The comments here seem to be very focused on the "secret" alloy. What I took away was the success of keeping Zildjian a profitable family business is mostly due

The comments here seem to be very focused on the "secret" alloy. What I took away was the success of keeping Zildjian a profitable family business is mostly due to smart processes in how to involve new members of the family. IE, no reporting to another family member, must work outside the company first to gain another perspective to bring back to the company, no hiring spouses. I'm not an expert on the matter but I'd imagine that nepotism and having limited outside insight are big problems for most multi-generational family businesses.