Mattsco Supply moving to bigger facility near port
BY KYLE ARNOLD World Staff Writer
Saturday, November 03, 2012
11/03/12 at 4:58 AM
Owners of pipe distributor and finishing firm Mattsco Supply Co. have always viewed themselves as a small business, but there comes a time when a successful operation needs room to grow.
Mattsco has been at its tight-space headquarters on East Admiral Place for two decades. President and co-owner Carlyn Mattox said the company has temporary holding yards and warehouses throughout the area, and at least daily, workers need to jump in a truck to fetch material and haul it back for a small amount of work.
And workers must step out of the way when a fork-lift negotiates the narrow corridor through the company's main building.
But those inconveniences will disappear early next year when Mattsco Supply moves into a 100,000-square-foot, 11-acre facility south of the Tulsa Port of Catoosa.
"It should be a lot more efficient for us in a lot of different ways," Mattox said. "We're ready to grow."
Mattsco is setting an ambitious goal to double its business in the next two years, capitalizing on the added space and the boom in the energy sector.
"We've got people calling us at all hours of the day saying they need an order," Mattox said. "I get calls at 10 o'clock at night with people wanting an order the next day, and we try to make it happen."
Mattox and his brothers Kyle and Bob are taking the company into a new phase with the bigger facility, along with an improved tracking and sales system. They also hope to launch an online ordering system for customers to help with simple purchases, leaving sales staff and company executives more time to work on detailed sales.
Competitors "don't want to do anything but just pull it off the shelf and bring it to you," said Mattox, whose company also does cutting, bevelling, flange-making and other finishing on its products.
"We see a niche for customers that want to be able to get a finished product instead of coordinating that work between two companies."
Mattsco Supply has 40 employees, an all-time high, but it could add that many in the next few years with expanded capacity at the new facility, Mattox said.
Mattsco was started in 1982 by John Mattox, father of the current owners, who worked in the energy business before starting the pipe supply company. When he moved the outfit from Sand Springs to Admiral Place, business took off and sustained years of solid growth.
But starting about four years ago, the brothers decided they wanted to expand the company's presence and increase sales. The hard work has paid off with record growth since 2008.
Mattox said the growth in the energy industry has given his company a chance to pursue customers who are ignored by national pipe suppliers. Mattsco does work for a variety of industries such as refineries, natural gas plants and pipeline companies.
So the business is poised to grow more, just as soon as the owners and employees get everything moved to the new facility on an estimated 250 truckloads.
"It's going to be a lot of work," Mattox said, "but it'll be worth it when we get there."
Mattsco Supply Co.
Pipe supply and value-added finishing
5740 E. Admiral Place
Founded: 1982
Founder: John Mattox
Employees: 40
Original Print Headline: Room to grow
Kyle Arnold 918-581-8380
kyle.arnold@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Bob Mattox (left), vice president of Mattsco Supply Co., stands with his brothers Carlyn Mattox, the company's president, and Mattsco secretary Kyle Mattox. The growing company is moving to a bigger facility near the Tulsa Port of Catoosa. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
David Orwig, a machinist and warehouse worker at Mattsco Supply Co., works with piping at the company's East Admiral Place headquarters. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
|
