Ben Kubis and Christina Douglas Now Co-General Managers at Douglas Machining
Winona, MN – June 6, 2022 – Compass Precision, a Charlotte-based manufacturer of custom, close-tolerance metal components for mission critical applications, announced Monday that Ben Kubis and Christina Douglas have been promoted to jointly assume general manager responsibilities at Douglas Machining Services, LLC in Winona, MN.
Compass acquired Douglas Machining in March 2021 from previous owner Dan Douglas, who stayed on as President of the company. After a year of leading Douglas under the Compass umbrella, Dan announced his retirement in April.
“I worked closely with Ben and Christina for years,” explained Dan, who now intends to pursue numerous hobbies including buying and restoring antique automobiles. “We built Douglas Machining to run like a powerful diesel engine. I am confident they will keep it on the tracks moving forward.
“It may seem strange to some that we elected to split Douglas’s general manager role,” said Gary Holcomb, Compass’s CEO. “But Christina and Ben complement each other perfectly and have worked well together for years. I am totally comfortable this duo will take Douglas to the next level.”
Ben takes on the position of General Manager – Operations, with responsibility for manufacturing and quality. Christina is now General Manager – Commercial and oversees sales and accounting. Together, they have profit and loss responsibility for Douglas Machining. Both have deep ties to the company. Ben was Dan’s first employee after he started with the company in 2005. Christina is Dan’s daughter who grew up watching, and helping, Dan with his company, then joined the firm full-time in 2017.
“I am excited and grateful for the opportunity, but will also miss having my dad here,” said Christina. “It is a lot of responsibility, but I am the type that refuses to fail at anything; especially when there is a shop full of people who have families to feed and mortgages to pay. I knew my dad’s retirement would come at some point and have always stepped up to fulfill any role needed and learn (continue to learn) as much as I can so be successful.”
With new roles and responsibilities come a variety of challenges both Ben and Christina are ready to take head on.
“There’s going to be a learning curve for both of us with added responsibilities, but we both have enough knowledge with our day-to-day tasks to work together and figure them out,” said Ben.
“Ben and I both appreciate my dad, Gary, and Compass for believing in us to be the right move for Douglas Machining as we move forward,” said Christina. “It doesn’t just take us though; it takes everyone here as a team!”
Due to diverse individual skillsets and experience, both bring unique backgrounds that will help them obtain success in their new roles.
“I have had a range of jobs through college and after including corrections, customer service, retail, sales, and carried a management position in all of them,” said Christina. “I also have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, so all the college general courses help prepare and give you a base skill set to build on. I am a strong believer in lifelong learning, you should never settle or be comfortable with doing the same thing forever.”
Ben added, “I have almost 18 years of machining experience in both lathe and mill settings, 16 years of which was at Douglas, so I’m very knowledgeable of our capabilities and the skillsets of our operators.”
Both look forward to hitting the ground running in their new roles by helping the company grow and evolve in the near future and beyond.
“We are working very hard to get the staff whatever training they need to get everybody up to speed,” said Ben. “We are trying to update and add to some of inspection equipment to continue to provide the best quality parts to keep our customers satisfied.
“I am looking forward to seeing everyone else here move up and make a career for themselves as well,” said Christina. “The better and more we all improve as individuals, the better we will be as a whole and more capable we are to keep up with technology. Investing in bigger and faster machines, running more efficiently, continuing to be profitable are all goals of mine for the company.”
Through collaboration and teamwork, Douglas Machining is set up to thrive under the leadership of Christina and Ben.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to help the company to continue to grow and excel,” said Ben. “We both have ideas to help motivate the employees on the floor and to make things run more streamline. It will be nice to be able to implement these ideas to make things run a little smoother at times.
“I want to see where the company goes with the ideas that myself and Ben have moving forward,” said Christina. “We communicate and work great together, which has made the transition smooth.”
Douglas Machining specializes in producing intricate machined components to print for specific customer requirements, serving a wide variety of industrial and specialty markets in the upper Midwest and through the entire United States.
For more information about Douglas Machining Services and Compass Precision, please contact David Wyscaver, Compass’s Communications Manager at [email protected].