New Look, Products, Process at Compco
COLUMBIANA, Ohio — After several consecutive growth years, Compco chose to make 2019 a year in which the company took stock of itself and made changes to better serve its customers and enhance its culture.
The biggest example of this was a months-long consolidation project. After acquiring Compco Quaker Manufacturing in 2017 and Firestone Laser & Manufacturing in 2018, the company was left with four physical plants.
The operations team decided to reorganize tank-head manufacturing, custom stamping, welding, cutting and fabrication services for maximum efficiency and better customer service and determined all operations could be housed in three locations.
The result was the elimination of wasted space and the streamlining of operations – all without any job loss.
Compco’s operations were further enhanced with the corporatewide adoption of new enterprise resource planning software, which will improve coordination among production, inventory management and customer order fulfilment across all four of the company’s business units.
“We look at everything we do with our customers first and foremost in our minds,” says Compco President and CEO Rick Fryda. “Our goal isn’t just good customer service, it’s excellent service, the very best in our industry. And we’re always looking for ways to improve. When we find things that work, we take them on 100%.”
A new product for the propane market went into large-scale production last year. Compco now produces manways, specialized access doors that are installed on the sides of large tanks to allow workers inside tank interiors for cleaning and maintenance. Fryda says this product is rapidly growing in popularity with existing and new customers alike.
In 2019, Compco also clarified its corporate identity with a new website, Compco.com, and new corporate branding. The company launched an updated logo, featuring a modernized version of its familiar three-diamonds icon and adopted a marketing tagline: “Complete Service, Quality Parts, On Time.”
“We see the tagline as a simple statement of our core mission at Compco,” says Fryda. “Our customers are the boss; and we will do everything in our power to solve their problems. That starts by making excellent parts and delivering them when the customer needs them, every time.”
What did not change last year was Compco’s commitment to supporting its community. Every year, the company is a major benefactor of the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, Potential Development, Youngstown State University athletics and TEDxYoungstown. It also supports several youth sports teams and organizations in both Mahoning and Columbiana counties.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
