Crawford diversifies with acquisitions

Reprinted from the Quad City Times
by Chris Youngquist

The public will get a glimpse today of the newest addition to Crawford Co., a Rock Island company that in its 49 years has grown from a residential heating and cooling company in its founder's garage to a 47,000-square foot facility at Sunset Business Park.

The company, located at 1306 Mill St., will host an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony this afternoon for the new 21,000-square foot building completed earlier this summer.  The new structure brings two Crawford subsidiaries onto the property where the company has operated since 1965.

DSP-Monoxivent, specializing in vehicle and welding fume and exhaust control, and a laser-cutting center previously operated by L.A. Laser where purchased by Crawford in 2000 and operated at their former locations while the new building was under construction.

"I think the driving force behind the acquisitions was the recognition of our need to diversify," said Bob Frink, the president of Crawford Co.  "The Quad City economy, particularly in construction, has been strong in the '90's, but anyone who has been in construction for any period of time relaizes that it tends to fluctuate up and down.  Diversification helps to spread some of that risk."

Crawford Co., which began in 1952 in the garage of founder Harvey Crawford as Crawford Heating and Cooling, has evolved from a residential cooling and heating focus to include commercial and industrial cooling, heating and ventilation systems, laser cutting and specialty welded fabrication.

DSP-Monoxivent was a Crawford Co. customer before being purchased to compliment the specialty welded fabrication operation.  That division involves custom-built equipment, mainly for industrial clients in sectors such as food service, Frink said.  A typical customer might need new conveyors, shoots or tanks for a production line.

The laser cutting division uses a computer-controlled laser cutter to cut precision parts.  "It allows us to cut fairly large pieces fairly quickly without the need of end machining," he said.

Crawford Co.'s annual sales exceed $10-million and the company employs 70 people.  Some recent projects include work at the Quad City International Airport near Moline and the Showcase Cinemas 53 and Dick's Sporting Goods, both in Davenport.

The company's $750,000 expansion was financed in part through a $100,000 loan from Bi-State Regional Commission's Revolving Loan Fund and a $74,824 loan from the City of Rock Island's Commercial/Industrial Revolving Loan Fund, as well as financing from Blackhawk State Bank.  The two acquisitions increased Crawford's work force by about 15 people, Frink said.