In 2022, Pentaflex celebrated its 50th year of serving our customers, community, and employees. To commemorate the milestone, we celebrated throughout the year with various employee events and celebrations. With this final look back, we sat down with Pentaflex President, Ross McGregor, to spend some time reminiscing over the company’s decades of dedication to the craft and to look ahead for what is to come in the next 50 years.
Q: Looking back on the past 50 years, what would you say has been the biggest challenge Pentaflex has faced as a company, and how did you overcome it?
RM: I would have to say the sudden passing of our founder John “Jack” McGregor in 1994 created an immediate leadership void for our organization. At the time, Jack was the primary decision maker in most aspects of the company, and his loss was a great concern to our employees, customers and suppliers.
Fortunately, the McGregor family had other seasoned leaders who were able to step in and reassure our stakeholders that the company was stable and viable for the future. While the loss of Jack McGregor was difficult for the family and the company, it did present a shift in our organization to increase modernization and hire professional staff to manage their respective areas of responsibility. Also at this time, an outside Board of Directors was formed and we began the era of hiring external leaders with extensive manufacturing experience to lead the company.
Q: What would you say is the biggest accomplishment or milestone that Pentaflex has achieved in its 50 years of business?
RM: In 1998, we were in need of additional space to accommodate our continued growth. Our location at the time was in the center of downtown Springfield, and we were land locked from further growth in that location. The decision was made to build a brand new, purpose built facility in the Prime Ohio Industrial Park.
The Industrial Park was ideal in offering easy access to the interstate and room for future growth while still sticking to our Springfield and Clark County, Ohio roots. It was also a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a manufacturing facility from scratch and design it for our specific needs.
In 2000, we began the five mile relocation from our original location to our new state of the art stamping plant, all while remaining in production and continuing to supply our customers with timely deliveries. Twenty-three years and several additions later, our decision to relocate continues to prove to have been sound.
Q: How has Pentaflex evolved and adapted over the years to changes in technology and industry trends?
RM: Technology has completely transformed all aspects of manufacturing over the past 50 years. Every aspect of our company has been impacted in one way or the other by technological improvements that continue to evolve, including Automation, Enterprise Resource Programs, Quality Assurance Methods, tooling design and build just to name a few. Pentaflex has stayed abreast of changing technology and invested in the necessary improvements to remain competitive in today’s technology driven environment.
Q: What role have your employees played in Pentaflex’s success, and how have you worked to cultivate a strong team over the years?
RM: The employees at Pentaflex are the heart and soul of the company. It is inspiring to reflect on the many people that have worked at Pentaflex over the past 50 years and be able to see their contributions still making an impact on our continued growth and success. While we certainly have grown over 50 years, we are still a manageable sized company that cares about each and every person who works with us.
Through a system of mutual respect and high expectations between employees, managers and owners, we as a company are able to keep up strong lines of communication and collaboration on all projects.
As leadership, we also recognize that our employees’ growth and well-being is not confined to just their work activities, but their personal lives as well. We offer opportunities for growth and assistance to the extent that we can, and I believe that understanding the challenges our employees face outside of work helps us to better serve them when they are on the clock.
Q: How have you approached decision-making at Pentaflex, and what factors have you considered when making strategic choices for the company?
RM: Pentaflex has developed a strong senior staff and middle management team. We trust our leaders to make informed and well reasoned decisions in their areas of daily responsibility without micromanaging. Larger, strategic issues are discussed as a team, and incorporated into our yearly business planning documents. We also engage our Board of Directors for feedback and guidance on capital investments needed to support our continued growth.
Q: Looking ahead to the next 50 years, what is your vision for the future of Pentaflex, and how do you plan to continue building on the success of the past?
RM: Moving forward, we will continue to invest in automation and technology in order to remain competitive in the ever changing landscape of modern manufacturing. This will require an equal investment in our employees with a focus on improving their ability to interact with new technology as it is introduced to the production environment.
Looking Forward to the Next 50 Years
We as a company are thankful to our customers, employees, and community for entrusting us over the past five decades to continually provide a top level product and to be a strong and consistent presence in our area. As we move into year 51, we are looking forward to continuing to build on these strong foundations, and look forward to serving our industry for decades to come. If you are interested in working with Pentaflex, or joining our team, please visit our website to learn more and contact us today.