Champion Technologies Reviews

Pros

The is room for advancement and the company allows training to further your career

Cons

The company seems to be hiring new from college employees and not good experienced people

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the good work

Pros

opportunity for career advancement with this company

Cons

hiring process seems to take a very long time

Advice to Senior Management

my advice would be to reduce the time of hiring processes

Pros

When I first started with the company in 2006, the company was undergoing rapid growth. The employees in every department I interacted with were very personable and helpful. I felt that there was an excitement because the company was striving to be a 'Tier 1' player but still maintain the personal "down home" charm of a small company that it used to be. I received two raises within the first year or so to remain competitive, the health care benefits kept improving as well as the company's match to the 401K contributions. I was readily sent to trainings and conferences around the nation.

From my time at the company, I felt that the Technical Services Departments were top notch and was always hearing stories about how they were able to solve problems that the larger companies could not solve. I have to also give kudos to the Technical Service Representatives and Field Engineers because they really seemed to know their stuff.

Experience is cherished at Champion and those with 20-30 years experience were very much valued for their expertise. Many of these folks came from the large service companies and were working on their "second careers" at Champion Technologies.

Cons

Hurricane Ike hit in late 2008 and this shut down the manufacturing for a few days due to power outage. Operations in the Gulf were affected by the hurricane, but on top of that the economy was crashing. From what i recall, customers were wanting to renegotiate contracts by early 2009. At town hall meetings, employees were assured that in previous downturns 'Champion never had any layoffs.' By April of 2009, the company is spending tons of money sending it's top management around the world assessing it's business. By November of 2009, I along with about 30 colleagues in the Technology Department are laid off. R&D was the heaviest hit. I was completely shocked by this turn of events. The entire time we were duped into thinking the company financials were stable! The following year, the company started rehiring many of the research and technical positions that were dropped.

As of July 2011, another 5-6 people were laid off from the R&D division and it has been reorganized similarly to how it was before 2005, which indicates that the company had no clear vision of what they wanted to do with the department to begin with.

Beyond the misleading of the executive management team, it just felt like R&D was disjointed from many of other departments. The Technical Departments did not have time to test experimental samples because they were too busy working on direct customer projects, Understandable because the customer should come first. It also felt like the executive management viewed the R&D division as some sort of "black hole" rather than an investment for the longterm.

At this point, don't expect significant raises, bonuses or being able to attend training/conferences.

The company is concurrently losing their more talented employees to the larger companies, and those still around are updating their Linkedin pages.

They are trimming the fat everywhere at the Fresno facility; even with the coffee and tea supply.

Management has a tendency to let you dig your own hole. You need to make sure everything you do is for the good of the company vision, but what you need to do to achieve this is never really explained/discussed during the one-on-one goal setting meetings. It depends on the manager you have though. You can set goals, complete them, yet still get a '3' rating out of '5.'

I'm not sure if "One Champion" is still their slogan. It seemed like the international offices had their own separate agendas away from the corporate one in Houston.

Advice to Senior Management

My advice to management is to consolidate management. How many directors and section managers do you really need especially one's that are inexperienced and don't know what they're doing? Positions are definitely created to protect those who play politics and are chumming with the higher ups. Think through how you want to structure and build your departments...R&D is a good example. Who knows how many years, man hours, money, employees were wasted because no clear vision was given? Also, make sure the managers you hire and promote have relevant experience and/or proven track record for the position before hiring them. The Technical Service Department is essentially the one thing that does work in the Technology Division as a whole, so continue to support and build that team.

Pros

If for no other reason than they are more than willing to teach everything you need to know and most anything you are willing to learn.

Cons

There is no transperancy of job and pay for a job level. It makes you wonder how much favoritism is involved within the company, particularly closer to the top of the ladder.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't try to change to much to fast in order to be tier 1, you may lose many of the people who can get you there and keep you there.

Pros

Plenty of projects covered wide business regions

Cons

communication between departments need to improve

Pros

I wrote a previous review 2 years ago and thought that I would update my status. I am still very happy that we are a privately held company with owners who are not stingy with the cash flow. When it comes down to needing something, Champion will ensure that you get it. I doubt many companies would be able to make a similar comparison. As long as you can justify it, there is a great potential you will recieve it to make your job that much better or easier. In my last review I said that rapid progression would not happen. Well in the changing atmosphere of trying to push Champion to bigger and Better success many positions have opened up leading to many opportunities. Pay is great, benefits of being a field guy are phenomenal, family atmoshpere etc, etc, etc. I have successfully moved between a few jobs and see potential to move a few more times before my time is done.

Cons

As stated before and with several other reviews. The apparent good ole boy network is very, very prevalent at Champion. If you don't like putting yourself in what some would call "stressful" situations of socializing with a broad range of people then you will more than likely fall into a category where you have limited your own potential. This is not a job for the timid or for people that are predominately introverted.

Raises can be abyssmal if your not willing to move around. Managers begin taking you for granted and fully expect you to make apple juice out of oranges once they realize how committed you are to the company. In my professional years I have come to learn that loyalty is not won by paying me less for doing more.

Performance reviews are a joke. There is no substance to them and I'm not even sure if they have any bearing on your actual salary increases or not.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the good work!

Pros

The employees are respectful and will teach if you ready to learn

Cons

once u done with 2 yrs leave cause their is no chance for advancing your career

Advice to Senior Management

none

Pros

The company is Privately held and it makes big difference because you never feel pressured to do more when there is less, were as in a public company they always want more at any cost. This attitude to holding onto what you have and taking care of it has led to a rapid increase in the companies size and growth. The service we talk about is not just talk, but an attitude company wide. You are expected to do whatever it takes to make your customers happy, they will provide you with whatever tools you need in accomhplishing this, and it shows in our ability to keep and get new customers in this small industry.

Cons

If you are looking for rapid ladder climbing this is not the place for you. Because there is little turnover you have very knowledgable people that tend to stay in certain positions for longer periods of time.

Advice to Senior Management

Provide a better sales force in driving our products.

Pros

good pay, stable job, nice people.

Cons

location, disorganized, manufacturing technology is behind the times.

Advice to Senior Management

hire people other than chemical engineers. Try industrial engineers, supply-chain specialists, or people with operations research background.

Pros

Employees are valued and respected. The company keeps excellent relationship with its employees (current and past). This intimate culture and strong sense of camaraderie sets Champion apart from other places. It is a growing company with caring ownership and a place to form life-long friendships.

Cons

Cautious decision making. Consensus approach to decision making can be slow sometimes. Excels at executions and tactics but can improve on long-term strategies.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't be afraid of making decisions