CECO capitalizes on high-quality production to grow business
BY MARY JO MARTIN
Editorial director
Now in its fourth generation of Hurray family ownership, CECO has been producing high-quality porcelain enameled cast iron plumbing fixtures since 1928. Originally known as the Commercial Enameling Company, CECO was founded by Michael Hurray in Los Angeles, Calif.. Upon his death in the late 1940s, his son Edward took over. CECO was passed on to Edward’s son Michael Hurray in the early 1990s and then to Michael’s sons Mark and Matthew Hurray in 2003.
In its early years, CECO produced plumbing fixtures, and during World War II they also produced bomb casings for the U.S. Military. Today, CECO’s core competencies include an established, high-quality manufacturing process, the ability to quickly deliver product to its customers and an established distribution network on the wholesale level.
Thanks to its extensive experience and desire to remain a privately owned operation, CECO has developed a reputation for its ability to efficiently produce and deliver high-quality plumbing fixtures. Over the years, CECO has produced products for a large number of American plumbing fixture manufacturers.
The company’s headquarters and main distribution center are in Huntington Park, Calif. They also have regional distribution centers scattered around the country in Northern California, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland and New Jersey.
In addition to the Hurray brothers, CECO is fortunate to have the talents of several other key executives:
- Chief financial officer Bob Colclough, who is assisted by Shana Leang
- Miguel Cervantes is coordinator of inside sales and customer service
- Tim Cencak is national sales director
- Victor Corro is the warehouse and logistics coordinator.
Recently, Matthew Hurray talked with editorial director Mary Jo Martin about their plans for continuing CECO’s great tradition in the marketplace.
MJM: You are now in the fourth generation of your family to own this business. Why has it been so important to maintain CECO as a family business, and how has that direct owner involvement shaped the way you do business?
Hurray: The major advantage of being a small family owned business is the ability to make decisions — whether big or small — in a timely fashion. With the speed at which business is conducted today, it is important for companies to make decisions quickly — and Mark, Robert and I can get in touch with each other via phone, e-mail, or in person and make decisions quickly. This is something that larger companies have difficulty with because of a longer chain of command.
MJM: Do you have a factory sales force or use independent reps, and why do you prefer your chosen method of going to market?
Hurray: CECO uses both factory salespeople and manufacturers’ reps. Tim Cencak, who has more than 13 years of experience at CECO, along with Mark and I, spearhead our sales efforts across the U.S. We work closely with our manufacturer’s reps throughout the country. This combined effort is essential to our success, in that our wholesale base has many different ways to contact us for product information, inventory updates, technical support and more in a timely fashion.
MJM: What have been the best ways you’ve found to market your products, build relationships and expand your customer base?
Hurray: The best way we have found to market our products is through various trade shows and buying group exposure.
A lot of our business is based on relationships, and that is where we see the biggest benefit from our manufacturer’s reps. Good reps usually have strong relationships with a large customer base in their territories, which opens the door for smaller companies like CECO. We are very fortunate to have a superb group of manufacturer’s reps across the country that are able to do exactly that.
Our number one priority every year is to increase our customer base. During economic times like these, this is a major component for success. In the last year, we have had a competitor completely abandon their wholesale distribution. Even though these are trying times for everyone, this is a tremendous opportunity for CECO to help provide quality products to wholesalers that have lost a source for cast iron fixtures. We can help them continue to meet the needs of their customers, while at the same time increasing our customer base.
MJM: Describe the importance of wholesalers to your sales and distribution efforts?
Hurray: CECO has always relied heavily on plumbing wholesalers throughout the country for the distribution and sales of our products. In fact, it is wholesalers that have made our company what it is today — and that is something we recognize and are quite proud of.
Many of our competitors supply products to the Big Box retailers on both commodity and showroom fixtures, whereas we depend on the wholesalers to distribute our products through the supply chain. You will not find our products at The Home Depot or Lowe’s.
MJM: What are you doing to further solidify your supply chain partnership with your wholesalers and contractor customers?
Hurray: One aspect of our products that has helped solidify our relationship with all of our customers throughout the supply chain is the reality that CECO sinks are Green products. Over 90% of every CECO cast iron fixture is made from recycled material.
MJM: Please describe your manufacturing operations?
Hurray: One of the major decisions that we made as a company going into the last two years was to increase our inventory levels on all the products we manufacture. The reasoning behind a larger investment in inventory was simple: Make sure we have the products when customers call. We feel this has been very advantageous in helping us achieve our goal of increasing our customer base — especially when we get calls from “new” accounts.
This investment has also been very advantageous to our current customer base. Our larger customers realize that we have the inventory, and this helps them create better turns within their specific systems. The smaller wholesalers realize that they don’t necessarily need to tie up their dollars by carrying large quantities of product because we are already doing that for them.
MJM: What have been some of your most recent product launches?
Hurray: Our most recent product launch was the introduction of our new Designer Select kitchen fixture series to the market. There are five new models currently available with two new Farm Sinks on the way. These fixtures have an attractive designer ledge around the top of each bowl, extra deep bowls for superior usability, and have been very well received by the wholesalers, builders and showrooms.
MJM: What products are you best known for?
Hurray: CECO plumbing fixtures are known to our customers as top-quality products, at valued pricing, with many different styles to choose from. We are a company that stands behind those products.
MJM: Are you involved with industry trade associations, buying groups, trade shows, etc., and if so, how does this help your business?
Hurray: CECO has been a participant in the k/bis show for a number of years now and we are looking forward to the show in Atlanta this year. We invite wholesalers to visit us at our Booth, number B3706 khb).
The exposure that this show provides not only to our customers, but also to their customers, has been a tremendous aid to the growth of our company.
MJM: What sets you apart from your competition?
Hurray: The main thing that sets us apart from our competition is that we are a small company that is very easy to do business with, and we have genuine interest in the well being of our valued customers throughout the supply chain.
For additional information, visit www.CECOsinks.com.