07/2011: Fox Valley Spring Expansion Featured in Springs Magazine
“We really are a customer service-oriented company,” explains Russ Stang Sr., founder and president of Fox Valley Spring Co. in Greenville, Wis. “Our motto is: ‘We’re the customer service company that happens to make springs.’ ”
Fox Valley Spring was established by Stang in 1989 because he saw a “need for a more customer-oriented company.” He had previously worked for another spring company for 21 years, beginning in high school as a work/study student before launching out on his own. Stang initially started the business in a small facility in the Appleton area with two employees. Stang made the springs and an outside salesman was employed to find work for the fledging business. The company grew after just a year in business. Stang was quickly able to expand staff and move to a larger building. “We have grown every year since,” he explained.
When I recently talked by phone with Stang and Charly Klein, vice president of sales and marketing for Fox Valley Spring, you could hear the sounds of construction going on in the background. In fact, the interview was conducted in the maintenance office, which is currently serving as Stang’s temporary office during Fox Valley Spring’s expansion project. By the time this article is published, Fox Valley Spring employees should be fully utilizing a new and expanded facility. The expansion will double the size of Fox Valley Spring’s current plant from 25,000 sq. ft. to 53,000 sq. ft. The company has dedicated 7,000 sq. ft. to office space, while the balance of the facility will be divided between manufacturing and distribution. The addition will add enough space to house equipment for an expanded product line. It will also make shipping and receiving operations more efficient, and allow for future employee growth. “We originally started to expand in 2008 when we saw the need for more technology for our customers,” said Stang. The company put off the expansion due to the shaky state of the economy. But because of good interest rates and competitive construction rates, Stang said the expansion “just made sense” and they embarked on it in 2010. “Financially, it’s a good investment. I think we are going to be more efficient with the (new) layout we have. And we’ve brought in some new equipment,” he said. “Technology is the key to our success.”
