That 2005 was a banner year for Jonesboro conveyor manufacturer Hytrol Conveyor Co. is not only a sign of the country’s resurging economy but also a testament to Hytrol sticking to its game plan even during the bad times.
Hytrol, ranked 69th on this year’s list of Arkansas’ Largest 75 Private Companies, is the only conveyor manufacturer that goes to market exclusively through distributors, about 60 in the United States and 20 or so internationally, President Gregg Goodner said. That’s helped the nearly 60-year-old company forge relationships with distributors that stretch as long as four decades.
“Conversely, during the downturn we saw during 2001 to 2003, our competitors were laying off a lot of their salespeople because they were finding ways to reduce cost, and since each one of our distributors are independent they just became hungrier looking for business,” Goodner said.
So when business started rebounding in 2004 and 2005, Hytrol had improved its market share by 20-25 percent, Goodner said.
It also improved its revenue to near pre-recession levels. In 2000, Hytrol reported $105 million in revenue. In 2005 it hit $101.5 million, up 16 percent from 2004.
Along with Hytrol’s distribution network, Goodner also touts the company’s broad product line — the broadest of any unit-handling conveyor manufacturer in North America, he said — its diverse customer base and committed group of employees.
The company has about 720 workers at its Jonesboro plant. And while many manufacturers are outsourcing work, Hytrol is improving amenities at its 500,000-SF facility.
Its on-site health club, manned by a full-time administrator that can customize programs for employees, is equipped by top-notch Nautilus equipment, a swimming pool, and men’s and women’s locker rooms with showers and saunas.
Also in the spirit of keeping employees and their families healthy is an on-site medical clinic staffed by two nurses and a doctor who comes every day. What’s more, the health care is free to the workers and their families.
So why doesn’t Hytrol just ship these jobs to Mexico?
“It makes sense for us to keep it here because we have control of the operations and we are able to respond quicker to the changing needs of our customer base,” Goodner said.
Only about 15 percent of Hytrol’s products are built to stock; the rest are custom jobs. Plus, one of the Hytrol’s biggest selling points is its quick order turnaround.
“We have some of the shortest cycle times in the industry,” Goodner said. “We have a lot of product that we say we’ll ship in two weeks or we pay the freight.”
The fast shipping is another reason the company keeps most of its operations in the United States. That includes its 27,000-SF technology center in Jonesboro, which has helped put the company on the leading edge of conveyor technology research.
Hytrol also has adopted the principles of lean manufacturing. Derived from the Toyota Production System, lean manufacturing strives for the shortest possible cycle time by eliminating waste.
Added automation can be part of this process, and Hytrol is well aware of that growing trend, as Bill Hawthorne, Hytrol’s vice president of marketing, recently told the trade publication Modern Materials Handling.
“To compete with lower-cost providers in South America, India and China, (manufacturers) can no longer just simply add labor to expand their businesses and remain competitive,” Hawthorne said.
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