Company Names Jerod Zimmerman to New Position
CHARLOTTE, NC – June 28, 2021 – Compass Precision continued to restructure its management team at one of its five operating companies this week.
Quality Products & Machine, LLC, a leading manufacturer of precision metal components and fabricated assemblies, officially announced Monday that it has promoted Jerod Zimmerman from Lead Programmer to Machine Shop Manager.
This is the final of three promotions Quality Products has rewarded to its employees in the last several weeks. First, the company promoted Greg Donaldson to Operations Manager. To fill Greg’s former position, Quality Products elevated Don Bartlett to Fabrications Manager.
Jerod’s promotion fills a void left from the departure of Quality Products’ former machining manager. Jerod received this promotion despite having only worked at Quality Products for 14 months.
”Jerod has really impressed us in the brief time he has been at Quality,” explained Quality Products President Kevin Farmer. “We like hiring and promoting people who want to apply their talents to make us a better company.”
Jerod’s time in CNC machining has been relatively brief as well. He dual enrolled at Central Piedmont Community College in Computer Integrated Machining Technology and Associates of Science programs. After transferring to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Jerod graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree in the summer of 2018.
He began working at Omega Manufacturing as a manufacturing engineer after school. Jerod transitioned into CNC machining a few months into his tenure and taught himself how to program and run Haas vertical machining centers. He also streamlined mill tooling inventory and organization at Omega.
Despite all of that career advancement in 20 months, Jerod joined Quality Products because he says he saw an opportunity to even further develop professionally.
“I was attracted to the idea of being able to surround myself with so many knowledgeable people experienced in manufacturing a vast array of finished goods with different materials and processes that you simply will not find in your typical machine or fabrication shop,” Jerod stated. “The other side of development is that the environment must allow for it. The leadership at Quality Products encourages seeking out different methods of adding value to our customers’ products, which keeps us competitive in an increasingly competitive industry.”
That leadership at Quality Products and its parent company, Compass Precision, has always viewed Jerod as an important asset and sees him as one of the key parts of keeping its environment competitive going forward.
”I first met Jerod a year ago when we were discussing ways to get even more out of our horizontal machining centers,” said Gary Holcomb, CEO of parent company Compass Precision. “I could tell right away that Jerod was hungry to learn and work hard.”
Prior to college, Jerod spent eight years as a U.S. Marine Infantryman. He says that experience gave him the opportunity to see what a driven, competent group of individuals can achieve when everyone does their part.
Quality Products operates from a 47,000-square-foot facility in Charlotte, NC at 4600 Westinghouse Boulevard. The company has both machining and fabrication capabilities, all under one roof. It manufactures complex prototype and low-to-mid volume metal parts, with a focus on defense and power generation markets.
The Compass operating company was founded in 1962. ZP Enterprises, LLC, an Atlanta-based firm, acquired majority interest in the company in 2010, then purchased the remaining ownership in 2018.
During 2019, ZP Enterprises decided to seek new ownership for three of its portfolio companies, including Advanced Machining & Tooling, LLC of Salisbury, NC and Tri-Tec Industries, LLC of Charlotte, NC as well as Quality Products. It quickly reached an agreement with Main Street Capital Holdings, a Pittsburgh-based private equity firm. Main Street acquired Quality Products, along with its two sister firms, and placed them under a new umbrella company, Compass Precision, LLC.
In August 2020, Compass Precision added Gray Manufacturing Technologies, LLC of Denver, NC as its fourth operating company. Then in March, Compass expanded outside North Carolina by acquiring Douglas Machining Services, LLC in Winona, MN.