Dedication to safety, teamwork and demand for high quality
output are the elements that have kept Control Chief on top and in
control for the last 35 years.

The Bradford-based company -ðwhich produces “wireless
solutions,” or industrial-type remote control systems -ðcelebrates
its 35th birthday this year, according to Director of Marketing
Kelly Case. Case and three other Control Chief employees, all of
whom have been with the company for more than 25 years, recounted
the company’s many milestones and accomplishments.

Linda Comes, manager of customer service at Control Chief, has
been with the company since the beginning, she said, 35 years. In
1971, the company was called Ventron, Comes said, and boasted a
mere eight employees, including herself.

Comes, called “Queenie” by her co-workers, started in sales, she
said, and has done many jobs in her 35-year tenure. Being able and
willing to do any job is a prerequisite at Control Chief, Comes
said.

She recalled coming to work one day in a new light-colored
spring suit and high-heeled shoes only to find out from
then-president Larry Shields, who she called “Chief,” that she
would be driving a delivery truck to Buffalo, N.Y., and helping to
install systems herself.

“You never know when you get here what job you could be doing,”
Comes laughed.

She said she thinks the fact that the products are made in
America are a big selling point and point of pride, both for the
manufacturers there and the customers who use them. Many of her
customers, she added, have also been with the company for many
years.

Using Whirlpool as an example, Comes said she has had to
disappoint company buyers by telling them Control Chief no longer
makes the parts they need – parts for machines 20 years old or
older.

“We just can’t get those old parts anymore. But the machines
still work,” she said, smiling. “It’s good for our reputation,
though.”

Control Chief manufactures remote control systems mainly for the
locomotive industry and construction equipment like overhead
cranes. Lately, Case said, they have moved into the
entertainment/amusement industry. An example would be the remote
control systems used to operate the rides in an amusement park. All
systems work on one of two principles -ðradio transmission or
“Raymote,” infrared laser technology.

All company operations are conducted in house, Case said, from
executive management, accounting and sales, to customer service,
production, marketing and engineering. Also, Control Chief will
create new products or versions of standing products to custom fit
the needs of the customer.

Ed DiFonzo, who runs the metal shop and has been with the
company for 32 years, said an example of custom creation is that
over the years, as younger operators take the place of their older
counterparts, customers want joysticks on their remotes instead of
the traditional levers.

Referring to the popularity of video games, DiFonzo said the
joystick models are “more adapted to the generation change.” He
said his division has come up with some “off the wall” products
over the years.

“If you can make it out of metal,” DiFonzo said, the engineers
can design it and his shop can make it.

Jack Gee, manager of product service and an employee of the last
28 years, gets to travel the farthest on company business, he said,
to deliver and install Control Chief products around the world.
Korea, India and Jamaica are among countries using Control Chief
products, as well as states across our own country, he said.

One of the most interesting products Gee has helped to create
were stainless steel probes used to monitor the temperature of
compost piles for a company in California. The remote-controlled
devices flipped the compost over when it reached a certain
temperature, he said, to help the company maintain compliance with
“stringent government laws.”

All three said they have stayed with Control Chief so long
because the employees are like family.

“It’s just so easy to be here,” DiFonzo said. “There’s not a
person here I can’t talk to about anything.”

“It’s very family-oriented,” Comes added, saying the workforce
maintains excellent communication with each other.

Case added there are times when the executive officers make
lunch for the employees and everyone gets together and have
barbecues. When it comes time to clean the building and grounds,
all the employees come in on their days off and help.

“Even when someone leaves,” Case said, “we still maintain
contact with them and think about them.”

President and Chief Executive Officer Doug Bell said he has seen
new products and entire product lines created in his time at
Control Chief, as well as a “rededication of the employees.” He
said the longevity of employees’ careers there speaks for
itself.

For the next 35 years at Control Chief, “The game plan is to
continue the company in Bradford,” Bell said, “make the transition
of younger managers coming in over next five to 10 years and
continue to grow; make it bigger and better.”