It is a remarkable achievement for any company to reach a century in business, let alone remain family-owned and operated the entire time. Soon to turn 103 years old, Tempe, Arizona-headquartered Coxreels® shows no sign of slowing and remains among America’s top manufacturers of hose, cable, and cord reels.
In its fifth generation of family ownership, Coxreels knows the market better than its competitors. At Coxreels, ‘Quality’ isn’t just a word, but represents a genuine, time-honored commitment founded on superior materials, outstanding service, and Made-in-the-U.S.A. craftsmanship. For the company’s many commercial and industrial customers, these values have real meaning.
With everything going on in the world today, Buy America is more important now than ever, says Coxreels’ Director of Engineering John Kucera. “The obvious reason for purchasing domestic product is the quality of product and the local relationship, which provides the rapid response capability to customer needs that can only happen with a domestic presence,” he says. “These elements end up being essential to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) who use our reels to produce their own products. For the end user, the quality aspect takes center stage.”
Another vital consideration is what Kucera calls “the echo of the dollar.” Everyone understands that a dollar spent on an imported product has some small piece that stays in the United States for profit and transportation, but most of that dollar leaves the country. They also understand the dollar spent on U.S. goods stays in America, but sometimes the effect of the dollar echo is lost.
“The echo of the dollar is the repeated effects after the primary transaction,” Kucera explains. “A dollar spent on a Coxreels product supports Coxreels employees, and buys domestic materials with any profits reinvested in the U.S.”
Buying items made in America not only benefits Coxreels but the overall economy, an aspect sometimes overlooked or misunderstood. “For example, to make our products, Coxreels uses a local vendor to purchase a steel bar; not only is the steel mill that made the bar getting part of a dollar spent on a Coxreels product, but the echo spreads like a ripple in a pond.” Many individuals and businesses benefit along the way, from delivery drivers to forklift operators to steel distributors, city workers, road crews, and others. “These unrecognized echoes of every dollar spent in the U.S. are the fundamental reasons to buy American goods. It elevates all of us and ensures a solid future for our children.”
Coxreels’ Vice President of Sales and Business Development, Jerry Medley, agrees. In recent years, the world of business has seen just how fragile global supply chains can be. When purchasing domestically manufactured products, lead times are much shorter, there is greater quality oversight, American jobs are supported, and there is reinvestment in the U.S. economy.
“At Coxreels, every reel is manufactured right here in Tempe, Arizona by some of the brightest, most talented, and skilled people in the business,” says Medley. “Their focus on the guiding principles in our Core Values—Being Driven to be the best; Being a Team Player; Working Together to produce the best reels in the business; Taking Action to do whatever is needed to deliver a world-class customer experience; and Leading by Example in their words, attitude, and actions—really sets this team, and Coxreels, apart,” he enthuses.
“Our customers can trust that what they’re getting is built to last, backed by people who stand behind their work and made under the most rigorous quality standards. Buying American-made products matters because quality matters.”
Maintaining the quality of finished products doesn’t just happen; it requires commitment to every stage of the production process and the overall business. As Kucera says, it’s not just about the final inspection, but a comprehensive approach involving planning, design, production, and even supplier management.
At Coxreels, respect for quality isn’t just internal, but external as well. Some customers, such as the U.S. military, have their own strict quality requirements, and Coxreels’ Quality Management System (QMS) is robust, comprehensive, and continually improving. “We have integrated quality systems that maintain an appropriate level of in-process monitoring as well as finished goods inspections,” Kucera tells us. “Key points in the process involve inspections to ensure compliance, and critical purchased goods undergo incoming inspections, including destructive testing in several cases.”
Quality is everyone’s business, and the Coxreels team is empowered, at every level, to stop production and call attention to any quality defects through its internal initiative, ‘Quality Matters.’ From there, the company’s corrective action process and feedback flow work to address and correct any issues as they arise, while educating teams in prevention and process control. “Together, this multi-faceted approach, along with previous efforts like design for manufacturing, tooling, fixturing, and specifications, has resulted in our market reputation as the quality reel leader in the industry.”
For more than 100 years, Coxreels has honed its manufacturing processes. In the past five years alone, the company has made massive investments in manufacturing systems. This includes implementing systems that do more with less, reducing reliance on manual labor while increasing capabilities.
Coxreels’ current focus started several years ago, when the company added an automated shuttle sheet loading 4KW laser with auto part unloading for improved part cutting capability. This led to expanding bending capabilities with state-of-the-art hydraulic clamping and snap-in style tooled press brakes with laser guide safety systems, effectively reducing setup times and improving operator safety multi-fold. Next came the addition of new, multi-process machining systems, which increased the team’s fabrication capabilities with automated features, allowing for operator-less manufacturing in single setups.
One of the major enhancements to Coxreels’ spinning capabilities came with multiple new robotically operated metal spinning lathes for disc and other round part production with lights-out capability.
Following the product downstream, Coxreels introduced two top-of-the-line Ferris-wheel style robotic weld cells for dependable and repetitive welding operations. In addition, “our painting systems have seen significant process and inspection enhancements as well as process efficiency investments to faster process lot batches and maintain product traceability and workflow,” says Kucera. “We have added automated cable and spring processing equipment, which builds more product faster, safer, and more reliably.”
Mindful of investing in new equipment and capabilities, the company has also focused on key investments in manufacturing operations infrastructure. This was a long-term effort, requiring new data management tools, order and traveler processing systems, and improved quality measuring, inspection, and accountancy systems.
“Our infrastructure investments have yielded better production quality while improving on-time delivery and error prevention,” says Kucera. “The data management tools have improved visibility on Work-in-Progress (WIP) throughout the whole plant. The result is an increased output, with consistent quality, from the same seasoned workforce. We have been able to transition employees from manual labor to equipment operators, giving them more time during their shift for data management and quality monitoring.”
At Coxreels, maintaining the highest hose, cord, and cable reel standards comes down to two things: design philosophy and people. Production is performed in a highly systematic, deliberate way, and every reel is built for durability, safety, and long service life. All major manufacturing processes are handled in-house, from CNC machining and robotic welding to robotic disc spinning and assembly.
“That gives us complete control over quality,” says Medley. “We use the highest-grade materials, precision manufacturing techniques, and coatings like our CPC™ powder coat for long-term protection. Each reel is thoroughly inspected before it leaves our facility, and we stand behind our products with industry-leading warranties. Our engineering team is the best in the business; it’s really our people that make the difference. Their attention to detail, their incredibly strong work ethic, and their pride in their work are exceptional, and customers see it in the products they receive from Coxreels.”
One of the many remarkable things about Coxreels is that, despite being in business for over 100 years, the company has never become complacent. In just the past two years, Coxreels has made exciting advancements. This includes expanding the V-100 Series vacuum hose reels with two new compact models, the V-112-735 and V-112H-735, offering a smaller, 12-inch disc size for tighter spaces and a new swivel design for smoother performance.
“We also introduced a line of industrial-duty LED lights for our PC Series cord reels, giving our customers more functionality and safety in one solution,” says Medley. “I am especially excited about the way we’ve strengthened our ability to create fully custom-built reels to match exact customer specifications, through process improvements and new, state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment. These investments reflect our ongoing commitment to engineering flexibility, product innovation, and delivering exactly what our customers need.”
Incredibly proud of its century-plus legacy, this family-owned and operated business welcomes the decades to come. Strong core values and proactive leadership have served Coxreels well, and as the company transitions into its fifth generation of family ownership, it continues blending its rich tradition with modern technology and forward-thinking strategies. “Our success has always been built on relationships—with our customers, our employees, and our suppliers—and that’s not going to change,” says Kucera.
The company’s CEO, Brad Cox, agrees. As a proud American company and maker of the world’s largest range of high-quality industrial and commercial grade hose, cord, and cable reels, Coxreels has always been very pro-American-made products. This, says Cox, is more crucial than ever in the face of global trade tensions, tariffs, supply chain disruptions, and global conflicts.
“Coxreels ensures superior quality, safety, and durability under rigorous U.S. standards, often outpacing subpar or copied imports,” comments Cox. “Buying American-made products is an investment in our shared prosperity. It keeps dollars circulating in the U.S.A., creates better-paying jobs, and continues to build a stronger America. Our employees are well-paid, and they, in turn, spend their money in America. Coxreels’ success then allows for the profits to be spent in America investing in more equipment, people, and processes,” he says.
“I am the third generation, and the fourth generation has begun working at Coxreels. We are proud of our hard-working team at Coxreels as well as the incredible customers and partners who are with us and have fueled our 102 years in business growth.”
