Byron Center manufacturer tees up new market, adds 25 jobs

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

Since January, Byron Center-based Flow-Rite Controls added 25 jobs and bumped up sales 50 percent over the same quarter last year. That appears to be the norm for a company that’s grown 20 percent annually since 2002.

Flow-Rite manufactures industrial batteries and fluid valves for the recreation fishing boat industry. Last year, the company exploded the market for golf cart battery refill valves, the Pro-Fill Single Point Watering System.

“We got a big golf cart manufacturer to offer our battery refill valve as an accessory,” says Ron Earl, director of marketing. “We’ve been growing into new markets. We find a niche, we find a problem, and we find a way to solve it.”

The problem with golf cart batteries is that they need to be manually refilled with water every week or so. With four to eight batteries per cart, that can take an employee 15 minutes to do it right. Done wrong, the batteries lose life and must be replaced prematurely. At $75 to $125 each, that’s an expensive prospect.

The Pro-Fill system connects all the water reservoirs in the battery with one tube and a series of valves; anyone can refill the battery to the correct levels without overfilling in 30 seconds. And the battery stays closed, reducing the risk of injuries from acid.

“I’d guess about a hundred companies have tried to create this over the years and don’t do it anymore,” Earl says. “We’ve been successful.”

In 2006, Flow-Rite doubled its production facility to 47,000 square feet. This year, it’s launching two new products and needs to add equipment to make them, but there’s no room. Company leaders are considering a 40,000 square foot expansion.

Source: Ron Earl, Flow-Rite Controls

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.