POWERGRAMS

30 claim of building "Undeniably the World's Finest Compressors." For nearly a century, Quincy Compressor has backed up its boast. A glass case crammed with crystal and bronze awards, such as Product of the Year, is one way to judge a company's worth. A beer way might be the continuing sales to some of the world's most recognized companies, as well as young customers who don't quibble over cost when walking through Lowe's or cruising the Northern Tool catalogue. NASA uses Quincy compressors on its shule launchpads. Six Flags uses Quincy equipment to safely bring the amusement park roller coasters to a halt. The company got its name from the city where it was founded in 1920: Quincy, Illinois. But in 2015 the factory and home offices up North were consolidated and moved to the newer Bay Minee facility, bringing a factory expansion and pushing employment to about 250, which doesn't include a nationwide independent sales and service force of about 500 people in 150 locations. "The company grew up around our piston technology but that technology has continuously changed," says Jacqueline Gay, marketing services manager. "A lot of people consider compressed air sort of the fourth utility. Most companies use compressed air in some fashion and, within industry, our brand name is synonymous with quality." While a small Quincy compressor is considered the premium brand for the average DIY guy or gal, the bulk of the company's sales are industrial gas- or electric-powered machines that are about 6 feet long and 5 feet tall. Another huge seller is the compressors that propel food and beverage dispensers in restaurants. However, Quincy employees designed and built six compressors, each big enough to fill an average-size living room, for the Thyssenkrupp steel factory in Mobile. "There are so many kinds of applications," says Gay, a Dallas native who's been with Quincy 14 years. "We manufacture the components and provide the service. We also help companies recognize and understand how they can improve their systems for energy efficiency." Last year Quincy sold a record number of compressors, many of them to repeat customers. New customers have been drawn to the Intelligent Connectivity System that predicts potential shutdowns, and the Badger XE, which operates in harsh weather that can ruin competing-brand equipment. Gay says the Badger is considered "the biggest thing since sliced bread" by industry insiders and buyers. Quincy employees average about 15 years on the job but some have been working at the Bay Minee plant for 40. They take parts that arrive as red hunks of stainless steel and through steps down the line produce shiny silver components that could pass for artwork. Those parts and many others go into the car-sized QSI 1500, Quincy's "bread and buer" compressor that powers oil wells around the world. "They'll turn them on and just walk away, which is a testament to our compressors' durability," Gay says. "Those will still look good in 25 or 30 years." APC Office Tripp Ward has a big stuffed bass and a buck hanging on his office wall. He's proud of his country origins, having been raised on a family farm in York, which propelled him to a rodeo scholarship at the University of West Alabama. In 2004, he married his college sweetheart, Natalie, a Columbus, Mississippi, native, which was a big town to Ward. He went to work at Mississippi Power as a customer service representative. Aer four years, he was promoted to an analyst at Plant Ratcliffe, became a team leader and aer nine years in Mississippi, last August joined Alabama Power. Quincy Compressor's 250 employees build 'World's Finest' compressed air machines

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