Today, Sentry provides new or upgraded conveyance — defined essentially as equipment that can pack, pallet, handle, ship, unpack, and clean anything from bottles of soft drinks to perishable foods in numerous sizes. A partial list of corporate and business clients includes Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., Nor-Cal Beverage Co., The Boston Beer Company, Inc., Refresco Co., Vinton Packaging Group, Inc., and G.A.F. Seelig, Inc.
Sentry’s staff includes electrical and sales engineers in addition to line workers and other employees, along with a six-person research and development team. While overseas suppliers provide the company with raw materials, the design and assembly take place entirely in the same building the company has occupied for the last 21 years.
The company began its international expansion effort roughly a year ago and has engaged in conversations with potential clients in Canada, Mexico, and Chile. Helping international clients understand Sentry’s manufacturing capability has been a challenge. Through the Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program, VEDP has provided the company with introductions to professional contacts that have assisted in clarifying the ins and outs of doing business beyond U.S. borders.
Another difference is that other countries, particularly in Europe, do not necessarily follow the same formula that Simplimatic developed. Those companies tend to hire firms that provide everything a company would use on a complete line before turning over control. Sentry chooses to target its approach in a manner Goff says could save money for prospective clients.
“Tell us where you want us to start and where you want us to end — that’s pretty much our responsibility,” Goff said. “It’s going to take time to find the right people and the right companies.”
The company views this more as an opportunity than a challenge. Not every company, domestic or international, can afford to embark on a turnkey upgrade. Goff cited a hypothetical scenario in which a company wants to put in a new line for conveying cans. Most European firms would quote a price for the total package ranging somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 million. Sentry would only build what the client specifically needs, and leave it to that client to assume the costs for anything else.
“We pride ourselves on the fact that we’re not just looking at doing a complete system,” Goff said. “We’ve had customers come to us for one unique section of a conveyor belt that really needed to be designed a certain way.”
More than 80% of Sentry’s domestic business comes from return customers, Goff said. He cites one company that came to them 12 years ago, needing only a 25-inch section of a conveyor — by all definitions, a small project that would offer only a modest profit, but one that eventually became a multi-million-dollar customer.
Ultimately, Sentry’s commitment to service remains its chief objective — one that he and his colleagues believe will pay off as the company looks to expand overseas.
“Somebody always can offer something faster and cheaper than we can,” Goff said, “but nobody can give you the service and quality that we do.”
