Profits from the Sixth Sense
by Melissa Wells

It takes a special knack to anticipate the direction of the next turn a business will make, and it takes a fair dose of courage to take the risk to strategically capitalize on anticipated industry evolutions. David Curry doesn't have a crystal ball, but he seems to have had a great sixth sense as he's led Lakeland-based Curry Controls Inc. through 30 years of inventing new ways to grow and boost the bottom line.

"I've always looked for a niche market, to provide service to fulfill a need that no one else was doing," Curry says. "This is not a Ôme-too' company trying to get a piece of the market."

Curry's high-tech engineering firm specializes in installing and managing process-control systems for heavy industry. The company provides systems for electric power plants, water and wastewater treatment plants and oil and natural gas pipelines. Curry has made his livelihood by staying one step ahead of technological advancements that have transformed the way heavy industry functions.

"We like to be a leading-edge company," says Curry. "Some refer to it as bleeding edge, but that's where we have to stay."

Come up and see me
It all began in Curry's bedroom in 1972. Having worked in the Texas oil and gas pipeline industry, Curry relocated to Florida in 1966 and decided six years later to form his own company. "I'd always wanted my own business," he says. "I'd just turned 30 and I knew it was time to do it. I had an understanding wife. With my desk in our bedroom, she'd make the bed first thing in the morning in case somebody came to see me."

In the beginning, Curry focused on selling oil and gas measurement systems as a manufacturer's representative. "I had a good friend at Florida Gas Transmission who recommended that I do this," he says. "I started with Robertshaw Controls Company and Daniel Industries Inc. in Houston. I still represent them."

Curry's company quickly grew to represent 20 lines for as many manufacturers of industrial controls and valves. In the mid-1970s, the booming phosphate industry in Central Florida provided impetus for its next stage of growth.

"No [other] company was selling controls, installing and implementing them," says Curry. "I'd sell systems to my customers and they'd request installation. I saw a niche market for a systems integrator."

As a result, Curry Controls' services grew to include buying component products from suppliers, integrating them into a system and installing the system. He was providing a turnkey operation to his customers.

"I had wanted to stay a one-person operation and suddenly I had 60 union pipefitters working for me," Curry says. "I didn't plan it to be that way. This was customer driven. It was born out of the phosphate industry and then evolved to include paper mills and oil and gas pipelines."

The process systems assembled by Curry "measure pressure, temperature, flow and levels," he says. "In the course of these processes, the need arises to make instantaneous decisions. In a manufacturing process, when a temperature is reached, you need to make a decision for the next step to happen. If a tank overflows, you need to turn off the valve. When there are unsafe conditions, there's a need to shut down the system."