Piney Ridge Company
Saluda, South Carolina

THE OVERVIEW
In 1994, Robert Culbreath founded Piney Ridge Company, a precision machine shop in Saluda, SC, as its sole employee. He services only large corporate customers, such as Michelin and Duracell USA, and enjoys repeat and new business each year. The machine shop specializes in CNC machining, prototyping, assembly, fabrication, design development, and specialty work for the automotive, aerospace, and food processing industries. The shop manufactures screws, nuts, bolts, anchors, and fasteners; provides finished machine casting; and repairs automotive electrical components. Piney Ridge employees are experienced in working with a large number of materials, including: ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, thermoplastics, stainless steel, aluminum, tool steels, monel, brass, bronze, copper, and aluminum bronze.

The industry is growing and business is steady, especially in a rural area like Saluda where competition is light.

THE CHALLENGE
Culbreath needed cash to help expand the business and hire additional employees. He first heard about SCMEP when he contacted his state senator to find out where he could locate business development grants.

Culbreath also was hearing from some large potential customers that they would only work with new suppliers who had ISO 9000 certified quality management systems in place. So in order to attract those new customers and keep his existing ones, Culbreath needed to become certified to the standard.

THE SOLUTION
After getting in touch with Andy Carr, SCMEP manufacturing specialist, Culbreath was able to take advantage of available grant funds for minority-owned rural businesses under a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant implemented by SCMEP. With the help of both SCMEP and consulting firm Ruddell & Associates, Piney Ridge worked toward becoming ISO certified and in the process hired two additional employees, one of which is a dedicated ISO representative. He was able to take advantage of about $4,000 in grant money during the certification process.

THE IMPACT
Piney Ridge Company was certified in July 2003 and since then has seen business increase by 50 percent, resulting in an additional 150 percent in revenue for the fiscal year. The company has been able to pick up the work of another supplier who went out of business, procure the necessary equipment for business expansion, and gained new customers. "We are swamped with new business now," says Culbreath.

Piney Ridge is in the process of building a new facility and is searching for two more employees to fulfill customer demands.