Company Hires Joe Fabrizi
The Quality Products & Machine employees have come from all kinds of different backgrounds. That continues to be true with the company’s latest hire – Quality Manager Joe Fabrizi.
While he originally graduated with a civil engineering degree, Joe’s career path took him into manufacturing. He has worked in the field for nearly 30 years.
Joe started working at the Compass Precision operating company as the new Quality Manager on Jan. 31.
“It seemed like a great fit for my skills and background,” Joe said. “It’s great. The people are very helpful and very easy to get along with. It’s a really good working environment. Kevin [Farmer] has been fantastic. I only have good things to say.”
Originally from Binghamton, NY, Joe moved to North Carolina for his first career opportunity after college in 1993. He’s basically been in the Charlotte area and in manufacturing ever since then.
In 2021, Joe moved to Louisville, KY for a new opportunity for his wife, Alicia. But the couple decided to move back to Charlotte less than a year later. A recruiter put Joe in contact with Quality Products, and then the company moved quickly to land him.
“Hiring experienced and talented people is challenging in today’s environment,” explained Gary Holcomb, CEO of Compass Precision, Quality Products parent company. “We met Joe and knew right away he was a great fit.”
“Thrilled to have Joe onboard,” echoed Kevin Farmer, Quality Products President. “He jumped right in and started contributing first day on the job!”
In Louisville, Joe served as Quality Manager at Whelan Machine & Tool. Prior to that, he was also the Quality Manager at Vanguard Pai Lung and Manufacturing Engineering Manager at Safe Fleet.
During his first few weeks at Quality Products, Joe tried to learn as much as he could about the company’s quality system. He wasn’t ready to implement major quality department changes early in his tenure, but Joe says he expects the company to make “a few tweaks as time goes on.”
Joe also says his ultimate goal is to just simply make a positive difference and contribute in any way he can.
“Those are my short-term goals. That’s what I’m looking forward to right off the bat,” Joe said. “I’m a real hands-on person. Anytime I can contribute to the making of parts or make parts, you know, it’s just something that I enjoy.”
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 2021, Compass expanded outside North Carolina by acquiring Douglas Machining Services, LLC in Winona, MN.