• Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
  • ENGINEERS
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
  • INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • CONTRACTORS
  • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
  • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
  • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • WATER TREATMENT
  • PMC COLUMNS
  • PMC COLUMNS
  • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
  • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
  • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
  • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
  • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
  • CONTINUING EDUCATION
  • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
  • FIRE PROTECTION
  • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
  • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
  • PME COLUMNS
  • PME COLUMNS
  • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
  • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
  • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
  • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
  • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
  • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
  • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
  • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
  • CODES
  • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
  • PROJECT PROFILES
  • COLUMNS
  • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • COLUMNS
  • Codes Corner
  • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
  • Guest Editorial
  • MEDIA
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
  • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
  • DIRECTORIES
  • EBOOKS
  • PM BOOKSTORE
  • CE CENTER
  • MARKET RESEARCH
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
  • EMAGAZINE
  • ARCHIVE ISSUES
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE
  • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!
Plumbing NewsPM ProfileBusiness Management

PM Profile: Ridge Tool’s Fred Pond

Investing in employees and the community.

By Jen Anesi-Brombach
PM Profile: Ridge Tool’s Fred Pond

Ridge Tool President Fred Pond. Photo credit: Ridge Tool

February 9, 2018

PM sat down recently with Ridge Tool President Fred Pond at the company’s Elyria, Ohio, headquarters, where the company has been working to expand and improve its manufacturing processes while simultaneously investing significantly in the surrounding community.

 

PM: How has Ridge been investing in its manufacturing over the past year or so?

FP: Well, first of all it's not a singular-year thing for us. We've had a very, very strong track record of investment for a long period of time. We’ve invested significant sums of money just in this facility alone — I mean, it’s almost hard to spend that amount of money unless you've got a really good plan. The vast majority of our capital goes into our processing and our abilities to produce better products, hold tighter tolerances. Frankly, we needed additional capacity throughout the world in terms of just our growth.

I think probably the amazing thing about RIDGID is that even when times were a little tough, we continued to invest. We did not hold back on investment, and you can see it. You can walk around the floor and there's, I don't even know, 400 machine tools probably down on this floor alone. It's pretty densely packed with machine tools.

 

PM: Are you running out of room at your Elyria facility?

FP: If you come back 12 months from now, we're going to show you something really, really cool — we’ve got some really big plans for this facility. We’re going to go to smaller, kind of. What we found out was we had spaced all of those machines downstairs because we had to get two tubs in between them, but now, if we get two of these walk-behind wire baskets, I can put machining tools even closer together. So that was probably the one benefit that we didn’t really even think it when we started the process of eliminating the stackers. As we get rid of the stackers, of course, there’ll be inventory only on the floor.

 

PM: How many area residents have you hired and trained lately, and can you talk a little about your company culture?

FP: On the hourly workforce, just in the last several months we’ve brought more than 40 people on. One of the beauties of RIDGID, and it really is an interesting thing, is that these are really good jobs. People want to work here, they're proud of working here — they're proud of working for an American company that has this great tradition.

We just had an open house, and we had about 1,000 people attend, many of whom were retirees. They all wrote me these nice notes saying that no one does this [host a company open house] — why do you do it? I said, well, because you know what? You’re part of this, and you're an important portion of this. We're not going to forget that.

It was amazing to me to see our very young employees coming in and bringing their families and saying: “Here’s what I do and here's how I do it today versus how I used to do it. Here’s what I’ve done. I’ve set this cell up, I worked on this, I was the guy who designed this.” So we have this very inclusive kind of thoughtful process today, and I think people want to be part of that. They feel connected to it. It’s very common for people to come here and spend 40 years.

 

PM: I noticed that safety is a top concern in your facility. Can you talk a little bit about that?

FP: Absolutely. You really picked up on something that's really near and dear to our hearts, and it's a basic human right. You deserve to work in an environment where you're free of any form of an accident. We need everybody engaged to make that happen. It's not that I can stand up and say, “Geez, don't do this," because that doesn't work.

We’ve had pretty active engagement across all of our employees, and that’s globally. That’s really hard to do. We have improved safety dramatically and seen about a 300% decrease over the last 10 years — maybe 400% since then — and an incident for us could be a bee sting. You could walk outside and a bee could sting you and of course it swells up and you've got to go to the doctor or something.

We’re working at it each and every day. We want our people to be absolutely free from any accident if at all possible, so we rethink everything. We look at everything. That’s absolutely been a huge focus of ours.

 

PM: I heard you now have a dedicated person whose job is just to ensure safety, correct?

FP: Yeah, he does. He wears actually a couple of hats, in fairness. He has a bit of a background in this area, and he's actually part of our HR department, but really, safety starts with everybody. They have got to walk in with that mindset. You came in this way; we want you to go home the same way. Go home happy and healthy to your families when you're done with the workday.

 

PM: You work with the local community college, but what else are you doing to promote the trades?

FP: We have a long, long history of doing that. I’ve been with the company 38 years and I can't remember a time where we didn't have active involvement. We actually have a couple of universities. This is pretty funny. We have one Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where our 60-inch pipe wrench is their mascot.

We do a lot with the trades, and we do a lot in terms of philanthropic donations. But certainly we’re involved in things like SkillsUSA and PHCC. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't get a request from somebody in terms of donations for either a trade school, high school, or something else, and you can't press all the keys on the piano, but you try to press as many as you can.

KEYWORDS: contractors power tools

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Jen anesi brombach aug2018 200x200

Jen Anesi-Brombach was a Chief Editor of Plumbing & Mechanical.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
close

1 COMPLIMENTARY ARTICLE(S) LEFT

Loader

Already a Registered User? Sign in now.

Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

AI can boost efficiency and profitability for plumbing, HVAC contractors

AI can boost efficiency and profitability for plumbing, HVAC contractors

NIBCO Press Solutions

NIBCO Press Solutions

IPEX celebrates grand opening of new Florida distribution center

IPEX celebrates grand opening of new Florida distribution center

Bell & Gossett Illustrates Path to Net-zero at AHR Expo

Bell & Gossett Illustrates Path to Net-zero at AHR Expo

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

Figure 1 is a sketch of the flow problems of the current plumbing system.

Hydronic heating glitch solved: Why adding a circulator won't fix primary loop flow issue

The interior of a government building.

President Trump signs executive order promoting skilled trades and apprenticeships

Underfloor heating installation with drain sewer hole in bathroom close up on water floor heating.

Using hydronics to leverage time-of-use electrical rates

PM BEMIS June 25 Free Webinar: Optimizing Plumbing Solutions for Single-Family, Multi-Family & Public Spaces

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

Related Articles

  • Milwaukee MX

    PM Profile: Milwaukee Tool

    See More
  • Danielle Putnam, president of The New Flat Rate, and Matt Koop, vice president of The New Flat Rate

    PM Profile: The New Flat Rate's Danielle Putnam and Matt Koop

    See More
  • pm profile feat

    PM Profile: Milwaukee Tool’s Steve Richman

    See More
×

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!