Columbus McKinnon Reviews

Pros

I have been working at CMCO for 10 years. CMCO is a leading designer and manufacturer company for material handling intelligent motion solutions. If you have mechanical, electrical or software engineering background, CMCO is the right place to advance your career. There are plenty of choices within the company if you would like to pursue technical direction, project management direction or product management direction.

Cons

The company has hybrid working hours. You can consider it either pros or cons.

Pros

I think this company has good long term potential for a career. My manager is very easy to work for and there is a team environment and mentality among our group. I really enjoy the hybrid environment and the ability to work from home sometimes.

Cons

Lots of old legacy data/systems, although that is being phased out/improved. I wish the factory was closer to the main office. Salary isn't the greatest but compared to some other companies that pay a little more where all I did was live to work, CMCO is better overall.

Pros

Most of the people I've come into contact with are absolutely fantastic and so very helpful. Honestly, that was the most significant draw for me. Everyone here was - and still is - SO willing to help with anything I needed. Also, in my particular role and with all the company acquisitions, there is a wide range of products/projects to work on; from hoists to conveyors to actuators to test fixtures. I've learned an immense amount about these different product fields in my relatively short time here and there's still so much to learn. The "old guard" is very knowledgeable and so willing to share their expertise and knowledge. Management has also made a huge effort to be more transparent and open about the business as a whole to showcase the goals we're working towards and our efforts at reaching them. An all-around interesting and pleasant place to work!

Cons

The downside to all the acquisitions and working between the brands is not having a single "way to do things". Going from project to project sometimes feels like learning to walk over and over again. As soon as you think you understand the structure and practices of the brand you're working with, another project with a different brand comes along and you're re-learning/re-adjusting to fit a different set of processes. All that being said, CMCO has been working on a plan to bring everybody under roughly the same set of processes and workflows to make everything more consistent across the board. There are growing pains, but it's definitely moving in the right direction.

Pros

- (Almost) Everyone I work with has been friendly enough so far.

Cons

First let me say that I genuinely hope things turn around for this company. The potential is certainly there. I think they are 2-3 good hires/fires away. - Inflexibility. Successful companies realize when something isn't working. If they fail, they fail quickly and pivot. CMCO plows straight ahead with failed systems and processes, continuously throwing, time, money and manpower at issues to no avail. Change occurs much slower than it should/needs to in order to remain competitive. - Meetings. Related to the ineptitude are the endless meetings. The company seems to correlate meetings with progress, when in fact the opposite is occurring. One problem typically equals seven meetings and zero solutions. - Poor Delegation. Delegation is critical for successful management... That said, everyone I've worked with in an upper management position is ignorant to what is going on under them. I'm not being hyperbolic - I can't think of one exception. It's a systemic issue. They pass off responsibility and hope the person they've delegated to knows what they're doing (and they usually don't). - Benefits. In America, top talent usually choose positions with top benefits. CMCO does not offer competitive PTO.

Pros

Good work life balance and flexible with schedules. Team is hardworking and dedicated. Strong knowledge base in hourly associates and front-line leaders, but senior management is relatively new. They invest in growing their people, many of the supervisors started as employees on the floor.

Cons

Smaller company with fewer resources than larger counterparts. Some opportunities for improvement in compensation but seems to be moving in the right direction with more recent hires.

Pros

Good progress on several fronts - talent, process, technology, communication Great acquisitions in recent years. Shifting more towards technology solution provider from mature industrial commodity.

Cons

In early stages of developing global processes. Must be comfortable rolling up sleeves, working with some gray space, and developing processes as you go.

Pros

Everyone is very friendly! The managers are flexible if you need time off or work from home. The culture is great and they are very much about their employee's. Leadership takes the time to talk to you and doesn't make you feel like you are any less important.

Cons

Sometimes it can get too cold in the summer.

Pros

- CMCO values individual career paths - Great compensation and benefits - Fun initiatives - They care about the community and environment - The company is growing!

Cons

- I haven't been here for that long but I haven't experienced any real cons yet.

Pros

Great culture and strong alignment to core values. They care about their people. The company is passionate about growth and is taking positive steps to achieve that goal. Investing in advancing product technology.

Cons

Some computer tools are out of date, but they’re working to improve that.

Pros

Some benefits and some great people

Cons

Toxic, favoritism, better-than-you management, angry, angry people.