Christopher Comins grew up from humble beginnings. The son of a Chrysler autoworker and a decorated World War II nurse. One of five children, in a house on the outskirts of Detroit Michigan not far from 8 Mile.
Life was tough in Detroit, but the family made it through the ups and downs of strikes, layoffs and hard times. Christopher took on paper routes and cutting lawns as soon as he was able to ride a bike and push a mower, always looking for ways to help his family.
As a young man, he headed South, away from the brutally cold Michigan winters – a beat up old van, a few dollars in his pocket and a do or die attitude. Chris headed to Florida after a visit with friends convinced him this was where he wanted to live.
Gaining his experience with such jobs as a boilermaker and steel worker scaling beams thirty stories in the air, Chris accepted a job as a welder during the day while taking on various jobs after hours to make ends meet. While installing a building next door to B & H Sales (a local water and sewer materials distributor) he struck up a conversation with the company’s President.
Chris was asked to start a welding shop within B & H’s existing flange shop. When their sister company assumed the fabrication shop, Chris was asked to stay on as a sales rep.
While there, Chris opened Comins Welding in a small open air work shed where he worked nights and weekends primarily making valve wrenches.
Chris left B & H to work full time on his own when the sister company Waterworks Manufacturing couldn’t meet their required deliveries for flange pipe.
In 1986 he changed the name of the company to Custom Fab, and moved the into a small (20 foot x 60 foot) one stall location on Orange Blossom Trail. There he designed and built a cut off machine and purchased Custom Fab’s first 6” capacity threader.
The business grew rapidly and so did the need for a larger facility.
Gaining his experience with such jobs as a boilermaker and steel worker scaling beams thirty stories in the air, Chris accepted a job as a welder during the day while taking on various jobs after hours to make ends meet. While installing a building next door to B & H Sales (a local water and sewer materials distributor) he struck up a conversation with the company’s President.
Chris was asked to start a welding shop within B & H’s existing flange shop. When their sister company assumed the fabrication shop, Chris was asked to stay on as a sales rep.
While there, Chris opened Comins Welding in a small open air work shed where he worked nights and weekends primarily making valve wrenches.
Chris left B & H to work full time on his own when the sister company Waterworks Manufacturing couldn’t meet their required deliveries for flange pipe.
In 1986 he changed the name of the company to Custom Fab, and moved the into a small (20 foot x 60 foot) one stall location on Orange Blossom Trail. There he designed and built a cut off machine and purchased Custom Fab’s first 6” capacity threader.
The business grew rapidly and so did the need for a larger facility.
Custom Fab continued to grow by staying on top of industry needs. Five more yards were added, enlarging the Orlando facility to nearly 30 acres. With the addition of the Atlanta, San Antonio and Phoenix facilities, Custom Fab has become one of the largest fabricators in the Country.
Mr. Comins explains that the success of Custom Fab can be contributed to three factors- the hard work and dedication of his staff and employees, the diversity of his product line and a dedication to customer service that is unequalled in the waterworks industry.
From the urban streets of Detroit, to a thriving business that employs over 150 people in four states, Chris has worked long and hard to build the American Dream.
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