As the most northeastern branch among the company’s 18 locations, The Macomb Group’s Akron, Ohio office serves a wide variety of customers across northeast Ohio, western Pennsylvania, the east coast, and points beyond.

According to Akron Branch Manager Dennis Roberts, at least 50 percent of its sales are generated outside a 100-mile radius, versus a traditional PVF location generating 80 percent of its sales inside a 100 mile radius. “Being in an outlying location is a distinguishing advantage and provides us a wide customer coverage area,” he said.

Roberts pointed to the Pittsburgh/Western Pennsylvania area as an important market for the Akron Branch. Working with Macomb Group Pittsburgh Regional Manager Todd Shumate, Roberts describes him as “a huge asset driving sales” in that part of the country.

“As a result," Roberts said, “we’ve been sending trucks to Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania on almost a daily basis.”

Currently, the Akron Branch is supporting a major four-year long construction project — a new building in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to house the only active uranium processing facility in the U.S. The branch has been supplying all the fire protection equipment for the project, according to Roberts.

Roberts added, “It’s been a critical project for us. Just as the pandemic was at a major stage, the project was ramping up. While other companies were temporarily laying off people, we were able to hire additional people to support the Oak Ridge project.”

With year-over-year revenue growth, Roberts credits his 30-plus team members for supporting the Akron branch as part of The Macomb Group’s overall success, especially during these most difficult times. Managers Ben Lynch, David Ford, and Ben Wetzel provide experiential leadership and are highly regarded as the best in their respective roles within the industry.

“We’ve cultivated a culture of compassion, care, and understanding for one another,” Roberts said, “because in our business we’re faced with constant unexpected situations and challenges to deal with.”

The challenges people face in their personal lives often carry over to the workplace, but for Roberts, one of Akron’s greatest successes is the ongoing support among team members for each other.