Crown Equipment Reviews

Pros

World Class Operation with bright future.

Cons

Rural Area somewhat isolated from network of expertise

Advice to Senior Management

Stay the course

Pros

very stable company with history of financial success

Cons

lack of talent development when that was stated to be the goal

Advice to Senior Management

keep the good people you have

Pros

Good salary, large Co, private co., They are #1 in their industry

Cons

Not so good if you are a woman, mainly a mans co.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more aware of the performance and the actual job that your employees are doing day to day

Pros

Crown is a family owned company. They know what needs to be done to run the organization in a way that will ensure they are making money. Losing money for them is not a option and will now allow it. Numerous times they lay employees off when business is bad etc. Ok pay. Moved to Texas and I am making 2x more with the same job.

Cons

Crown needs to decide where they want to go in the future. They need to pay some of their people more money to draw them towards the company. Located where they are, not everyone is jumping up and down to move to the WHQ. I have seen a lot of great people come in to interview for critical jobs but did not accept the offer due to the money issue.

Advice to Senior Management

I would tell the owners to look at their pay scale. They can not be looking at area pay when compared to the pay they are willing to pay. They need to pay their employees more to keep them with Crown. The young people are the ones who are really leaving the company. They are getting offers to go work in Cincinnati, Columbus and as of late a lot of people are going to Dallas Tx to work.

Pros

World class manufacturer who gets a premium for their "nice" looking product. Proud of their design awards. Great looking "Company Town" Almost like stepping into a Hollywood backlot.

Cons

Senior managment is stale and has lost their way. Little or no respect for the front line people who made the company the success it "was" over the last 25 years. Equipment is now more cosmetic then durable. Relationships built on Trust & Credability are waning with an overall goal to just sell the most marketshare. Crown is no longer respected as a trusted partner to their employees nor their clients. SAD situation. Remember Clark lift from 30 years ago and look at Clark now.

Advice to Senior Management

Sell the company to a European concern who might value it's past and clean house on the incompetent senior managment.

Pros

Unique international private company.
Pretty fair advancement opportunities.
Good training
Internal rewards system
Many ways to obtain freedom from any sort of dead-end job.

Cons

Compared to the industry, this company does well.
If you do not play the political game, just like any company, you could end up black-listed.

Advice to Senior Management

If you have a job that needs to be performed, make sure that functional management is doing their job. More teamwork.

Pros

close to home and easy to commute.

Cons

The pay is somewhat lower than normal, but they are a good employer and a safe bet for job security.

Advice to Senior Management

Stay the course.

Pros

Crown is a family owned business that keeps families in mind with their employees. Even through the tough economic times, you know that the family feels for every employee and wants to help wherever they can. Crown looks to their current employees before hiring from outside the company. The benefits package was 100% paid by the company a few years ago. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case, but the amount an employee pays for a family is low compared to other companies. We have a generous holiday, vacation and personal leave program in addition to a company match 401K. As an hourly employee, your birthday is considered a paid holiday! All the branches are well run with a professional look and feel but the employees are like family whever you go. Our home office in New Bremen, Ohio is a showplace that makes each employee proud!

Cons

There does seem to be a bit of the "who you know" that gets employees promoted in the company, but, any employee that steps up to the plate and does a good job will get the necessary recognition to be "known" by the top members of the management team. Management does not pigeonhole the employees but supports cross training.
The service side of the branch is not recognized as much as the sales side.
Some "key" employees in the branches end up with more on their plate than others but the compensation usually makes up for the differences. (but not always)

Advice to Senior Management

Don't forget the service and parts departments in the branches. We are all on the same team.

Pros

Great people within my functional area. Very talented people within the group and it was a pleasure to work alongside many of them.

Cons

Family-owned. No employee communications. To many communication filters before dissemination to employees. Too much silo mentaility in many groups. Small town company that has a grip on areas workers.

Advice to Senior Management

N/A

Pros

Wide range of prenium product. Interesting sales process and job satisfaction upon closure of sales.

Cons

Lack of leadership from mid and higher management. Incompetent manager (mid-level Management). Lack of networking within related industries from the mid-level management. Pricing and decision making responsibilty was not authorize to sales personnel thus making sales closure difficult. No sense of job security.

Advice to Senior Management

Do allow sales personel to have full access to pricing and enpower them with decision making responsibility. Enhance networking within related industries.