Assemblyline workers at Conbraco's brass foundry in Pageland S.C. sit at machinery with bins of ball valves next to them (left). Within a short time, thevalves are conveyed to other workers for sorting and inspection.The immediate results of billing corrections and capacitor installations was $110,000 annually toward Conbraco’s bottom line. The total impact of all work to-date is about $860,000. Ongoing projects include a sales tax review and a competitiveness review, SCMEP’s nationally recognized assessment tool used to analyze a facility and determine its limiting factors.“I couldn’t be happier with the results SCMEP has achieved by partnering with our company,” Jenkins says. “We plan to continue working with SCMEP’s manufacturing specialists to reduce energy costs, reduce waste and increase Conbraco’s bottom line.”After completion of the energy audit, SCMEP moved on to assess other methods in which it could save Conbraco time or add more dollars to the bottom line. SCMEP introduced executives from Johnson-Parsons & Associates, a sales tax recovery consulting company headquartered in Morganton, N.C., to Conbraco’s director of accounting operations, Pat Orman. Johnson-Parsons consultants say they have helped numerous companies identify and collect overpaid sales tax dollars since 1991, saving companies hundreds of thousands of dollars.Orman hired Johnson-Parsons on the spot, and the consultants went to work identifying vendors to whom Conbraco had overpaid sales taxes in the last three years, which is the state department of revenue’s statute of limitations. They reviewed both North Carolina and South Carolina accounts payable records during a period of about one month. To keep disruptions at the plant to a minimum, consultants were able to take 2001 and 2002 records offsite for review, leaving only 2003 records for onsite evaluation. Working hand in hand with Conbraco’s purchasing agent, Johnson-Parsons reviewed past invoices, looking for instances in which the manufacturer was charged up to 7% sales tax on manufacturing items that should have carried a 1% tax rate in North Carolina and a 0% rate in South Carolina. Consultants also looked for instances in which Conbraco overpaid taxes to state government when it purchased parts and supplies from vendors outside state lines.After identifying overpayments, Johnson-Parsons contacted each vendor to request repayment of overcharged sales taxes and managed the collection process. Historically, the company has a 98% collection rate and completes the collection process in about six months.
All photos courtesy of Conbraco Industries Inc.
Two News Items of Note for Conbraco Industries
Brand-name expansion. Nearly five decades after it premiered on the first American-made commercial ball valve, the Apollo Valves brand-name is being expanded to cover all valve and accessory lines available from Conbraco Industries.Since its introduction in 1968, the Apollo nameplate has earned recognition for high quality and reliable performance among specifiers, contractors, installers and OEMs across many industrial and commercials applications. By applying the Apollo brand to all products, Conbraco officials hope to eliminate confusion in the marketplace and take full advantage of the good reputation associated with the name Apollo around the world."As proud as we are of the Conbraco tradition dating to 1928, the strength of the Apollo name has won the confidence of our customers more than any of our other brands," said Cal Mosack, Executive Vice President. "Moving to full Apollo branding is a natural progression and one the markets we serve will appreciate."
