Business View Magazine | June 2019

134 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JUNE 2019 In 1908, the first RegO® products were designed for the gas welding industry. The name RegO® was derived from the words "Regulator" and "Oxygen." In 1923, the RegO® line was established in the young, but promising, LP-Gas industry. RegO® product engineers, in conjunction with LP-Gas marketers, pioneered the development of propane valves and regulators to meet the needs of the rapidly growing industry. The RegO® MultiValve illustrates our tradition of innovation. In the 1930s, the MultiValve® was designed to combine several valve functions in one unit. This made more practical tank designs possible - with fewer openings and smaller, less cumbersome protective hoods. Over the years, the MultiValve® has kept pace with the changing LP-Gas industry - continuing to keep tank fabricating cost down and reducing operating expenses for LP-Gas dealers. Other industry standards patented under the RegO® name include: Double Check Fill Valves, Pop Action Relief Valves, Chek-Lok Valves, and the MultiBonnet. Today, RegO® is recognized as a world leader in product quality and innovation with unsurpassed product design. Only the highest quality materials go into all RegO® products. The machining operation utilizes robotics, CNC machining, and computer-integrated manufacturing to achieve exacting standards. After passing stringent quality controls, components go to one of two assembly facilities. At a 7,000-square-meter machining facility, brass and ductile iron castings are crafted into product components. A 9,300-square- meter facility houses both assembly operations and the company’s corporate headquarters. That facility also has an in-house test laboratory, complete with a working tank farm and high- pressure lines, allowing engineers to complete design and performance tests on site. A third automated facility is dedicated solely to the production of Regulators. Following assembly, all products receive 100% testing for reliable performance. All facilities are certified to ISO9001 by UL® ...... For more information, please visit our website regoproducts.com the reputation that we have – for doing what we say we’re going to do and for providing the best product.” Quality Steel has about 300 employees working out of three manufacturing facilities – its corporate headquarters in Cleveland, Mississippi, another facility in Fremont, Ohio, and a smaller, third facility in West Jordan, Utah. Its products are sold to propane dealers, as well as propane equipment distributors. “We’ve got a network of about ten regional sales managers that work the United States and Canada, and we’ve got 17 distribution companies that we deal with,” Hardin notes. “Last year, we sold propane tanks in all 50 states and ten different countries.” Hardin believes that there are several factors that give Quality Steel a competitive advantage over the other two remaining, major propane tank manufacturers – Trinity Containers, which has recently changed its name to Arcosa, and a new entrant into the marketplace, Manchester Tank. “Number one is our brand recognition,” he relates. “We’re known in the industry for being there when we say we’re going to be there; for doing exactly what we say we’re going to do; and we’re also known in the tank industry for our extremely high quality. Each one of our distributors is also recognized in the region as the leader. 20 years ago, we only had two distributors. We were very picky about who we signed up to be a distributor.” Tom Vandini, Director of Quality and VALVES REGULATORS MULTIVALVES® CHEK-LOK®