FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FAQs
Honest answers to real questions.
LEAD TIMES
We engineer a significant portion of each project upfront, which gives us real insight into routing and scheduling before we commit to a date. When we give you a lead time, it reflects actual capacity and production routing — not a number we're hoping to hit. If we tell you ten weeks, we mean ten weeks. If something changes mid-production, we call you. We don't wait for you to follow up.
The honest answer may cost us a project. If we can't hit your date, we'll tell you that rather than win the work and miss by double. We hear that complaint constantly in this industry.We engineer a significant portion of each project upfront, which gives us real insight into routing and scheduling before we commit to a date. When we give you a lead time, it reflects actual capacity and production routing — not a number we're hoping to hit. If we tell you ten weeks, we mean ten weeks. If something changes mid-production, we call you. We don't wait for you to follow up.
The honest answer may cost us a project. If we can't hit your date, we'll tell you that rather than win the work and miss by double. We hear that complaint constantly in this industry.Soon. We are building real-time production visibility into our ERP system — a job tracker that shows exactly where your order is at any stage of production. Because we route every job through defined production areas and track time in each, we can give you an accurate picture of where things stand and when they'll ship. Think of it like a pizza tracker, but for custom switchgear.
MANUFACTURING
Everything is in-house. Sheet metal fabrication, laser cutting, press brake forming, copper bus bar processing, assembly, and testing — all under one roof in Colorado. We became vertically integrated early because outside vendor lead times were fluctuating badly enough that we couldn't control our own timelines. The only way to own our delivery commitments was to own the process.
Vertical integration adds complexity and requires specialized people. But it means we are not dependent on a vendor's backlog when your project is on the line.A few specific things:
Stainless Steel. Most switchgear manufacturers treat stainless steel as a special-order exception, if they offer it at all. CODI's background in building automation for the food and beverage industry, where stainless is the standard material rather than an upgrade, means we've been fabricating it at volume for years. That experience translates directly into UL 891 switchboard production: we can build a stainless enclosure meeting NEMA 4X requirements at a minimal upcharge over painted steel, not the significant premium most of the market charges. For installations where corrosion resistance is specified, outdoor applications, wash-down environments, or anywhere a scuffed enclosure means rust bleeding down the side six months later, it's a better product built to the rating the application actually demands, and we can deliver it without treating it like a one-off.
Hex bend corner posts. We developed a six-sided bend on our switchboard corner posts. It adds structural rigidity, creates a self-centering geometry at the top of the board, provides a small amount of forgiveness during installation alignment, and creates clean cable routing channels. More manufacturing complexity and a structurally better product.
Tab-and-slot construction. Our parts are bent to tolerances tight enough that they lock themselves into position during assembly. Floor technicians aren't verifying fitment on every part. That speeds production and reduces error.
Integrated door hinges. Rather than welding one side and bolting the other, our hinge geometry is built directly into the door panel, making it more robust, fewer failure points.
The result is an enclosure where everything lines up, parts nest cleanly, and the finished product looks better than most of what's being produced in this space.
CUSTOMIZATION
Yes. There is no reason switchgear has to be ANSI 49 gray. We can powder coat enclosures white for outdoor installations where heat management matters, match an earth-tone building facade, or hit a custom color spec for your facility standards. We've been doing this in industrial environments for years and apply the same capability here.
We also offer stainless steel enclosures at a minimal upcharge over painted steel. If an installer scuffs the enclosure during a job, you don't get rust bleeding down the side six months later. For harsh or outdoor environments, it's the right answer — and we can actually build it.Since we control fabrication from raw sheet metal forward, we can adapt dimensions, layouts, materials, and configurations to what your project needs are.
The tradeoff: we want the real engineering requirements on the front end. That is what allows us to give you an accurate lead time and build something that fits the application correctly the first time. The goal is to be genuinely useful before you award the project, so that when you bring us in, we are already aligned on what the work actually needs
COMPONENTS & LISTING
We hold OEM program acceptance with Siemens, Eaton, Schneider Electric, ABB, and LS Electric. OEM acceptance is not just a vendor account — it requires demonstrated manufacturing capability that those organizations validate before approving. It gives us direct access to components, technical support, and the pricing structures that support competitive quoting. We treat these as partnerships, not just supply relationships.
UL 891 — Switchboards
UL 67 — Panelboards
UL 508 — Industrial Control Panels
Generator Docking Stations are engineered and tested to applicable standards for temporary and permanent power distribution.
PROCESS
Working with CODI starts with setting clear expectations on both sides. Our online configurator walks through the criteria that actually drive scope and cost, so by the time we talk, we are already aligned on what the project needs. There is no pressure in that conversation. Our job is to give you complete, honest information and let you make the call that is right for your project.
From there, our engineering team completes a full project review, typically within one to two business days, and comes back with a true lead time. Not a range we are hoping to hit, not a placeholder we will revise at week eight. A real date based on actual routing and current production capacity.
Because we are vertically integrated, engineering and production work under the same roof with a direct handoff. The people who reviewed your project are in direct communication with the people building it, which means the specifications that were agreed to in quoting are the same ones followed on the floor.
Our continuous improvement mindset does not stop at the manufacturing floor. When something on a project does not go the way it should, we ask what process changes come out of it and how we do better next time. That discipline is what builds a track record people can actually point to.
The goal is simple: prove again and again that we deliver what we say we are going to deliver and stand behind the product. That is what generates word of mouth, and in this industry, word of mouth is what matters. People move between roles and companies. If we did right by you at your last job, you are bringing us in at the next one.