About
Southbrook Technologies was founded by Steven D. Zeller, bringing over 25 years of "hands on" aerospace manufacturing engineering experience.
Mr. Zeller earned a B.A. Degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and has studied Electronic Engineering Technology at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Zeller holds both FAA Pilot and Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics (A&P) licenses.
Mr. Zeller worked in sales engineering for Garrett Airesearch (now Honeywell) in the Torrance, California and Atlanta, Georgia offices from 1983 to 1987
Primary responsibilities included technical support on the Gulfstream GIV certification and Lockheed C5B programs.
In 1987, Mr Zeller assumed the position of Sales Manager for BP Advanced Materials Division (HITCO) Insulation Products and was responsible for both the Gardena, California and Atlanta, Georgia manufacturing facilities.
It was at this time that Mr. Zeller became heavily involved in manufacturing tooling and process development in an effort to improve both product quality and profit margins.
HITCO was struggling to compete in an increasingly difficult marketplace. Improvements in tooling and manufacturing process and the resulting reduction in production costs made it possible to win significant new business.
Since 1991, Southbrook Technologies has worked closely with composite manufacturing and repair customers in Aerospace, Industrial, Marine and Sporting Goods markets throughout the Southeastern United States, assisting with efforts to improve product yield, quality and profitability.
What is a Manufacturer’s Representative?
- A manufacturer’s representative is an individual or organization which provides sales and technical support to a client under contract. They are not an employee.
- Successful reps work hard at developing specialized technical expertise and concentrate on a specific market and geographic region.
- Successful reps carefully protect a client’s intellectual and proprietary property, they will not represent clients whose product lines “overlap” or conflict with one another.
- The rep pays their own travel and sales expenses. These costs can be considerable, especially when covering a huge geographic region such as the southeastern U.S.
- The rep pays their own insurance expenses and withholding taxes.
- Payment for the rep’s services is negotiated based on a combination of many factors. A rep working a limited geographic territory and selling a product with a very short sales cycle might work on percentage commission. Larger territories and products which take a long time to qualify usually require that the rep receive a retainer plus commission, or get credit for existing sales within the territory.
- A manufacturer’s representative is an individual or organization which provides sales and technical support to a client under contract. They are not an employee.
- Successful reps work hard at developing specialized technical expertise and concentrate on a specific market and geographic region.
- Successful reps carefully protect a client’s intellectual and proprietary property, they will not represent clients whose product lines “overlap” or conflict with one another.
- The rep pays their own travel and sales expenses. These costs can be considerable, especially when covering a huge geographic region such as the southeastern U.S.
- The rep pays their own insurance expenses and withholding taxes.
- Payment for the rep’s services is negotiated based on a combination of many factors. A rep working a limited geographic territory and selling a product with a very short sales cycle might work on percentage commission. Larger territories and products which take a long time to qualify usually require that the rep receive a retainer plus commission, or get credit for existing sales within the territory.
The southeastern United States is a huge territory, both time consuming and expensive to travel. Many major manufacturers have relocated to the deep south, due to a favorable tax and labor environment.
