Colfax Corporation

Started in 1995 with a vision to build a world-class manufacturing enterprise, Colfax has grown from a specialty fluid handling company to a multi-platform diversified industrial company serving hundreds of global industries. A big reason for that growth: the foundational principles and leadership governing every aspect of Colfax operations. Read below about our history, our business philosophy, our leadership and our commitment to health, safety and the environment.

Origins

Colfax Corporation was started in 1995 by Steven and Mitchell Rales with a simple but aggressive goal:  building a world-class global industrial enterprise focused on delighting its customers and dedicated to continuous improvement.

The nucleus of our Company came from several acquisitions in the late 1990s, most notably IMO Industries Inc. And Allweiler AG.  These brought Colfax into the fluid handling and mechanical power transmission sectors.

Also in the 1990s, Colfax adopted the Colfax Business System (CBS) as its operating model.  Based on the Danaher Business System and the Toyota Production System, CBS is the foundation of our culture and drives our performance.

Focus and Growth

In the early 2000s, Colfax began reshaping itself into a higher-growth, less cyclical enterprise.  The first step in this strategy was the divestiture of the Company’s mechanical power transmission businesses and subsequent focus on fluid handling.

Through the balance of the decade, Colfax realized substantial organic growth and also strengthened its business with various complementary acquisitions.  In this period, we also integrated our formerly discrete fluid handling companies into a single, global enterprise, Colfax Fluid Handling, with marketing & sales organizations focused on key market sectors.

Transformation

At the beginning of 2012, Colfax began a new chapter with the acquisition of Charter International plc.  Charter brought to Colfax two premier industrial franchises – ESAB and Howden – and transformed our Company into a multi-platform industrial enterprise providing solutions that make the world work

When Colfax was formed in 1995, our vision was ambitious: create a world-class manufacturing organization through leading-edge management practices and lean manufacturing principles. To date, our strategy has worked well, but we still have a long way to go.

The key to success is our business model, the COLFAX BUSINESS SYSTEM® (CBS)—a customer-focused process, synthesizing strategic planning and execution strategies. It is a powerful force for continuous improvement.

The Best Team Wins Team-oriented, involved associates are our most valuable resource, and we are passionate about attracting, developing and retaining the best talent. Colfax associates win because we:

• Exhibit high integrity and respect for others
• Seek fact-based, root cause solutions, not blame
• Promote from within
• Are non-political and not bureaucratic
• Are accountable for best-of-class results, and deliver
• Strive for a safe work environment
• Believe that winning is fun

The voice-of-the-customer will always drive the development of our strategic plan, and this will result in

• A focus on quality and speed always
• Unique, value-added and differentiated solutions
• Robust, repeatable processes that consistently exceed customer expectations
• Positive problem resolution
• Competitive customer conversions

The COLFAX BUSINESS SYSTEM(CBS) is our culture, and we will deploy it with absolute passion. Additionally, we will:

• Step out of our comfort zone by setting breakthrough objectives
• Experiment and learn everyday
• Aggressively and continuously eliminate waste in every aspect of our business processes
• Benchmark the best, and then better them

Individual and organizational creativity will drive:

• Breakthrough ideas for technology, products, solutions and processes
• Differentiated customer solutions
• Out-of-the-box ideas, big and small, that add value to our world
• Above market organic growth

To consistently attract and retain loyal shareholders, we must deliver best-of-class results for

• Profits
• Working capital
• Cash flow

Driving our company forward are our associates. They take on significant challenges and responsibilities, and it pays off. We call it Total Associate Involvement—with our associates playing the crucial role in developing solutions to meet customers’ needs. Many companies talk about an entrepreneurial approach. Colfax lives it, each and every day.