With a protracted safety streak and vertical integration, SSP continues to shape the future of aerospace and beyond
Countless sectors, including aerospace, chemicals, oil and gas, power, and transportation, as well as pulp and paper, rely on SSP’s diverse offerings. A family-owned company headquartered in Twinsburg, Ohio, SSP stands out as the largest single-site, vertically integrated manufacturer of fittings and valves. By combining the best people, capital, equipment, and processes with a safe work environment, the company consistently achieves remarkable results. We gain exclusive insights into SSP’s history and processes from David King, Chief Executive Officer.
“SSP is a 100-year-old manufacturing company with a rich history. For several decades, we operated as a screw machine shop focused on manufacturing fasteners. Around the Second World War, we transitioned into fitting manufacturing and served as a contract manufacturer until the 1970s, when my father transformed SSP into a product-focused company. This shift led us to develop a catalog of offerings, a model we have successfully continued to follow for the last 50 years. From the 1980s through to the early 2000s, we prioritized vertical integration. As a result, not only do we turn metal and manufacture fittings and valves, but we also produce all of our own specialty tooling. Being vertically integrated gives us a significant competitive advantage, as very few companies in North America still engage in forging today, resulting in long lead times for those that do not. Having primarily established ourselves as a fitting company, we acquired a valve company in the early 2000s, further expanding our offerings. In a more recent development, we successfully passed our registration audit to become AS 9100 certified,” he opens.
Driven by several factors, SSP’s decision to develop in-house tooling and forging capabilities has made a significant and positive impact on both its production quality and timelines. The impetus behind the integration of such capabilities was to control as many aspects of the manufacturing process as possible. This in turn streamlines SSP’s supply chain and reduces its reliance on external suppliers. So far, the company’s in-house tooling and forging capabilities have proven highly advantageous, as they create a rapid feedback loop that has further improved the quality of SSP’s offerings while compressing lead times for its customers and distribution partners.
To complement these advancements, the company has recently invested in advanced manufacturing technologies, including CNC machining. David sheds light on how these investments have led to streamlined and more efficient production processes. “We have adopted a very aggressive strategy to employing the absolute best technology available for our manufacturing processes. This approach has brought a number of benefits. First, it takes manual labor out of the process, which means that our workforce is empowered to undertake higher-quality tasks that can only be completed by skilled technicians. While this shift increases our reliance on engineers for programming, our main goal is to enhance productivity, reduce lead times, and drive overall efficiency. Another notable benefit of using the latest and greatest technology is that it typically produces superior-quality parts and incorporates more built-in safety guards. This safety feature is particularly important to us, as we are now nearing 11.5 years without a lost-time accident in our facility. The safety of our associates and customers is paramount, and this advanced technology plays a crucial role in helping us achieve that goal,” he informs.
Safety Standards
Reaching over a decade without a single lost-time accident is an impressive feat and a source of pride for SSP. David tells us more about how the company has managed to maintain such high safety standards to achieve this milestone. “Culture is the leading factor behind this accomplishment. Indeed, we continuously emphasize that ensuring everyone goes home safe every day is our primary objective. After that, we focus on taking care of our customers. In addition, we reinforce a culture of constant communication, while encouraging employees to take their time and do the job right the first time. Achieving such a high level of safety requires significant focus, communication, and vigilance,” he reveals.
Safety and effective communication are core pillars of SSP’s working ethos, playing a vital role in its ability to attract and retain talent as the industry continues to face labor shortages. In David’s view, “skilled labor and the evolving workforce are the secret sauce these days.” To create as good a work environment as possible, which is an ongoing objective for SSP, the company employs several traditional strategies. For example, it prioritizes rewards and recognition for its employees and has implemented a robust profit-sharing program. Moreover, this year, the company is resurrecting its apprenticeship program in order to partner with local technical training facilities, with the aim of providing apprenticeship opportunities for all of its skilled labor.
With its unparalleled safety record and dedicated workforce, it is no surprise that SSP continues to thrive after a century in business. As the company celebrates its 100th anniversary this September, David reflects on the factors that have contributed to SSP’s enduring success and longevity over the past decades. “I believe that our private ownership structure certainly empowered us to achieve this. Unlike many private owners who extract capital from the business, I choose to reinvest and prepare SSP for long-term growth. The company is four generations old, with three of those generations in my family, as my grandfather acquired the company from the founders. Overall, we have been fortunate to be part of a robust economy, and being located in America has been advantageous. Diligence has also played a key role in our success; business is challenging but we have worked hard at it.”
Kristin Evans, Vice President of Marketing, elaborates further by highlighting the importance of David’s leadership in the company’s success: “One of the most important reasons for SSP’s continued growth is David’s unwavering dedication to the company. He is consistently reinvesting in SSP, whether through new technology, maintaining our skilled labor force, or our ongoing efforts to improve company culture day in and day out, bringing in new ways of ensuring that we are all aligned together. As part of that, we recently adopted the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to ensure we are always collectively working to keep the company’s interests at the forefront, and we are all very grateful for David’s leadership.”
Aside from celebrating its first century in the industry, SSP has several key priorities for the year ahead, as David explains. “Among our top priorities for 2026 is the continued development of our organizational culture. As Kristin just mentioned, we now run on the EOS and we will be continuing to roll that out across the company. Recently, we have pivoted and are focusing more on aerospace opportunities, which have proven significant in 2025 and are expected to continue their momentum in 2026. This shift is one of the reasons why we recently passed our registration audit to become AS 9100 certified. Alongside these initiatives, we will also maintain our investments in advanced manufacturing technology,” he concludes.
As SSP celebrates 100 years of excellence, its commitment to innovation, safety, and talent development positions it for future success. The company’s strategic pivot towards aerospace opportunities and its ongoing investments in processes pave the way for sustainable growth in an evolving industry landscape.