Customers Come First!
From its very beginning, Carris Reels has understood the importance of customers. Started in 1951 by Henry Carris with just two employees, the fledgling reel company overcame its humble beginnings by the sheer force of Henry’s Midwestern work ethic and his unwavering conviction that people would want to buy quality products. When Bill Carris took over the business from his father in 1980, he knew that the most important key to the company’s continued success would be to keep customers happy.

Staying Ahead of Competitors
Bill Carris grew the business by adding new product lines, including plastic reels. He proved to be an equally innovative president, and his vision for the company even surpassed his father’s commitment. Bill realized that,”…whatever was good enough to make the company successful today will not be good enough for the future…” He said, “…Customers are the reason we are in business. Without satisfied customers, there is no business! Our company has built a solid foundation on meeting or exceeding customer needs. Our customers’ changing needs and expectations will continue to be the focus of our everyday lives. We must stay in front of our competitors in customer satisfaction, offering creative solutions in a dynamic marketplace.”

Bringing Customers and Employees Together
Bill’s long-time vision of Carris Reels becoming employee-owned and governed not only realized his personal goal of awarding employees with legal ownership, but at the same time, it offered the creative solution for on-going success, as it inextricably linked the interests of employees with customers.

Strong Incentive
Employees at Carris know that individual job performance affects the company’s bottom line—our employee-owners watch costs like they come out of their own pockets. Pleasing our customers means that the value of our stock will increase. There is no stronger incentive than that!

The Golden Rule
Even though it is an impossible oversimplification, if there is one principle to live by, it is The Golden Rule: Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You. This rule applies to the individual and corporation alike. Many organizations establish extremely complicated codes of ethics. To Carris’ way of thinking, one need not look any further than The Golden Rule to find the most complete code of conduct on the books.

Ownership Unifies
With the unification of ownership, everyone can be united toward the same goals. Carris Reels endorses a participatory management style. Information is shared at all levels of the corporate community to those who are interested. Trust is the major component of good communication and the ability to get things done. Trust is the result of honesty, openness, and willingness.

Responsiveness to Customers
The many laudable goals of employee-ownership notwithstanding, Carris is a business like any other where profits are concerned. Responsiveness to customers is an absolute requirement. Without satisfied customers, there can be no profit, and without profit, there can be no business.

What Does Ownership Mean?
True devotion and loyalty to a company and its customers seem to be essential attributes of what ownership should be. We are proud to be 100% employee-owned and governed and believe that companies like Carris Reels that take advantage of the intelligence and ideas of all of their employees will be much more successful than those traditional companies that rely on just a few people to lead.