It was June 18^th, 2012, and things were not going according to plan. The goal of this first day in the Canadian office with the new team was to start strong, to show these recruits that FMG was headed for success. But instead of being able to get the ball rolling with coaching and demonstrations, Publisher Jeff Hocken found, instead, that the power was out.

So, Jeff did what Jeff does best—he improvised and made it fun. This first day was not going to be what he had planned, but it would be a good day. Jeff took everyone to the pub, which turned out to be the perfect environment to get FMG to quickly transition from a group of strangers to a group of friends.

Reflecting on this day almost 10 years later, Operations Director Adam Cameron starts to describe how calm and unworried Jeff was about all this, but Jeff starts to laugh. It turns out, Jeff was panicking on the inside on this first stressful day, but he clearly had the leadership chops to project confidence, and that helped set FMG’s core philosophy of integrating fun into the workplace from day one.

“I hid my fear well, and it’s a good thing I did because Adam’s still here 10 years later, possibly because of that day and how it all started,” says Jeff. “Work has to be fun! If it’s not fun, I don’t want to be here.”

“I think I’m going to like this,” thought Adam at the time.

The early days

Focus Media Group actually has its genesis in Australia, where Jeff Hocken, his business partner at the time, and their dynamic team refined their business model.

With a degree in geography and a work history that ranged from military to sales, Jeff’s role as business owner and publisher of business magazines might not have been an obvious choice. But Jeff has always been a ‘yes’ person when it comes to opportunities. He is curious, drawn to adventure and fun, and is never the sort to turn down anyone’s idea without giving it fair consideration.

With Controller Jen Hamilton’s administrative skill and keen eye for detail, and Robert Hoshowsky’s experience as a writer and editor, the first publication, Australian Construction Focus, was born, and FMG began to refine its business model to best tell the stories of companies down-under.

As that magazine grew, the volume of work soon demanded more writing staff, and Jeff reached out to his brother, Tim Hocken (an aerospace engineer, of all things) and Jaime McKee (who holds a degree in community development) to help fill in until he could find more staff. As it turned out, Tim and Jaime enjoyed the work—the freedom to work remotely, the opportunity to learn about businesses all over the world, and the chance to work with family—and along with Robert, they formed the early editorial team at FMG and turned a temporary gig into a rewarding career.

In 2012, with the lessons learned in the Australian market, Jeff was ready to start anew in North America. Having been born and raised in Canada, the Halifax launch really represented coming home for Jeff. For Adam Cameron, however, it initially represented confusion.

When Adam first came across the job posting for Focus Media Group, he was immediately interested in the role, particularly the content research side. With an attractive on-target earnings number, he happily agreed to an interview. However, when the calendar invitation came in from an Australian email address for an interview at eight o’clock at night, Adam was certain it was just a scam, so he didn’t accept the invitation.

But, as Adam would later learn about Jeff’s personal approach, a declined calendar invite is not going to stop him. Jeff called at the proposed time anyway, catching Adam off-guard!

“So, come eight o’clock this weeknight back in 2012,” Adam recalls, “my phone starts ringing and it’s from this crazy number. I answered it and it was Jeff. I think the interview went alright—I don’t really remember it!… In the end, I think it went alright, because he set up an interview for when he was coming to Halifax! I still wasn’t sure. I still had my doubts up until we met.”

Eventually, Adam would transition into management, becoming FMG’s Operations Director—after convincing Jeff that he wasn’t, in fact, “too nice” for the role.

Modern management

The two make a good team. Adam cites Jeff’s flexibility and willingness to take risks as key to the company’s growth, while Jeff champions Adam’s compassion and sense of fairness. “I try to put myself in their shoes,” says Adam, of the company’s staff. “I do hold people accountable, but not in an unjust or unreasonable way.”

The entire leadership team share some core values that help make FMG what it is today. Employees’ ideas are always welcomed, and management is flexible and open to different ways of getting things done. Content Developer Jamal Francis-Anderson describes it as “a very close-knit community… It’s not that large of a company that you can’t just go talk to senior leadership when needed, and senior leadership doesn’t view the employees as beneath them.”

For Graphic Designer Ashley Dowling, this rings true. “Being a part of FMG means that you become a part of the team instantly. Your input is taken into consideration and we all collaborate to become better and more successful. I am trusted to get my work done so I have a lot of freedom in how I schedule and prioritize my work,” she shares. “FMG values teamwork and collaboration inside and outside of work, doing extra-curricular activities to let loose and talk with one another. We all eat lunch together and are able to reset ourselves by being in a social environment. It’s nice working in an office where having fun and being social is also important.”

As Jeff says, “every voice in the company matters.”

The FMG way

An open and supportive management style isn’t the only way FMG sets itself apart. Owing in part to a business model that has always supported remote communication, FMG has been green from the start. Business in Focus, alongside sister publications Construction in Focus, Resource in Focus, and Manufacturing in Focus, make it their mission to highlight eco-friendly organizations, initiatives, and technologies, and FMG walks the walk.

Jeff explains that, even before COVID, “I wanted to prove that we could do the business from home to reduce commuting, and I wanted to prove we could do short-run print, with the vast majority of our distribution online. That was what we started with and we’ve remained green,” donating issues to local high schools and maintaining a paperless office.

This ability for much of the team to work from home has also meant that FMG has never taken the staff writer approach. In fact, editorial is kept deliberately independent from the sales side to ensure journalistic integrity, and FMG is thus able to draw on a breadth of unique voices and perspectives. The end result is a rich, tailored finished product with the client’s voice coming through the clearest.

“We have independent journalists so that our readers have engaging articles that speak to them,” Jeff explains. “We hire people from all over the world because we want different, diverse perspectives.”

Contributing Writer Allison Dempsey found that this model was just what she was looking for. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing for FMG for the past two years and, in fact, I’m hard-pressed to think of a company I’ve liked working with more,” she says. “As a long-time freelance writer, FMG has provided exactly what I always look for: highly interesting assignments; positive, constructive feedback; the ability to work at my own pace within a prescribed deadline; and an overall welcoming and encouraging environment. As an added bonus, I’m continuously impressing my friends and family with all the new facts and inventions I learn about on a monthly basis!”

“This new way of doing things,” says Jeff, “led to clients asking more and more about using their articles as brochures, which is why we began doing just that.” Every client receives a completely custom brochure version of their feature article—a valuable tool for trade shows, branding, and recruiting, and a point of pride for the FMG team members who are able to make it happen.

A culture built on people

Adam believes that it is partly this bespoke nature of the work that draws people to FMG. “The description of the role is intriguing: searching for content for a magazine. It’s interesting and it’s different,” he says.

“And why do they stay? I truly believe it is the culture that we have here. I’ve worked a lot of jobs and I’ve never seen a group of people get along as well as they do here—and for 10 years!”

“I credit those early employees with affecting the environment and culture going forward,” says Jeff. “They helped set the foundation, they helped build the company—it’s their company as much as anyone else’s.”

Content Developer Wendy Hood-Morris agrees. “I work at FMG for the people,” she says. “The people I work with day-to-day make going to work a pleasure. We’re a close-knit team and rely on each other. Also, I love talking with business leaders across North America and learning their stories!”

Sales & Marketing Manager Luke Simms, who has been part of the team for seven years, enjoys the opportunity to learn and contribute in a fun environment. “When I was looking for a career and a place to work, I wanted to be around cool, like-minded, fun people,” he says. “With FMG, it’s been a lot of fun and a learning experience to ride the wave of a growing young company and to have a hand in some of the decisions that were made along the way. That adds value to the work that I put into the company.”

For Contributing Writer Jessica Ferlaino, “reflecting on this milestone is exciting from both a personal and professional standpoint, as I have had the opportunity to grow alongside the organization and its publications. Ten years ago, I wrote my very first article for Business in Focus, which kickstarted my career as a freelancer, and today, I am grateful to continue to work alongside the team as they strive for even greater outcomes in the future. It has been an absolute pleasure… being part of something so amazing that shines a light on some really great stories and companies across North America.”

Looking ahead

Focus Media Group has evolved over the years, and the founding principles that have always made it fun continue to make it a success. Taking calculated risks, building integrity into the business, and maintaining an open-door management policy—all set against a backdrop of fun—have been cornerstones to the business’ growth and adaptability. “As long as we’re all working together for a common goal, there’s nothing we can’t handle,” says Jeff. “That was the whole idea; if everyone assumes we’re going to win, we’re going to.”

That wild first day in 2012 set the tone, and what followed has been quite the ride. “In the beginning,” says Jeff, “optimism is all it was… We look at what’s possible.” We’re excited to see what further possibilities lie ahead.

Sidebar:

Management and the Art of Ping Pong

As you might imagine, this writer is keenly aware of Jeff’s lifelong love of ping pong. “I loved this game,” he says; “I would play for 19 straight hours and figure out food later. I couldn’t get enough. So my dream, when I opened a business, was to make enough money to justify the square footage required for a ping pong table.

“I brought it in primarily to be a team building activity… a semi-competitive, ‘have some fun before getting back to work, get the blood flowing so you’re not tired’ activity, a fun activity for lunches,” Jeff shares.

“But the cool part,” he says, “is our team invented new rules to be more inclusive… They changed it so you can’t hit the ball twice in a row when it’s your team’s turn to hit it. No matter where the shot goes, you have to back up, get out of the way, and work as a team.”

Sidebar:

Where ‘Healthy’ and ‘Fun’ Go Hand in Hand

At FMG, “healthy” and “fun” are a package deal, resulting in a healthy workplace where people can both be successful and let loose. The ping pong table is a key piece to this puzzle, as are some other fun lunchtime shenanigans!

For example, a local tavern had a promotion one holiday season where patrons who came in singing a Christmas carol would get a free beer. Somehow, the whole office ended up participating! “We took everybody,” Adam recalls. “We all went down to the Red Stag. We decided which song we were going to sing on the way in, and we all sang this entire song.” The bartender was satisfied after the first verse, and started pouring, but the team insisted on finishing the entire carol together first, before enjoying their drinks and heading back to work. How many days of Christmas are there again?

This healthy, fun attitude, nurtured in part by the flexibility and trust afforded to staff, is punctuated regularly by such memorable events, but the big company parties might have a little something to do with it as well. Many companies have big Christmas parties, and FMG pulls out all the stops for those, but it also hosts epic summer parties at the FMG Lakehouse, to let off some steam in July in the natural beauty of Nova Scotia. Singing around the bonfire, paddle-boarding out to tiny rock islands, or just chilling out on a giant ‘floaty’ in the lake—this outing has more of a summer camp feel to it than office party, for sure!

The post The Story Behind the Stories<p class="company">Focus Media Group Celebrates 10 Years</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Much of that energy is still obtained from the very fossil fuels accused of severely affecting the environment and climate. Opinions may differ on this, but it’s hard to hear constant news of wildfires, floods, and storms and not wonder if something is going on.

Mostly prompted by concerned citizens – from schoolchildren to leading scientists – governments around the world have also taken notice of the wildfires and other natural disasters in their countries. And over time they have tried to encourage companies and businesses, including those in the manufacturing industry, to make their processes more environmentally friendly or “green.” With varying success, it may be noted.

In a Forbes article, Helen Clarkson, CEO of the Climate Group, a non-profit organization that works to accelerate climate actions, talks about government trends to encourage and incentivize companies to develop greener practices.

“Governments’ economic stimulus plans will likely provide the biggest injection of cash we will see in the next 10 years, so we must make sure it is directed into the right areas,” says Clarkson. “Practically, the investment needs to create jobs and security, but it must also give people hope for a safer, brighter tomorrow.”

Setting a standard

With increasing funds potentially becoming available to support companies that want to transform their processes, some companies are taking it upon themselves to enforce new sustainability standards. That’s nothing but a positive trend.

Known as voluntary sustainability standards, these prompt companies to develop and modify their products to meet specific economic, social, and environmentally sustainable targets. These standards may define all the steps that go into creating a product, from raw materials to manufacturing to quality. The process may well cover the transportation of the product, depending on which standards are followed.

And while potential “beneficial stimulus” from the government sounds good, there are some other additional, powerful, and immediate advantages to voluntarily applying sustainability standards to production processes and products.

A driving force behind sustainability standards is the market itself. Consumers are becoming much more conscious about the products they buy. In particular, they look more closely at how products are made and at any negative impact on the environment, or economic impact on people.

The Economist has reported on these changing patterns evidenced in how people shop: “New shoppers are not just value-conscious, but also increasingly project their ethical and political values onto their decisions about what they buy. So for example they select firms on the basis of their environmental credentials and supply-chain standards.”

By making changes to their processes, companies not only can help the environment, but they can also generate a little positive PR while they’re at it.

Data comes into its own

Not only does applying voluntary standards to the manufacturing process make sense from a market viewpoint, but a company can also catch small problems and get ahead of them before they become bigger problems. That’s because an important source behind implementing sustainability standards is data.

Making changes means collecting and processing data which often uncovers waste and inefficiencies that may add up to significant costs over time. So as companies move toward sustainability and reduce their resource footprint, they may get part of the way there by improving performance and reducing inefficiencies.

How does it look in the broader landscape? Manufacturers are not silos, but connected and reliant on suppliers and power providers.

Companies, and entire industries, will have to change their operations as sustainability becomes even more of a driver for doing business. Auto companies, for instance, are investing heavily in developing and manufacturing electric vehicles, incentivized by governmental policy.

But for this to yield the desired environmental wins, we also need utilities and energy companies to make the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. And to connect all the dots, these programs will need to be measured and coordinated.

Sustainability for smaller companies

A side note here for start-ups and mid-sized companies: while the effort of incorporating sustainability standards may be more daunting for companies with a smaller budget, the results may provide a way to stand out from the competition. And though the expenditures may be more challenging to absorb than for some of the bigger players, starting early on the path to sustainability can establish a company’s reputation with consumers at an early point in the process.

Inc. Magazine notes the following about some advantages that smaller companies may have with this transition. “Since smaller companies are generally accountable to fewer third parties, the tasks of adapting which issues are managed and modifying subsequent disclosures in line with stakeholders’ specific expectations are comparatively more manageable.”

Something which may not immediately spring to mind when you’re thinking about the environment is automation.

While providing some clear advantages to manufacturing, automation also has beneficial consequences for the environment. Since first being introduced to factory floors (and given a push by U.S. car manufacturers in the 1980s racing to automate production and scale up), automation has gone through several evolutions.

Now smart machines come together in every aspect of the manufacturing process to deliver more efficiencies and production power than was possible before. And as mentioned, data is collected from the machines to make adjustments quickly and efficiently and course-correct all the parts of the manufacturing process.

The machines communicate exactly what needs attention and how to optimize output – all at a speed that would be impossible for humans to emulate.

Add to this AI and cloud monitoring, and there are multiple ways to not only achieve higher sustainability standards but also improve the bottom line. In particular, it’s power and water that are the main components of most manufacturing processes. Through constant data monitoring, the savings that come from these will not only make for a smaller environmental footprint but also improve fiscal performance.

Automation’s bad rap

Something else to consider here as the biggest strike against automation is that it is often thought to reduce jobs. But some of these fears may have been exaggerated.

The Economist reported on a 2021 paper prepared for the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that tested how predictions related to automation played out.

“Countries facing what they call higher ‘automation risk’ in 2021 saw stronger employment growth, consistent with the idea that technology adoption leads to higher productivity. It is striking that Japan, Singapore, and South Korea all have world-beating rates of robot adoption, and yet also lower unemployment. It may be that the labor market will continue to adapt to the rise of automation, but not mass displacement of workers.”

We talked about potential government stimulus and, while the carrot is preferable, governments may also use the stick.

As Forbes reports, “More and more governments are stepping up with goals to help combat climate change. It is inevitable that formal standards and measurement requirements will follow these goals, and companies’ networks of suppliers, manufacturers, partners and logistics will need to change operations in order to comply – regardless of where they operate.”

So while not the best way to motivate, there is something to be said of staying ahead of the curve to prevent any disruptions to the manufacturing process that may come from new government regulations.

There are several reasons to consider taking on voluntary sustainability standards. The good news here is that companies may also experience robust benefits by doing so. And while there’s no way to sugar-coat some of the challenges that are tied into making changes to the manufacturing process, the long-term returns may be well worth the investment.

The post For the Greater Good, and the Bottom Line<p class="company">Sustainability Makes Sense</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

For nearly seventy-five years, Albany Packaging has been providing affordable, highly-customized paperboard boxes for clients across the continent. Its decades in business have provided the experience needed to work closely with clients to provide custom packaging solutions. Now, the company is taking steps to make its packaging more sustainable and lessen its environmental impact while maintaining its high customer service standards.

Demonstrating its reach and versatility, Albany’s paperboard packaging can be found in grocery chains, bakeries, and clothing retailers throughout the United States and Canada. With a rapid support network and over 270 box types in its production line, the company meets any customer need.

In addition to its wide product line, Albany applies its experience and customer service skills to creating custom bakery boxes, donut boxes, cupcake boxes, and other packaging solutions in paperboard or materials such as metalized polyester laminate. Its design department works closely with clients, examining prototypes or existing packaging and making recommendations to add or remove features as needed. The result is packaging designed to fulfill client requirements while remaining budget-conscious.

Albany is proud to be under its third generation of family ownership and management. Sales and Project Manager Daniel Engelberg, who grew up around the company, says both staff and customers enjoy the small-business feel. “I think there’s something to that,” says Engelberg, whose grandfather bought the company back in the 1980s. “We’re small enough; we’re nimble enough that they enjoy it.” Many of the manufacturing and office staff have been with Albany for over twenty years. “The family feel of the company has helped shape that,” he remarks.

Despite its small size and approach, the business has enjoyed rapid growth, particularly in the past ten years. “The growth that we have seen is exponential. We’ve been able to expand our product offerings, our capabilities, and our technology,” says Engelberg. Albany’s small size and family ownership help keep business operations consolidated, ensuring rapid response times. “The fact that we’re family-owned makes us more approachable and more adaptable to customers and customer needs,” he explains. “There’s a lack of layers of bureaucracy that definitely helps us with our customers.”

But more than this, the long history with its clients and the resulting reputation it has built over nearly seventy-five years sets it apart and is responsible for this growth. Engelberg notes that some vendors and some clients stretch back twenty or thirty years, and the company has developed a close working relationship with them over time.

“We hang our hat on the relationships that we’ve had with these vendors over the years,” he says. The company’s reputation has also made it the prime packaging provider to a new generation of bakeries and foodservice providers, particularly with the rise of pandemic-induced takeout and meal delivery services. “We’ve been fortunate enough to provide great service and grow with them,” he says.

As an example of these close relationships, a client importing water bottle packaging sleeves asked how to reduce packaging costs, as the sleeves required labour-intensive gluing and often arrived late due to shipping difficulties. The client sent a sample sleeve to Albany’s packaging team, which closely analyzed potential challenges and recommended solutions. In the end, the team was able to create a new packaging sleeve with inverted folds, allowing for far easier gluing which solved the client’s problem.

Further contributing to growth is the distancing requirements of the pandemic, which have enabled Albany to land contracts far beyond its size thanks to online expositions. Engelberg highlights a virtual trade show in which several large international chains were present. In a traditional physical show, these large companies would have been swarmed, leaving no room for smaller companies. But in the intimacy and equality of a virtual space, Albany could meet with these much larger clients and gain some new contracts it likely would not have otherwise.

“This was just so efficient and cost-effective, and I think it was more productive,” Engelberg says of the experience. “The way this was structured, you were able to really focus.”

Throughout its history, Albany has balanced steady growth with its ability to remain agile. While its manufacturing and shipping capabilities have grown steadily, its core office staff members are still the highly experienced professionals with whom customers have dealt for decades. “There’s a lack of red tape, and that makes customers much more appreciative,” he says. “They can put a face to a name, and that really helps with relationships.”

Within this small structure, customers know they are more than a number. “As far as the customer is concerned, they still can contact me or our other sales manager, so there’s still that feeling of nimbleness.”

Albany is well aware of the move away from plastic packaging and is working to ensure that its paperboard containers are biodegradable. “We are seeing a lot of our customers moving away from plastic packaging,” Engelberg says, “and a lot of need for windowed packaging.” Using mostly paper or paperboard with only a small window of transparent plastic, windowed packaging allows consumers to see food items before they buy but minimizes plastic manufacturing and its resulting environmental impacts.

Due to its small size and adaptable nature, Albany has been able to quickly allocate resources to this new surge in sustainable packaging demands. It has used its relationships with both vendors and customers to keep up to date with customer trends and requirements. “We’re constantly learning about what the need is in the marketplace and then trying to teach them about how we can fit that need,” he says. The company’s own plant has installed environmentally-conscious features such as smart HVAC, lighting systems, thermostats, and variable-speed compressors on its machines, helping reduce energy usage.

However, the biggest impediment to sustainable packaging is its cost-effectiveness. “There’s only so much we can do,” Engelberg admits, noting that roughly fifty percent of Albany’s sale price is the price of paperboard itself. The company can lean heavily on its vendors, purchasing in mass quantities to keep the price manageable but paperboard as a commodity is subject to market fluctuations. “We’ve seen a handful of price increases from paperboard mills over the last two years,” he says.

But Albany and its clients are adapting to price increases by making packaging more efficient and minimalist. “We’re striving to use as little paperboard as possible, to keep the price to the customer as low as possible,” he says, explaining that the custom packaging team works with clients to create and distribute packaging free from unnecessary design features. “We try to be as transparent as possible with our customers on what they need.”

He recognizes that as talented as the staff may be, labour attrition resulting from retirement is inevitable. To prepare for vacancies, the company is working closely with local technical schools to recruit skilled graduates. Internally, it is also cross-training its younger staff in a variety of machine operating skills, to ensure its workforce remains as versatile as possible. While pandemic-induced immigration slowdowns have limited recruitment of the skilled workers Albany needs, these multiple labour pipelines ensure that the company will have a strong and sustainable future.

Albany continues to grow and address these challenges and faces the challenge of retaining its small-business charm while also expanding its production capabilities. Engelberg sums up the dilemma of increasing output while keeping labour costs manageable. “We are seeing so much demand from customers new and existing, and we want to take all this business,” he says. “How do we grow so fast?” To achieve this, the company is investing significant capital in automation, to help blunt the dual impact of a labour shortage and aging labour force.

As Albany Packaging approaches its seventy-fifth birthday, the company looks forward to the years to come. Already well-versed in shifting food packaging towards a more sustainable medium, Albany is the natural choice for environmentally-conscious food providers to help feed a hungry world.

The post Sustainability Backed by 75 Years of Experience<p class="company">Albany Packaging </p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Packaging Systems provides packaging solutions with efficient and sustainable shipping costs, while Small Quantity Boxes manufactures custom and stock packaging using high-quality raw materials. Both companies excel at building strong customer and employee relationships.

The recent acquisition of Small Quantity Boxes, which is now a brand of Packaging Systems, is part of the “House of Brands” approach where Packaging Systems is cognizant of the power and value of maintaining goodwill and identity established over a period of years. Keeping powerful and recognized brand names helps with loyalty and maintaining customer comfort and peace of mind about the changes. The two businesses are working to offer stronger, more efficient service to combined clients, a move both Pat Tharp, President of Packaging Systems, and Dennis TeGrootenhuis, President of Small Quantity Boxes (SQB) applaud.

TeGrootenhuis was a packaging designer before deciding to go out on his own. He immediately showed his business chops, growing his business, hiring employees, and achieving impressive success: Small Quantity Boxes recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.

While the SQB niche is smaller quantities, the company’s powerful work ethic and drive for customer satisfaction translates into exactly what needs to be done to keep clients coming back and referring even their competitor friends who also need high quality, low quantity special corrugated boxes for specialty and trial new product developments.

“A number of years ago, right before our Christmas party, Kimberly-Clark wanted 2,000 boxes the next day. We all came in after the party and got them done. Kimberly-Clark was thrilled with us and is still a good customer… One of our main focuses was and still is running those quantities of 50 to 500,” says TeGrootenhuis. “I think what’s propelled us even more in this industry is the larger corrugated manufacturing companies now look at the minimums of 1,000 for quantity, so that’s raised our level more where we’re running 600 or 700 quantities to be competitive in that field.”

For example, Small Quantity Boxes can digitally print 200 boxes without a print plate, and die-cut boxes without a die board, allowing printing of multiple colors and pictures without the typical “set-up charges” assessed by high volume production facilities. When people need high volume then Packaging Systems picks up the job and proceeds to deliver high quality packaging by the truckload and more! The merging of Packaging Systems and Small Quantity Boxes can serve the full range of packaging volume needs for their current and new customers.

Prior to the merger, TeGrootenhuis received numerous calls from business brokers but was not interested in selling his company to investors. He and Pat Tharp of Packaging Systems, however, were connected through a mutual friend.

“Over the past five years, when people asked me, ‘what are you going to do – are you going to sell down the road?’ I said, ‘I’ll know it’s right when it’s right,’ and I knew this was right,” says TeGrootenhuis. “It’s because our morals, values, how we treat employees, and some of the vision all lined up. It was fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for anything better than meeting Pat and Kasey and merging the two companies.”

Kasey Clevenger, Vice President, Sales for Packaging Systems, agrees. “The thing that excited Pat and me so much about Dennis’s business is he listened to the market and to his customers, and he found a way to solve their problems.”

That’s also at the root of what Packaging Systems tries to do every day, Clevenger says.

“What we saw, for one, was a company that aligned with how we go to market. Secondly, the upside was that he had control of a product that would allow us to broaden our options to a combined 4,000 customers between the two companies. And it just seemed like a natural fit culturally. It’s that compatible culture that cemented the merger.”

“That was the driving point,” agrees Tharp. “When you get into acquisitions, the cultural fit has to be synonymous for both companies to work. We saw a culture at Dennis’s company that was very similar to ours at Packaging Systems.”

Even with multiple locations, Packaging Systems considers itself a small family-owned business that treats employees with respect and kindness.

“I think the average tenure at our company is well over 20, or even 25 years, and the same thing with Dennis’s employees,” says Tharp. “That longevity tells you a lot. We have the same synergies with our employees, and most of the time when an employee comes on board with us they feel like they’re part of the team.”

While both businesses have certain procedures they follow, they also have a flexibility that allows for employee and customer individuality, expression, health and well-being.

“Every day, we do what it takes to make our employees comfortable and happy to be a part of our team,” says Tharp. “We also really take care of our customers who are the lifeblood in our organization.”

While companies need to make a profit to stay in business, it’s important to keep customer needs a priority and always do what’s right. You can do both.

“Helping customers and always doing the little things that we can help them with goes a long way,” says TeGrootenhuis. “I know that it’s the same way with Packaging Systems. That’s what really drew me to them in our general conversations.”

That’s not to say Tharp and TeGrootenhuis always agree, but it’s how they disagree that counts, adds Tharp.

One thing they do agree on, however, is the importance of automation, and their ability to help companies with deficiencies or challenges they’re facing, especially right now. To that end, they’ve partnered with a robotics company that helps drive out a lot of waste.

“Our clients have been asking for help during COVID – this past two years… it’s been tough,” says Tharp. “I’ve heard throughout our plants that 30 percent of labor doesn’t show up on a daily basis. The amount of stress that brings is tough. People are tired right now. I’ve never seen so many managers out on floors working.”

Packaging Systems’ ability to put vital automation in place has been a dominant feature recently, with the implementation of about 15 robotic applications offering solutions that are “paramount.” The company also submits a Continuous Improvement Packaging Plan (CIPP) after a thorough review and analysis of all levels of packaging, to find products to reduce the total cost of doing business.

“We come in and also look at automation needs and our ability to drive out waste and bring in solutions to sustainability,” says Tharp.

Sustainability is at the forefront of both companies, which is where Packaging Systems’ sister company Hoosier Recycling plays a vital role.

“What makes us unique in the marketplace is we have the capabilities to prescribe environmentally acceptable packaging to our clients. We are very in tune with what is acceptable in the packaging arena, with keen awareness of environmental standards. We have helped several companies get to ZERO LANDFILL by our team approach and initiation of effective recycling programs,” says Tharp.

“It is imperative, for a long term sustainable plan, to have the recycling process done at the point of waste generation. For example: we sell a ‘stretch film mini-baler’ that takes the air out of the film after it is pulled off a load and the operator just sticks the film in the machine instead of a trash can. In the end there is a compressed block of ready-to-recycle stretch film with great value and less cost to accumulate than anything heretofore.”

Most of the recycling that happens within plants is in the packaging arena. Packaging Systems helps customers set up a working system, often selling them the equipment required for an effective recycling plan.

“Our motto is: Lowest Cost Per Load Effectively & Environmentally Shipped. For example, Packaging Systems recently sold a stretch-wrapping system to a client that will reduce the amount of film used on each load. The customer was hand-wrapping every unit in the facility with about one pound of wrap. This not only caused huge amounts of labor but created enormous waste and inefficiency. Hand-wrapping pallets not only added a pound’s worth of film to each, but that pound of stretch film was going out into the environment. Packaging Systems’ solution reduced that amount to a third of a pound,” says Tharp.

“The same customer is on the west coast, so they’re a green company looking for initiatives to promote those causes,” says Kasey Clevenger. “Packaging Systems strategically sited both a corrugated baler and two stretch-film mini-balers within the facility so whenever any type of plastic is removed, it immediately goes into that baler. Any leftover boxes go into the corrugated baler, essentially creating a closed loop. Everything then leaves their facility in a manner that parallels their corporate goals.”

“Corporate recycling initiatives are in the quality control documents, the ISO 9001, and they now physically have to do things to show to their shareholders and employees that they are in compliance,” Tharp says. “Recycling initiatives have really picked up over the last two years.”

TeGrootenhuis agrees. “Our customers are the same. They’re looking at going green, so any way we can help we do, even with just getting materials. You’ll find much of the corrugated board is 100 percent recycled.”

Although the past few years have been challenging, particularly about the supply chain and rising prices, both companies have made innovation a priority for themselves and their customers.

“We just don’t come in and say here’s your price increase,” says Tharp. “We’re always trying to come in and say, there is an alternative, don’t you want to take a look? I think we do a pretty good job of that.”

Striving for good, solid partnerships with customers and vendors is at the forefront of the companies’ operations – and has been for years – and is something both companies pride themselves on achieving. They represent over 300 different manufacturers in the packaging world.

“The partnerships we’ve formed with vendors all this time gave us a leg up,” says Clevenger. “When people see cost increases, they remember those 30 years and how we treated them throughout that time; that we weren’t just somebody trying to buy a product, mark it up and sell it in the marketplace. We were truly trying to form relationships throughout the business cycle.”

Moving forward now means keeping those relationships strong while celebrating a large and positive transformation.

While the merger is an accomplishment, growth is the milestone that matters. The future looks good and growth has been steady for 30 years for both Packaging Systems and Small Quantity Boxes.

“The blending of the two companies has been really neat to watch,” says Tharp. “So has the long tenure already of almost everybody at the two companies, especially considering the state of today’s marketplace.”

“You just have to be creative,” says TeGrootenhuis. “If there’s an issue or problem with employees or vendors, then we’re not happy. So how can we make this work and make it pleasant for everybody; retain our employees; have a great environment?”

Answering the question from TeGrootenhuis, it’s clear that a great environment will persist for the foreseeable future thanks to the happy blending of like-minded businesses that both owners anticipate will thrive for years to come.

Those years of knowledge, experience, and positive company culture are hard to beat.

“It makes us a very hard company to compete against,” says Tharp.

The post Boxing Match – A Merger That Makes Sense<p class="company">Packaging Systems & Small Quantity Boxes</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

This is North America’s biggest textile waste and by-product re-processor, and it specializes in landfill diversion. The materials it collects consist of an amazing variety of fibers, from wool and rayon to polyester, cotton, and much more. Their uses are just as diverse, including end products like acoustic padding, insulation, building materials like concrete and barriers, automotive liners, landscaping materials, couches, water filters, and equestrian arena surfaces.

The company’s head office and manufacturing facility are based at an over one-million-square-foot facility in Wellford, South Carolina, along interstate I-85. Wherever there is post-manufacture fiber waste that would previously be carted off to landfill sites, Leigh Fibers steps in to break the chain of disposal. Materials are collected from mattress and furniture factories and other manufacturers and taken to the company’s industrial facility, where they are separated into base fibers.

“We create products in a green, circular, [sustainable] manner out of what would essentially [have been] garbage. There are very few [companies] out there that do what we do,” says Bryan Tickle, key account executive. Even more interesting is that oftentimes, the products are then returned to the very customers from whom they were collected to be reused for their original or a range of new purposes.

Leigh Fibers added another creative aspect to its business when it recently partnered with Tidal Vision after more than a year of discussions. Based in Bellingham, Washington, the new sister company manufactures chitosan as part of its Tidal-Tex bio-based textile range. Derived from the exoskeletons of marine crustaceans, this versatile and interesting fibrous substance is a form of sugar that is “biodegradable, biocompatible, non-toxic, and up-cycled from byproducts of the seafood industry,” according to the firm’s brochure.

Chitosan’s qualities are astonishing, with the material offering anti-microbial properties that answer to some of the country’s highest industry standards, excellent flame retardance, and several other benefits. In addition, Tidal Vision is coming to market with a product manufactured at a percentage of the usual price. Moreover, it is the only commercial chitosan fabricator in America and offers complete tailor-made solutions to suit every manufacturing user simply and easily.

“They partner with us. We’re part owners of the company, and they’re operating from our facility in Wilfred, South Carolina, as their southeast distribution and production center,” says Tickle. Tidal Vision also supplies Leigh Fibers with several new markets, such as water purification and treatment providers amongst others. The Leigh Fiber partnership now allows the company to spread its presence to the world of textiles.

The properties of chitosan mean that Leigh Fibers can now add anti-microbial properties and fire retardance to its materials in a way that is not harmful to the environment at any point in the final material’s lifecycle. “A lot of the competitive products out there are derived from silver or nickel, and so, when you put that waste product into the ground, you know exactly what that does. Chitosan does not have that effect on the ground or the environment,” Tickle states.

Leigh Fibers as we know it today was started by Hans Lehner, who bought the company during the depressed economy that followed the influenza epidemic of 1918. Lehner’s son Phillip joined his father in 1945, taking over the leadership position in 1965. As the winds of change swept through the American textile trade in the early sixties, Leigh Fibers moved its plants down the coast from New England to South Carolina.

The Lehners created a set of guidelines by which they wanted the firm to operate, which, apart from minimal exceptions where modern times have made some requests obsolete, are being upheld to this very day. “We buy and trade waste, and we find outlets for that fiber,” says Tickle. “We have hundreds and hundreds of different blends. So we customize any of our fibers to fit our customers’ needs.”

Today, this common-sense approach still permeates every part of the organization, right down to its president’s expertise. “Our president, Daniel Mason, began working in the factory when he was in high school, if not before. He knows how to work every machine in the building, and that’s very unique,” says Tickle, describing what an incredible advantage it is to have a president capable of laying out all the products and processes in great detail for clients in a way that makes sense to them. “There are not a lot of industries out there that can say that,” he adds.

Touching on how the firm weathered COVID-19 and all the challenges that came with it, Tickle’s praise for all the support that the team received from the family is high. “We had a lot of support from the family and the board who stuck with us as we changed, as everyone did. We provide a service to many industries that need fiber,” he says. Tickle also notes that Leigh Fibers turned toward fabricators like furniture and pet toy and bed creators as well as casket manufacturers and others in need of more fiber when giants like the automotive industry saw a drop in business as a result of COVID-19.

Such a high level of support during difficult times is just one of the reasons why the firm has a large number of long-term employees. It has “a great group of people. I have been in sales my whole life. I have never met so many people working for the same company for over thirty and forty years. We must have ten or twelve people who have been here over forty years,” says Tickle. One of the company’s senior salespeople has worked here just four years short of half a century. “He has retired three times,” Tickle adds with a smile.

This is a company that operates with its ear to the ground. As a result, while millions of businesses across the globe found themselves in a tailspin during the initial shelter-in-place period, Leigh Fibers hired new salespeople shortly before. “They kept us on, which says a lot about that family. There was a clear line of communication of what was happening.”

Tickle also highlights that, rather than becoming nervous, as many companies did, Leigh Fibers carried on regardless of the challenges that awaited it. “We were very fortunate to work for a group of people who simply did not panic,” he says.

Its take on doing business, together with its drive to be environmentally responsible, has earned Leigh Fibers an impressive number of awards over the years. Much of its achievement centers on doing good for the people of its region. That includes making donations to local hospitals, humane societies, and several other types of charitable organizations.

As with everything it does, Leigh Fibers looks toward the future with a combination of nimbleness, enthusiasm, and the wisdom of the ages. It is still counting its blessings for having business partners, staff, and a board of directors who helped see it through the challenges of the past two years.

That said, the company is ready to hit its next phase of intentional, controlled growth in specific new regions with the same tenacity and drive that has been so essential to getting it to where it is today. “We’re procuring new machinery to get into other parts of our industry. We’re growing while other people are shrinking,” Tickle says.

The post Custom Fiber Blends in a Greener World<p class="company">Leigh Fibers </p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Creating a better world requires environmental care and green efficiency in all businesses, especially when confronting methane emissions. Unfortunately, it’s an ever-present by-product of energy-business operations, with thousands of tons of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) methane released into the atmosphere every day.

The substance in question – which has 80 times the warming capacity of CO₂ in the first two decades after entering the atmosphere – must be removed from a pressurized system before a pig launcher is opened at a natural gas processing facility, or before an isolated section of pipeline is removed and replaced.

This usually means flaring or venting of the gas which releases methane and other greenhouse gases (GHG) directly into the atmosphere.

The fix is ready

WeldFit has a fix with ReCAP, a gas recovery system that ensures a constant transfer rate, allowing for quick and easy gas recapture and making ESG targets attainable. Environmental audits reveal that the ReCAP Emissions Recovery System reduces methane emissions by up to 99.99 percent when compared to venting or flaring.

“Sustainability to us in the gas industry is moving product from wellhead to consumer,” says Adam Murray, Vice President, WeldFit Performance Products.

Traditionally, when companies must take down a line or a piece of equipment, they lose a bit of product, that being natural gas. “By using the company’s ReCAP emissions reduction system, it allows them to capture even the remaining percentage of gas, recompressing that and keeping it in the system.”

ReCAP employs technology that does one simple but critical task in support of ESG-driven methane emission reduction goals: During routine pipeline operations, it reduces the need for voluntary natural gas flaring or venting commonly associated with blowdowns.

“ReCAP, at its core fundamental design and function, allows our customers to reach their sustainability goals,” says Eric Heinle, President, Pigging and Performance Products. “It safely and efficiently prevents voluntary venting of emissions into the atmosphere.”

For a lot of WeldFit customers, those emissions reductions and goals are part of their long-term and near-term/current strategy, and ReCAP allows them to achieve those.

Focus on the pipeline

“WeldFit, in general, is focused on the pipeline, so our mission statement is we want to make pipelines more productive,” says Heinle. “We also pride ourselves on being reliable and ready to serve as well as being very innovative.”

By recapturing gas from pipeline sections that have been isolated for depressurization, and quickly transferring it to a nearby pressurized system, pipeline operators can safely and easily minimize methane emissions.

Additionally, thanks to ReCAP’s Straight-Line Performance – a patent-pending technology from WeldFit that generates a near constant and predictable depressurization rate from start to finish – the crucial work that follows can be started on time.

“Every emission occurrence we can eliminate has a meaningful impact because methane is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere,” says Murray. “This also enhances the safety and well-being of the people that live nearby and of our operators. It’s important for us to be environmental stewards, but it also helps with moving forward our license to operate.”

To date, the company has saved more than 18,000 metric tons of CO₂e, or more than 42 million standard cubic feet of natural gas, an amount that will grow exponentially in the next few months, making a significant impact.

“Over the past 30 years, oil demand has gone up 66 percent, and natural gas production is up 96 percent. In that same time methane intensity dropped almost 20 percent,” says Murray. “A drop like that during stagnant production would be great, but to do it with such gains has been just incredible. As bad as the industry gets picked apart, what we’ve done is remarkable.”

Sustainability is a vital part of the company’s mandate, one built into its core and one it continues to impress on its clients.

“We’re about the six Cs, and common sense and customer-focused are two of them. Our customers are certainly wanting to move into the more environmentally friendly space,” says Murray. “With a lot of our products we do have some inherent environmental advantages built in to that and ReCAP only enhances all of those.”

A changing world

That environmental awareness is being seen across the industry as changes are implemented daily.

“There are new rules to curb methane emissions in particular,” says Murray. “At the 2021 Climate Summit in Glasgow, 100 countries took the Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions. That’s pretty significant.”

In fact, the U.S. led that initiative aimed at reducing methane emissions by 30 percent in nine years, mostly through tougher legislation governing methane leaks from oil and gas operations. Many of the techniques are aimed at averting large-scale leaks.

“The Build Back Better Bill, whether it passes or not, has carbon fees and methane-emission fees built into it that could severely impact the economics of methane emissions,” Murray adds. “It’s just a matter of following the technology that we already have. I think our industry has a mandate to make a meaningful impact on the environment.”

Another big challenge WeldFit faces is creating awareness and helping to bring its customers’ operations in compliance with regulatory requirements in the industry as the market evolves at a rapid pace.

“I’m sure more and more of those regulations are going to come out and as companies are now being mandated by local and state jurisdictions, obviously it would be great to have federal regulations emerge. But, state by state, they’re starting to release these regulations which will allow ReCAP to do that,” says Heinle.

WeldFit spent an incredible amount of time on awareness early on when commercializing ReCAP, which launched in September 2021, says Murray. Much was given to letting people know about ReCAP’s abilities and how it can be used to keep the gas in the pipeline.

“We spend a lot of time trying to help our customers navigate these new regulations and understand how this can apply to their current operations with minimal disruption,” adds Heinle.

Hard value, easy choice

“In some regards, this is viewed not only as perception but, in reality, as a cost or time matter. We’re trying to make sure they understand not only the social responsibility value of recovering the gas but the actual hard value of not venting or flaring that gas, of keeping it in the pipeline, and also doing it in a way that doesn’t slow down their operations and still allows them to be very efficient,” says Heinle.

ReCAP’s innovations and abilities have recently been recognized: It won the Innovation Award at the PPIM (Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Management) conference this year. The fight to create awareness isn’t done yet, however.

“Because every state has different rules and regulations, keeping up with those ever-changing targets is tough,” Murray says, and WeldFit is taking its task seriously.

Chief Strategy Officer Todd Sale recently became a certified ESG expert and sustainability officer. “He graduated from the Energy Workforce and Technology Council ESG certification program,” says Murray. “So, we’re not only committed to helping the environment where we can, we’re investing in it with our products and with our people. We mustn’t be just saying this stuff; we’re doing it and we’re acting on it.”

The key is the people, Murray adds. “We care. Everyone in the industry is outdoorsy and active. It’s a culture we go by and that’s what sets us apart. It’s all about the right people in the right place.”

And the people are up for the challenge of facing the industry and the ESG movement’s rapid change which makes it so demanding to keep up and stay ahead.

“The good news is WeldFit is privately owned and very people-focused,” says Murray. “They allowed Todd to get his ESG certification, and they allow my engineering group to help create products that make an immediate impact, rather than these big glacial companies that move very slowly.”

Much more to be done

The result is a big impact in a short time, he says, but there’s still a lot more to be done. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA) still vents or flares almost 1.5 billion cubic feet per day.

There’s good news, however: Every day companies are seeing the importance, and the benefits, of reducing methane – the same companies that WeldFit talked to maybe two months ago, and are talking to again today, says Heinle.

“They’re evolving every day and becoming more inquisitive and more receptive to the technology, whether it’s because they’re being told to or just because they’re adopting it. We’re seeing more and more acceptance across the board, which is good.”

WeldFit will continue to partner with its clients to understand their needs and challenges, developing solutions to help them achieve environmental goals with minimal disruption to operations while continuing to be profitable and effective.

“Creating that awareness is key, making sure folks understand that the solution and the technology are there and that the process is something that should be recorded and celebrated positively, versus it being just another thing they have to do,” says Heinle.

The ReCAP technology, Murray adds, is very innovative, safe, fast, efficient, and effective. People have been searching for a solution like this, and almost every day WeldFit comes upon a new application by which this technology can help the environment.

“I do think our solution is resonating,” says Heinle. “ReCAP specifically is resonating in the market because of those points. We partner with our clients, and our technology is differentiated in that it allows them to be more efficient while they’re doing all of these things. It’s pretty exciting stuff.”

The post Moderating Methane: Sustainability Through Emissions Reduction<p class="company">WeldFit</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

IMPACT specializes in tools and systems for both flatbed and rotary converting presses. Flatbed presses move vertically to stamp out material like a cookie-cutter, while rotary presses curve the material around a cylinder to engrave the image on the face. Offering both services in an extensive variety of sizes is somewhat unique in the industry.

As all industries move toward a more sustainable future, the focus for many is on improving run speeds and quality while managing the cost. This is where IMPACT can generate the greatest benefit. It has several products in the works that are applying technology and automation in a way that may change the way converting and tooling are viewed in the industry.

“We’ve taken a very refined and focused strategy toward how to not only make those tools and those systems, which we still do but how to make those in such a way that our customers are getting more out of their capital and out of their equipment. We are not just making a tool; we are providing them with a whole solution,” says Chief Executive Officer Christopher Merendino.

IMPACT has introduced a service element to its business called the ‘Tech Team.’ This consists of experts in several converting disciplines who embed themselves into the customers’ facilities to make recommendations that will enhance the entire operation. These recommendations vary from how to maintain the equipment and proper balancing to performance improvements that allow the equipment to function more efficiently in conjunction with the tools.

“Our tool is basically when a material becomes a product. We are literally there when the conversion occurs,” says Merendino. “So our whole strategy is focused around providing the best quality that allows print presses to run more efficiently, but also to provide service and expertise on how to design whatever it is that’s being converted, how to run the capital more efficiently, and to provide the best converting experience overall.”

The broad spectrum of tools and sizes enables the company to partner with customers in specialty markets from corrugated boxes for packaging to heart valves. Where IMPACT is less involved is in short-run, easy-to-produce, paper labels for the commodity market. It tends to find itself in the more challenging specialty space that requires more of an engineering effort.

IMPACT is, in fact, an umbrella brand encompassing six leading American tool and die manufacturers. All six were purchased by a single private equity company called Auxo Investment Partners, established in 2016.

One of the first two acquisitions in 2017 was Bernal, LLC, a manufacturer of the largest rotary tools for massive die systems used for long-running products such as fast food containers or beverage containers. Another was Atlas Die, LLC, known for producing steel rule dies for over sixty years. Steel rule die-cutting is a popular and inexpensive way of converting using a flatbed die cutting press.

In 2018, Midway Rotary was acquired into the platform to fill a gap in the group’s portfolio. It makes solid, narrow-mid web rotary tools for complex applications. These tools are regularly used in the automotive and medical industries and can handle the hardest-to-cut materials used in various markets. Atlas Die’s sister company, Atlas Chem Milling also joined the team in 2019 and rebranded its name to AtlasFlex. It specializes in flexible rotary and flatbed die innovations using a chemical etching process, and these are used for lower-cost, short-run applications.

The group of companies joined forces but were still operating largely independent of one another, with separate sales teams and differing strategies. In 2019, the companies recognized the value of creating an association between different divisions to encourage more lead sharing and collaboration.

“The first thing that was done was that the sales focus was concentrated. Not to the point where everybody sells everything, but really to the point where everybody understands everything so that they can always get somebody to the right contact for any converting application,” explains Merendino.

The IMPACT name was created to present the group’s well-rounded service offering while leaving the legacy brand names intact. Having all the companies under one brand solidifies, both to the customers and internally, that the main goal is to offer the best converting solutions for any application.

The acquisitions did not stop there. IMPACT expanded into California with the purchase of Die Craft, LLC in 2020. Die Craft works in pressure-sensitive converting for a variety of industries using a wide range of solutions. In the same year, GC Dies was acquired and this helped to complete the one missing link in IMPACT’s ability to create any converting solution. GC Dies is a steel rule die manufacturer that specializes in flat and rotary corrugated material.

In the early stages of the pandemic, IMPACT saw its customer base adapt to changing markets. Some transitioned into the medical space to produce personal protective equipment, particularly in the automotive industry. Others saw a spike in sales because they supply grocery stores, and people were cooking from home far more.

“We were an essential business because, if you go into a grocery store today, about roughly eighty-five percent of things that are in a box of some sort are made by one of our customers, using one of our tools,” says Executive Vice President of Sales Scott Ellison.

Currently, in most industries, there is relative uncertainty surrounding supply chain issues. As everyone adapts to unpredictable changes, IMPACT strives to help mitigate the volatility of the market for its customers. It does this by applying the best business models and approaching its customers as partners.

The staff members at IMPACT took many precautions to help protect each other from COVID-19, and this helped to create an even tighter bond within the team. On the sales side, however, it brought a set of new challenges since the typical face-to-face sales techniques were not permitted. Luckily, this challenge has lessened in the last few months, as companies have started to allow salespeople back in to pitch newly launched products.

The main focus for the IMPACT brand today is building a common culture across all of its companies while respecting their skills and creativity. Traditionally, it would be very difficult to combine several successful, well-known tool and die manufacturers into one collaborative team of separate companies. Each has distinctive strategies, experiences, and talents. If the parent company expected everyone to follow all new standard operating procedures, the inventive vision of each company would be squandered, and product quality would drop.

IMPACT has taken on this formidable task by ensuring that its senior management and technical team are spread across all the companies to build a similar culture while allowing each process to run differently and independently. “We’ve been able to build a platform where all of our back end, the [enterprise resource planning], and the operating systems that are necessary between every facility so that we can manage the business, is the same across the platform. But each facility is very, very different, and we think that difference is what drives the culture and what ultimately brings happy employees. We’ve been very fortunate,” says Ellison.

IMPACT would like to hire more people than it has at the moment, though it does not have the mass turnover problem that seems prevalent within the industry. Recruiting can be a challenge, yet retention is no problem. IMPACT has long-tenured people because it provides good employee incentives and engagement.

The separate plants get together for social activities, and there is plenty of transparency between the companies in discussing potential new products and the benefit of investing in particular equipment with the capital expenditure. The goal is to manage the companies in a way that inspires other tool and die manufacturers to sell to the IMPACT brand. Hopefully, others will be interested in acquisition to give their employees the opportunity to work with such an outstanding team.

The innovative group of companies will continue to become more efficient and more service-oriented in its partnerships with customers. “I think we have a great platform with really exceptional employees and the best talent in the world for what we do. And that is a phenomenal launch point to just continue to expand and to grow and hopefully welcome other companies under the umbrella,” says Merendino.

The post Uniting Six Tool and Die Manufacturers Under One Brand<p class="company">IMPACT Converting & Systems Solutions</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Before coming to work at TMI in 1980, President Gerald (Jerry) Hoffman, a Vietnam war vet, had earned a degree in mathematics and an MBA from the State University of Illinois, and spent a few years as Sales Manager at Strippit Inc., now part of the LVD Group that supplies sheet metal working machinery and software.

Over the past 42 years, through diligence and determination, Hoffman has developed TMI, a company his father began as a small one-man tool and die machine shop in 1970, into an 80,000 square foot operation that does business with hundreds of companies around the world. Its capabilities include welding, stamping, sawing, grinding, plasma cutting, and inspection.

This growth can be attributed to an “unwavering commitment to our employees, customers and community,” according to the company website. “TMI is continuing that trend by training dedicated employees to meet the demands of a constantly advancing industry, resulting in quality manufacturing solutions for today’s international companies and tomorrow’s global firms.”

As Hoffman told FMG Researcher Erika Arenas, TMI primarily uses raw materials from North America, although it does purchase some from Asia, but ships products made at its shop in Fairbury, a small town with a population of just over 3,000, to countries all over the world.

Company spokesman Seth Welch further explained the company’s strategy for success in a May 6, 2017 interview with Luke Smucker of the Pontiac Daily Leader.

“Although manufacturing is a fluctuating industry, TMI is at a competitive advantage. For the past decade, Jerry Hoffman, the company President, Caryl Hoffman, Vice President, and Becky Young, the Director of Operations, have worked hard to diversity the business’ customer base,” said Welch.

“We’re not just serving the energy extraction and heavy equipment customers; we’re also working with agriculture, forestry, and transportation. By diversifying our clientele, we don’t experience a big fluctuation like a lot of the big manufacturing companies do,” Welch concluded.

As a manufacturer of prefabricated metals such as iron, steel, and aluminum, TMI provides precision machine parts and metal stamping components and has made substantial investments in state-of-the-art equipment that provides the company with wide-ranging capabilities. This allows the team to perform some specific, intricate, and extensive work, producing over 2000 different pieces for customers.

When local radio host Paul Garcia was preparing for his interview with Hoffman about his Vietnam experience, he visited the TMI plant and later described the company on its Facebook page.

“I think it’s safe to say that 99 percent of people in this area have no idea how elaborate an operation this place is,” he wrote. “I was amazed by the technology they have and the sheer size of the place.” Among the equipment he saw was, “a laser that instantly made a 3D rendering of my hand. It’s an incredible place.”

It seems that whenever TMI acquires new equipment it makes the news. For example, the February 2012 edition of Manufacturing News featured an interview with Hoffman who had recently chosen “a Samsung mill-drill turning center, as a best buy for cost, features and availability. The larger diameter of the lathe was needed for shaft work, and other reasons for the choice included the turret size, live tooling systems, rigidity, and two-speed gearbox for low-end torque. This machine fit our needs.”

TMI’s website provides an up-to-date list of the state-of-the-art equipment that is ready to meet the exacting needs of its customers. Among them are seven horizontal mills and six vertical mills of varying sizes for milling, drilling, boring, reaming, thread milling, roller burnishing, grinding, and branching, with overhead crane assist for heavy parts.

In the grinding department there are seven grinders, including three with CNC capabilities, one manual, two surface, and one centerless capable of grinding lengths up to 12 feet to an accuracy of ±0025mm.

The lathe department has 19 CNC lathes with a range of sizes to accommodate precision shaft work and sub and twin spindles to maximize productivity, while the seven pieces of equipment in the welding department include robot welders with turntable and plasma cutter, a TIG welder for aluminum alloy steels and stainless steel, and two MIG welders.

The facility also has an abrasive waterjet, manufactured by Mitsubishi, capable of cutting through up to 8-inch-thick steel.

There’s an issue, however, with having so much highly technical, computerized precision equipment, and that involves finding highly skilled people to operate it.

As Hoffman told Arenas, that’s not an easy task. He places much of the onus on the educational system because it’s not training people to work in the sector, totally bypassing the skills needed. Moreover, teachers and guidance counsellors are “taking students away from the sector by telling them there’s no future in it.” But he believes the work is interesting and challenging, and thinks that young people who are interested in computers and grew up with them would enjoy it. Manufacturing today is not at all like it was years ago and that’s something young people need to understand.

Because staffing is such a big challenge industry-wide – and will continue to be in the future if this trend continues – Hoffman has started attending more high school job fairs and inviting students to TMI’s facility so they can see for themselves how interesting and challenging manufacturing can be. This was made more challenging for him by closures due to COVID, but he hopes to continue when possible.

In the next month, he told Arenas, TMI will be installing three new robots to improve productivity and delivery, and he is hoping this will pique the interest of students. Moreover, there are many benefits to working in manufacturing, including good paying jobs. With companies like TMI in the area, it’s not necessary for young people to leave their homes to find opportunities –not when there are opportunities waiting for them right next door.

The post Where Precision Meets Production<p class="company">Technical Metals Inc.</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Now, from its regional headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, Conductix-Wampfler is the largest global producer of systems and equipment for transferring energy and data for applications including cranes, people movers, light rail systems, and numerous types of manual and automated machines.

Hailed as a new leader in energy and data transmission systems, the company is working toward ushering in the modern automation era, shifting from leading in electricity to now also offering datalink infrastructure.

“What’s the core focus of Conductix-Wampfler? Infrastructure support for mobile equipment,” says Andrew Dierks, Director of Marketing. “We specialize in providing the necessary infrastructure for a breadth of different markets and applications, from overhead cranes and intralogistics to amusement parks and ports that pull in shipping containers – and everything in between.”

The market has been shifting toward Industry 4.0, IoT (Internet of Things), and automation, and there are good reasons for this, he says, from productivity and safety reasons to adding sensors to make processes more efficient or stable.

Some are doing it specifically to move the operator away from unsafe scenarios.

“Consider smelting plants where there are really high-temperature metals or mining situations where you’re in a difficult area,” Dierks says. “A lot of our customers have been asking for technologies that allow them to gain connectivity for equipment for lots of different reasons.”

Taking customers’ concerns to heart, Conductix-Wampfler looked at providing that infrastructure, and how to provide not only power but also the data that gives them everything needed for equipment.

“That’s how we stumbled into this data infrastructure and started doing the market research for this market need,” he says.

One of the biggest challenges the company has is serving different markets in different applications. While Conductix-Wampfler already offers other data solutions such as fiber optic technology for connectivity, it didn’t offer any of the Wi-Fi connectivity or cellular technology options.

“While we were evaluating how to get data to a piece of equipment, we found the Wi-Fi technology really fell short in these industrial applications,” Dierks says. “A lot of times it’s because the distance is too far, or there’s too much RF noise in the area, and it just isn’t a robust enough technology. Another widely accepted data solution is the use of fiber optic cable. Although fiber provides stronger connectivity than WIFI, fiber has a finite life when inside of a cable due to constant bending cycles. Larger conductors in hybrid cables tend to reduce the lifetime of fiber further as well,” he explains.

“Our customers are typically engineers; they’re really smart and they find lots of great ways to make it work as well as it can, but we’re still finding that it’s a pretty big challenge for our customers to add connectivity to their devices.”

Examining the different applications and how they might add data connectivity to each of those devices was a top priority for Conductix-Wampfler.

“We offer a lot of different types of electrification products because there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for electrification, and as it turns out it’s the same for data as well – there’s really no one-size-fits-all,” says Dierks.

“We took a step back and looked at it from a blank sheet approach. We talked to lots of customers over a few years and asked a lot of questions about how they might use it. If they could wave a magic wand, how would they prefer to get that data from sensors back to a processor, or from a camera back to a main control station?”

The company also asked about how clients were solving problems – what struggles they were having with current technologies. They found all the existing technologies lacking.

Conductix-Wampfler came up with several solutions to help improve connectivity in these applications. The first was a technology based on a slotted microwave guide that leverages existing, Wi-Fi technology but harnesses it in a channel inside that microwave guide. This prevents all external noise from entering and Wi-Fi signals from leaking out.

“That worked pretty well, and we got some good traction with that, but its main limitation is that it only works for straight-line applications, so you can only have it if a piece of equipment is moving up and down in a single straight line.”

Looking at other technologies not employed in this space, Conductix-Wampfler found it was able to use the existing conductive path and overlay data signals on top of the power signals.

This patented technology gives the company hardwired connectivity that works through all the conductive paths, so it doesn’t matter whether they use conductor bar, slip ring or festoon – it works through all the different products that connect mobile equipment to a stationary point, greatly expanding the types of equipment to add data to.

“That technology is also more secure because it doesn’t radiate in open space like Wi-Fi,” adds Dierks. “It’s not easily hackable, and it also doesn’t contribute to super noisy RF environments.”

Another major benefit – and one of the reasons why Conductix-Wampfler picked it as a platform – is that it also makes retrofitting existing equipment easy as it already rides on the existing conductive path.

With competitors’ equipment, the company often must rip out the entire conductive path whether it’s conductor bar or festoon, which causes two problems – not only is it costly to replace the conductive path and electrical infrastructure but there’s also substantial downtime of equipment during replacement.

“With this technology, they don’t have to take up that infrastructure,” Dierks says. “They can leave all of that there and add sensors, controls, or cameras very easily. That’s a huge benefit.”

Some of the company’s products also get embedded inside OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) equipment machines, and in those situations, they’ll often take that piece of equipment and design it around the electrification. This means they don’t have space to expand if they want to add a data path.

“This works because if they’ve got some design constraints on the machine based on the packaging of our components inside of their equipment, they don’t have to change that, so that makes their design cycle much easier as well.”

The Nexus BB Powerline Communication System is paying off in terms of productivity.

“We have one customer who’s using it in an amusement-ride application,” says Dierks. “They had deployed an industrial Wi-Fi solution, and in the amusement-ride environment, they often have local cellular devices and repeaters to help handle the huge load of people in each area.

“A lot of that type of equipment was producing a ton of RF noise, causing their industrial Wi-Fi equipment, which was handling control signals and sensing equipment, to drop out.”

They became one of Conductix-Wampfler’s very first customers for this technology.

“They were ecstatic because our Nexus BB isn’t affected by a noisy RF environment. They’ve been able to create a secure and reliable link that’s not affected by noisy RF environment, increasing uptime of their equipment and reliability.”

Because it can move so much data, the Nexus BB also assists with removing operators from dangerous situations, allowing companies to put both control and camera signals over the same path.

“They could remotely mount camera and controls and the operator could be away from a really high-heat dangerous area in a smelting plant,” says Dierks. “Anytime you can remove an operator from a dangerous situation, it’s a good thing for the company and the operator.”

Conductix-Wampfler currently offers a solution for hospitals and the military where sensitive environments forbid wireless signals from a data perspective.

“This hospital wouldn’t let our customer install their piece of equipment because it was Wi-Fi enabled,” says Dierks. “This technology allowed them to convert Wi-Fi to data over power so they could still have all of the same functionality, but without the radiating Wi-Fi signal.”

The company’s continual innovation extends to its approach to collecting information from customers, coupled with its successful launch of a brand-new product in the middle of the pandemic – a major achievement.

“We were worried about how to convey this if we couldn’t get in front of people and have a conversation about the technology,” Dierks says. “When you launch new and innovative technologies, there’s an educational element to it, because people aren’t necessarily looking for new technology and connectivity. People are used to all the usual suspects they go to when they need connectivity.”

Helping customers understand how this technology is different and demonstrating that it works and isn’t just vaporware or unproven is vital, he adds. Conductix-Wampfler addressed this by building a studio in its facility designed to have one-on-one demonstrations with customers both directly and remotely.

“It was set up to be flexible and allow us to demonstrate the power of technology in such a way that people can see there’s no smoke and mirrors. They see that we aren’t playing tricks to get them to believe it works, and they truly see that it does work and that we can answer any questions about how it would work in their application.”

Conductix-Wampfler has its sights set on discontinuous systems as well, says Dierks.

While the company has been focused on infrastructure linking a mobile piece of equipment to a stationary point – a continuous system where the conductive path is never broken from machine to power source – they’re now looking to apply the same innovative approach to discontinuous systems such as AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) and AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots), battery-powered systems that might need charging stations or the ability to transfer large amounts of data while charging.

“That applies to a good deal of the intralogistics market like these warehouses that are trying to automate distribution and manufacturing processes. That’s where we’re headed next.”

All the while sustaining the company’s present focus on customers, of course. “We’ve always been really good in terms of customer focus and service,” says Dierks. “What’s new for us is that since about 2014 we’ve really taken a customer focus from an innovation standpoint to understand their process.”

While Conductix-Wampfler doesn’t build a lot of equipment that end-users see, it works directly with, and enables, its OEM partner – an important piece of the puzzle.

Something else that sets Conductix-Wampfler apart is its habit of taking identified market problems for analysis and starting from scratch with a blank sheet of paper in front of them.

“We look at it like, ‘what would be the best solution for the customer?’ and come up with solutions that meet their needs and have as few concessions as possible,” says Dierks. “Right now, Conductix-Wampfler is continuing to focus on data and has a couple of new technologies we’re looking at that would push the envelope even further on the data infrastructure, and that’s just the beginning.”

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HIPOWER SYSTEMS serves all clients with the same high level of care and expertise. “No matter how big or how small, they take the same importance for us,” says Rino Sbriglia, Vice President of Sales and Client Experience.

This is reflected in the bottom line of this trusted diesel and spark-ignited power generator engineering and manufacturing giant, as company growth over the last decade has been nothing short of phenomenal. It grew from an estimated 20,000-square-foot space just eleven years ago to a 110,000-square-foot facility a couple of years later. Eight years or so after that, HIPOWER SYSTEMS serves North America from an over half a million square feet facility in Olathe, Kansas.

“The investment and the effort that has been put in place in the past ten years are huge. [That] is because we know and understand the American market, and that is why we are [making] these investments,” Sbriglia adds, underlining how these complex expansions demanded a surprising amount of effort and contribution and not just fiscally.

The team takes customer requirements and needs seriously, and when a new product is underway, practical feedback is valuable. “Compared to our competitors, we are still small,” says Sbriglia, who notes that this works in the company’s favor. “Every customer has access to everybody here in the company, starting from the chief executive officer down… they are welcome to reach out to anybody, and we will take care of them.” Thanks to this, communication flows, leading to smooth processes and availability throughout the organization.

Its gargantuan parent companies, HIMOINSA of Spain and YANMAR Group of Japan, give the company advanced capabilities second to none. This international footing affords HIPOWER SYSTEMS access to some of the most advanced technology, research and development, and manufacturing capacity relating to this type of equipment.

“That is [one of the benefits] of being part of a multinational organization. That we are flexible in that way,” he says. This considerable pool of support means that, when the economy is under pressure labor-wise, the company still has full access to world-class equipment and knowledge to fulfill its orders. Its distribution partners are well-informed about its products, delivering the same caliber of personal service as the HIPOWER SYSTEMS team.

When it comes to innovation, the company heeds market demand. It tries to satisfy all customer requests. “Once we identify the product they need, then we develop that product together with them,” Sbriglia tells me. It means detailed conversations with field operators who physically operate these machines daily, rather than checking in with, for instance, company leaders.

HIPOWER asks operators “what they need for certain applications, what they do not need, so the innovation is meeting customer expectations. That is also something that [makes us] unique. There are not many people that do this,” he says. When cars are designed, for instance, it is done in a way that potential customers have no input into the design and can take or leave the resulting product.

Instead, in-house research and development team designs specifically for its clients, focusing on solving customer challenges and optimizing performance and durability in the face of extreme temperatures. Having access to the brilliant minds of the parent companies gives the Kansas team exciting possibilities for collaboration. The final procedure following the development phase is getting stationary units UL certified. Once this is complete, production commences.

Nearly all of HIPOWER’s components are produced in the United States. “We produce everything here at our facility in Kansas for the U.S. and Canadian markets,” says Sbriglia.

There is further growth and product development ahead for HIPOWER SYSTEMS. In the second half of 2021, it launched another diesel range of portable generators with capacities ranging between 25 kilovolt-ampere (kVa) to 1375 kVa. This variety of integrated Tier 4 engines also comply with the United States Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards. These standards aim to considerably lessen particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions, introduce ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, and promote cutting-edge engine technologies and after-treatment systems for exhaust gas.

HIPOWER’s stationary diesel range also features various models, starting from 10 to 600 kilowatts (kW). Its natural gas selection has portable and stationary models ranging from 650kW to 800kW and 1 megawatt (MW). These new ranges also include revamps of existing models that had become outdated and needed modernizing. “There have been new components and new engines coming out, so there was a need of a complete redesign of that product line,” Sbriglia says.

In addition, another line of smaller, natural-gas-powered generators was introduced in March this year, ranging from 80kW to 150kW. Soon it will debut yet another product line with outputs of up to 600kW.

The Heavy-Duty Industrial Diesel Standby Series recently received the 2021 International Building Code seismic certification, making it a strong option in case of earthquakes. The product not only retains its structure and strength but also works in the aftermath of this type of natural disaster. To achieve this incredible feat, the company collaborated with the earthquake simulator laboratory at University of California, Berkeley’s Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) laboratory. Here, the generators were put on an earthquake simulator shaking table to test strength and performance under severe conditions. This sophisticated piece of equipment is reportedly the largest of its kind in America. The machines passed the tests with flying colors and are now ready to serve North Americans in both the worst and the best of times.

Much of the company’s factory is automated. “Some areas can run with very few people. And, of course, some areas need more people. Right now, we are about one hundred people,” says Sbriglia. “If I am thinking about the people we have in production, production planning and engineering, purchasing, there is a true commitment from [them]. Everybody understands the project. Everybody knows the target, and I think we are all going in the right direction.”

As COVID-19 measures continue to affect markets, the company has seen a balance developing between its two main types of clients. Around half of these customers occupy the rental arena, while the other half uses these machines as standby electricity backup sources. Industries include agriculture, construction, water treatment facilities, oil and gas exploration plants, data centers, financial institutions, and disaster relief operations.

In terms of how the global health crisis affected the company, Sbriglia remains positive. “COVID-19 did not change the business. 2021 was one of our best years. I have heard this from multiple companies. We had to face challenges, but we were able to overcome these by strengthening our cooperation with our subsidiaries around the world,” he says.

The post Power to the People: Building QUALITY Generators<p class="company">HIPOWER SYSTEMS </p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.