Maddox Metal Works, Inc.

Maddox Metal Works, Inc. is a precision machining, gear cutting and sheet metal fabrications company headquarted in Dallas, Texas. The company has a diverse customer base, both domestic and international, covering food processing, aerospace & defense, oil field & steel mill equipment and other industries.

Founded in 1952 as Maddox Machine Shop by Mr. Sam Maddox, the company originally offered tool and die work along with short-run production jobs. Dies were produced by Maddox Machine Shop for framework in windows and for sliding glass doors, which were just becoming popular. At the same time, spare parts and equipment was being built for the Frito Co. in Dallas to help develop specialized machinery for making corn chips and other snack foods. With Maddox's engineering technology, this equipment was built to be highly accurate, and to last for years in hard service. Maddox also helped to develop and build the first code daters used on packaging machines.

As Frito grew into Frito-Lay and then was purchased by PepsiCo in 1968, it enabled Maddox to become a major supplier of snack food processing equipment. Maddox Machine Shop evolved into Maddox Metal Works, Inc. and moved into the company's 40,000 square foot facility in the early 1970's. The growth and diversification of Maddox Metal Works, Inc. was due to the establishment of its reputation for high quality and accurate work. This reputation has been built by the people who have vested years of loyal service to the company beginning with the founder Mr. Sam Maddox.

In 1974, Mr. Sammy Maddox was named President of Maddox Metal Works, Inc., and remains in that position today. With his leadership, and the company's philosophy of always having a happy customer and building the highest quality parts and equipment, the company now specializes in equipment for making corn-based products that includes baked and fried collets, tortilla chips and corn chips for the world-wide market. Maddox equipment can now be found in factories all over the world with major concentrations in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim. The international customer base of more than 400 snack-food manufacturing companies ensures Maddox against a turndown in any single market location. The added ability to provide a turnkey project also enhances our ability to compete in world-wide markets. In 2008, Maddox completed projects in 56 countries, and through constant research & development, Maddox is fast becoming the global leader in corn based processing equipment. Today, the food processing equipment accounts for approximately 60% of the company's sales.

In the mid-70's, Maddox took advantage of its reputation for high quality and accurate workmanship, to branch out into the gear manufacturing and aerospace industries. With commercial and defense work for customers such as Bell Helicopter, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Northrup-Grumman, Maddox has been able to fine-tune a Quality Control system that has qualified for Bell Helicopter's 'Flight Safety' program, their highest quality rating obtainable. This penchant for quality has enabled the company to stay healthy and strong through some of the difficult economic times experienced in the Dallas- Ft. Worth area.

Maddox Metal Works, Inc. now has the largest capacity for commercial gearing in North Texas. From fine-pitch gears no larger than a pencil eraser to 72-inch diameter gears weighing over 7,300 pounds, Maddox performs a wide variety of gear and spline operations from the simplest to the highly technical. The company has a large hydraulic broaching department for machining internal splines, keyways, hex holes, etc. Thread milling is also an area of considerable expertise and Maddox offers design consultation to any of its customers. Customer and product diversification and the insistence on providing only high quality goods and services, has allowed the company to maintain a loyal base of customers in all parts of the world.

In 1997, the company expanded its operations with the acquisition of a new 60,000 square foot manufacturing center. With major capital expenditures, the Company converted this building into a facility housing the fabrication, sheet metal, and assembly operations. It also provides both shop and office space for better controlled and centralized operations. Today, this facility is fully operational, including on-line computer systems involving purchasing, shipping and receiving, spare parts and inventory, and related shop control activities.

As the company moved into the 1990's, the acquisition of Adams International was one of many significant achievements. Adams was originally the Flakall Company, located in Beloit, WI. During the 1930s, the Flakall Company that produced corn-based feed for livestock sought a way to produce feed that did not contain sharp hulls and grain dust and eventually produced a machine that broke the grain into small pieces by flaking it. The Flakall Company became successful manufacturers of flaked feed. One day as Edward Wilson was working as a flake operator at the Flakall Company, he noticed that workers poured moistened corn kernels into the machine to reduce clogging. He found that when the flaking machine ran continuously it made parts of it quite hot. The moistened cornmeal came out of the machine in puffy ribbons, hardened as it hit the air, and fell to the ground. Wilson took the ribbons home, added oil and flavor and made the first cheese curls. So was introduced the first corn snack extruder. He applied for a patent in 1939 and the product, named Korn Kurls, was commercialized in 1946 by the Adams Corporation. By 1950 the Adams Corporation was mass-producing the Korn Kurl.

Eventually Beatrice Foods bought the Adams Corporation, along with the original patents on several machines and changed the name to Adams International. Adams International was acquired by Maddox Metal Works in 1993.

With new financial strength and the dedication of the employees, Maddox became a leaner and stronger company focused on its areas of strength. Increased emphasis was placed on expansion of domestic as well as selected international business and much of the company's research and development effort was being aggressively devoted to new product lines, electro-static seasoners and the biodegradable loose-fill business.

One of the company's most important challenges for the future is to refocus on domestic operations that have demonstrated their ability to maximize the earning potential of the business. With its technological and market advantage, Maddox will continue to outperform its competitors, maintaining its position as the number one snack-food equipment marketer. As we enter the year 2009, while the near-term outlook for business is difficult to predict because of the global economic crisis we continue to believe Maddox Metal Works offers the best opportunities for long-term profitability. By concentrating on what we do best and preserving our flexibility, Maddox will emerge as a stronger company capable of superior performance over the long term.