Manufacturing Today - Summer 2010 - (Page 126)
W. Soule & Company
www.wsoule.com / 2009 revenues: $60 million / HQ: Kalamazoo, Mich. / Employees: 300 / Services: Industrial contracting / Robert Mathisen, vice president and COO: “Our customers rely on somebody who can keep their facilities up and running as much as possible.”
as a small residential plumbing contractor, the company has grown to meet the needs of its customers. When Thomas Soule’s son, Warren, took over the company and incorporated in 1966, it began diversifying its services but remained focused on its core values of safety, quality and costeffectiveness, the company says. Mathisen says those values have served the company well over its 64year history and helped to attain the position of trust it has in the industry today. “I think it comes down to the quality we provide and the service we provide our customers,” he says.
Always Working
One of the primary reasons why W. Soule & Company has been so successful in meeting the needs of its customers is because it has never stopped striving for perfection, Mathisen says. “One of the things we’ve done over the years is we’ve continued to invest in the business,” he says. One of the most recent examples of this investment is the 65,000-squarefoot fabrication facility the company opened in Kalamazoo in 2007. Mathisen says the facility was built to accommodate some large custom fabrication projects the company was awarded in the ethanol industry. When the alternative energy market began to slow down, the company leveraged the facilities lean manufacturing principles, large craning capacity and unique floor space to win projects that were custom, quick ship and quality critical. W. Soule & Company has been ahead of the curve in many respects as it enhances services to better meet industry demands. For example, design/build has become increasingly more prevalent in the construction industry. Many engineering and construction firms are turning to the design/build model and using contractors and fabricators to help in the
w. soule & company says continuous improvement is its key to success.
Go-To Solutions
w. soule & company has become the choice of many for industrial contracting solutions. by chris petersen
All of W. Soule & Company’s customers are 24-hour-a-day, seven-daya-week manufacturers serving the food and beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical and industrial markets; when they need something, they need it right away. Vice President and COO Robert Mathisen says customers will often come to the company in the middle of the night looking for a solution to an emergency problem. However, that doesn’t mean customers turn to W. Soule & Company 126
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because it’s their only option at that time of night. On the contrary, W. Soule & Company has become a trusted name in industrial fabricating and contracting because of the quality of the work and responsiveness. Based in Kalamazoo, Mich., W. Soule & Company provides a full range of industrial contracting services, including fabrication, installation, maintenance and plant shutdowns. Since 1946, when the company was founded by Thomas R. Soule
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Manufacturing Today - Summer 2010
Manufacturing Today - Summer 2010
Contents
Washington
Global Strategies
Continuous Improvement
Smart Pricing
Supply Chain
Business Value
Moving Forward
Westmark Products
Byrne Dairy
Ultrafryer Systems Inc.
Wil-Rich LLC & Wishek MFG LLC
American Precision Fabricators
Aqua Products Inc.
Bennington
Black Diamond Equipment
Columbian Home Products
Control Devices LLC
Endustra Filter Manufacturers Inc
Heil Trailer International
Assembled Products
Order-Matic Corp.
Professional Building Systems Inc.
Smart Start Inc
Bosal International
Ausco Products Inc.
Brodart Company
Cambrex Corp.
Chapin International Inc.
Cleveland Gear Co.
Consolidated Precision Products
Control Flow Inc.
Douglas Autotech Corp.
Fetzer Architectural Products
The FNA Group
Fourslide Spring and Stamping Inc.
G.A. West & Company
Great Lakes Power Group
Grimm Brothers Plastics
Legends Furniture Inc.
National Tube Supply Co.
Optex Systems Inc.
Sunburst Electronics
V.E. Enterprises Inc
W. Soule & Company
Manufacturing Tomorrow
Manufacturing Today - Summer 2010
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