildings. the city has the strict imfire codes in new york and the tanks service that requirement. . >> as outdated as they may seem, they are in fact anything but out of date. and for that matter, so is the company itself. >> we have a city of stone and masonry and glass and they really don't look like they belong. but it is a well-used product and probably new york's best secret. >> if you want to understand the secret of how the small family held business managed to outlast more than a dozen competitors for more than four generations, you need to start with their very simple philosophy. >> you don't try to throw out something that works, you just build upon it. >> first, he studied all the aspect of the core business by getting the five key licenses and certificates needed to operate the company. thanks to some heavy-handed pressure early