Compass Adds Seventh Operating Company
CHARLOTTE, NC – July 11, 2022 – Compass Precision, LLC, a Charlotte-based manufacturer of custom, close-tolerance metal components for mission-critical applications, announced Monday that it has acquired Strom Manufacturing, Inc. in North Plains, OR.
“Strom Manufacturing is a terrific CNC machine shop with significant investment in automated milling equipment. This allows its machines to run unattended and lights-out,” explained Gary Holcomb, Compass President & CEO. “We are very attracted to these differentiating competencies.”
Strom Manufacturing was founded in 1974 and owned solely by Bill Strom since 2008. Strom serves a select group of high-tech customers and well-known consumer products customers, primarily in the Pacific Northwest. The company’s differentiating capabilities include both horizontal and vertical 4-axis mills for precision machining. Some of these units have multiple pallets for continuous operation without operator intervention. Bill is Strom’s President and will continue in his current role going forward.
“We are fortunate that our company attracted significant attention from multiple possible buyers,” said Bill. “My wife Kathy and I are at the point in our lives where we want to kick back a little. Selling to Compass allows us to do that knowing that our legacy is in excellent hands.”
In addition to Bill, Strom’s entire management team and workforce are remaining with the company, including Mike Strom, Bill’s brother, who does much of the firm’s CNC programming. Also joining Compass are Strom Sales Manager Paul Sonderen and Quality Manager Brian Kedroske.
“I really liked Gary and the Compass people right from the start,” stated Mike. “They love machining as much as we do. Strom and Compass together are really a good fit.”
“We knew Bill would eventually sell his business,” explained Paul. “What we didn’t know is whether the new owner would have confidence in us and allow us to do what we do well. Compass does.”
“Being part of a larger organization can enable Strom to grow faster than we could before,” said Brian. “I look forward to meeting my counterparts through Compass and sharing ideas to make us a better company.”
Strom Manufacturing will become the seventh operating company under the Compass umbrella, and the third situated outside the Charlotte area, location of the company’s headquarters. The Compass operating model has proven highly effective in integrating and supporting geographically dispersed operating units. In particular, Compass believes that numerous cross-selling and cross-sourcing opportunities exist to enable each operating company to succeed in ways not possible by itself.
Compass Precision was formed with the acquisition of Advanced Machining & Tooling, LLC, Quality Products & Machine, LLC, and Tri-Tec Industries, LLC in October 2019. In August 2020, Compass added Gray Manufacturing Technologies, LLC as its first add-on acquisition. Seven months later, Douglas Machining Services, LLC became Compass’s second add-on acquisition in March 2021. R&D Machine, LLC was acquired in April 2022, becoming Compass’s third add-on.
Together, Compass’s operating companies, now numbering seven including Strom Manufacturing, serve a diversified group of blue-chip customers in the aerospace & defense, space, medical, industrial automation, power generation, telecommunications, high tech, and specialty industrial markets.
For more information on Compass and this acquisition, please contact David Wyscaver, Compass’s Communication Manager, at [email protected].