Lansink enjoys being part of the success at Comco in Ida Grove

Cheryl Lansink, Director of Sales at Comco in Ida Grove, visited with me recently about Comco, their new office location in Ida Grove, some details people don’t know and the challenges they are facing.

“Currently, there are three of us in Ida Grove, over 35 at our Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada office and we recently also opened an office in Calgary, Alberta. But Ida Grove is tough! We need more people with technical skills, including Senior Drafting / Electrical Engineer and PLC / HMI programmers.”

Cheryl described the type of business that Comco is.

“Comco is an automation company,” she explained. “We provide PLC and automation systems to any material handling facility, and we also build specialty equipment such as micro ingredient systems, for feedyards. A good example of an automation system would be a feed mill, feed yard, fertilizer facility or grain terminal – they all receive product from the incoming trucks or train and move it throughout the facility and then ship it out again via truck or train after blending or drying etc. We automate all of those processes – including the weighing at the scale - so that the facility operators can run the equipment though a computer system that is safe and accurate.”

Lansink gave a brief history of the business, and her association with it.

“The company was established in Saskatchewan in 1986,” she stated. “I joined the company in 1999 as a programmer, progressed into a sales position and eventually became the Director of Sales.

“The original owner had an electrical company in a small town in Saskatchewan. He saw the need for computerized controls in the grain terminals his electricians were wiring. When I started, I was worried that my role with the company would encourage job loss for people working in these facilities that we were automating. But that isn’t the case. There just aren’t as many people running these facilities as there used to be, so an automated system allows these places to remain open and run with fewer people. This is becoming more and more important as time goes on, since there are fewer and fewer people that want to work in these types of jobs. Also, it’s dangerous to run some of this equipment manually, so operating it from a computer is much safer. Comco was created from these industry needs.”

Cheryl’s start with the company was somewhat by chance.

“Honestly, I had just gotten my diploma in computer programming and business, and saw the posted job ad. It looked interesting, and I really needed a job, so I gave it a shot. Within a couple of weeks, I found myself in steel-toed boots at the top of a grain elevator – not AT ALL what I expected with a degree in computer programming, but it was interesting and the rest is history!”

Lansink discussed the training necessary for careers in the company.

“We hire programmers, electrical engineers, automation technicians, drafters etc. – these positions typically require a minimum of a 2-year tech school diploma. However, we do have a few people that work at Comco who don’t have formal education, but came to us with a significant amount of experience from a previous employer.”

Cheryl talked about who some of Comco’s biggest customers are.

“Some of our customers include AgState, Key Cooperative, Cargill, Heartland Coop, Aurora Coop, etc. Our current customer base is mainly North America, and we are very busy in Canada where our head office is. The Midwest is very busy too, which is why we have an office in Ida Grove. However, we have done systems as far away as Malaysia and New Zealand.”

Lansink commented on some of the changes the company has been through over the years.

“The original Comco owner retired a few years ago, so we have seen an ownership change. I was worried about this, but it has been very positive. The original owner had the vision to start and grow a solid business, but this next ownership group is really willing to invest in Comco, to help us diversify and grow our U.S. presence. Having more people in the U.S. that can support our customers is critical.”

Cheryl was asked what the most difficult aspect of the job is.

“Our biggest challenge is hiring the right people,” she explained. “This is a service industry, so we need people that have good customer skills and that are also very good in their particular technical role. Right now our office here in Ida Grove is small, so I need to put together a responsible growth plan. We have a couple of excellent senior programmers. If we could find employees with a good working knowledge of electrical, and 2-5 years’ experience on the technical side, we could then add real junior employees to be trained. It really is an exciting company to work for! So, if you have technical experience, or experience in electrical, electrical engineering, drafting, PLC / HMI programming, we would love to hear from you! We are willing to train for the particular role, but the technical skill set needs to be there from the start.”

Finally, Cheryl spoke about her favorite aspect of working for Comco.

“I love it when we work on new projects that start with a customer asking ‘what if we?” this or “how do we?” I enjoy watching an idea grow into a workable plan, and then a finalized, installed solution that really runs well, and provides such great benefits to the customers’ operations.

“That’s incredibly gratifying, and for me, I start the process of it all through sales. But getting to watch our employees take hold of a project like that, and see it through to the end, just seeing their level of gratification, that’s a lot of fun. Some days are tough, but I have been with Comco now 25 years and I can still say I truly love my job. Not a lot of people can say that. I really do work for an amazing company where people get treated well and the culture is great. Come join us!”

Comco can be reached at 712-830-7519.