Camden Spiller got his start in the electrical transformer business at the age of 17, when he answered an ad in the local newspaper of his Texas hometown. He quickly showed a knack for process improvement, and over the next 17 years would work his way up to minority partner in Sunbelt Transformer, a company founded by Randall Maddox in 1981. Spiller relocated with the company several times, eventually landing in South Carolina to open a location in Simpsonville.
After Maddox retired, the company was sold to an outside investment firm.
“I involuntarily exited at that time,” Spiller says. “My plan was to stay on and ride it out and try and be a part of a turnaround, and that was not in the cards. It was a blessing, though, that — starting in the business as young as I did — I was able to kind of reach that low early enough to recover with some experience and some relationships that allowed us to regroup in what’s turned out to be a very successful way.”
Spiller’s first call was to Maddox, who agreed to partner with him to pivot his turnaround plan into a new business plan. Next Spiller called on Heath Blundell, a former colleague who was serving as national operations director for the old company, to run operations for the new venture. And then Stuart Jackson, who was able to provide a ready-made facility for Maddox Industrial Transformer to set up shop.
“We’re starting our third year now, so we’re a startup in a lot of ways. We’ve got a clean slate, a lot of zeal and energy. Everything’s fresh and new,” Spiller says. “But then we’ve been working together for about 20 years. So in another way we have all those lessons learned and the history of a more established team.”
Maddox Industrial Transformer reconditions electrical transformers for commercial and industrial application. They service and sell pad-mount, substation, and dry-type (not cooled by oil or fire-resistant liquids) transformers, customizing units to take voltage from the distribution lines and step it down to a usable voltage that meets each customer’s specific need. Short lead times are where they shine, and how they’re able to indirectly compete with big names like GE, Cooper, and ABB.
“We try and position ourselves as the guys you call when the lights are out and you need something quick,” Spiller says.
They accomplish this with a team of three technicians, also former colleagues, who wear a lot of hats.
“Not only are they fabricating, they have electrical knowledge of transformers. They test them, and they paint them,” Blundell says.
The facility has an on-site test lab that ensures the reconditioned units meet all ANSI and IEEE standards for new equipment. Maddox Industrial Transformer warranties its equipment for three years, but expects it to serve another 40.
“That’s probably easy to gloss over, but it’s really one of the most critical parts of rebuilding any kind of equipment, is testing it back to its originally manufactured standard,” Spiller says. “This test lab allows us to go through the same testing standards that it comes right off the factory floor with.”
A key component of Maddox Industrial Transformer’s success is the ability to anticipate customer needs and maintain a stable of transformers that can be tweaked and out the door within 14 to 16 hours of receiving the distress call. This is where Randall Maddox brings his more than 35 years of industry experience to bear. Semi-retired, Maddox splits his time between Greenville and Tucson, Ariz., and handles equipment purchasing for the new company that bears his name.
Spiller says Maddox Industrial Transformer will soon begin scouting locations in Washington state, with plans to have a West Coast facility up and running by the third quarter of 2018. The company also has a location in Texas, in addition to several warehouse facilities across the country, and Spiller feels confident these three locations will allow Maddox Industrial Transformer to serve the entire United States without overextending.
“There’s so much overhead in these businesses. It’s not the kind of thing you could start in your garage,” he explains. “It’s major capital, major infrastructure, so your overhead can really outrun your revenue if you don’t watch it.”
Spiller and Blundell are watching it, and what they’ve seen instead is revenue outrunning their expectations. Maddox Industrial Transformer is on track to meet and exceed their goal of $7 million for this year; Spiller says they will regroup at the end of the quarter and likely up that estimate to $8 million.
“We set what we believe are bold goals,” Blundell says.
“And then we blow past them,” adds Spiller.
