Just how small is ‘small’? A single nanometer (nm) is equal to one-billionth of a meter (.000000001 m.). To put this in real-world terms, this is approximately 80,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.

Scientists use the nanoscopic scale—also known as the nanoscale—which refers to structures with a dimensional range of 1 to 100 nm. At this scale, materials are referred to as nanocrystals or nanomaterials. Several factors make this scale unique.

The first is that nothing solid can be made to be any smaller. Second, the biological and physical world operates on length scales from 0.1 to 100 nm. At these incredibly small dimensions, materials exhibit different physical properties. Owing to this, researchers and scientists continue exploring novel effects at the nanoscale level, which is leading to breakthrough discoveries and technologies.

“The essence of nanotechnology is the ability to work at the molecular level, atom by atom, to create large structures with fundamentally new molecular organization,” states the U.S. National Science and Technology Council. “The aim is to exploit these properties by gaining control of structures and devices at atomic, molecular, and supramolecular levels and to learn to efficiently manufacture and use these devices.”

You could say that nanotechnology comes down to the ability to create micro and macro materials and products with atomic precision.

Nanotech breakthroughs
Widely hailed in the scientific community as ‘the next big thing,’ nanotechnology would not be possible without the pioneering work of Kim Eric Drexler. An American engineer, Drexler was a student at the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he became intrigued by limits to growth and the potential of molecular nanotechnology (MNT).

This led to Drexler investigating space colonies with NASA, and working on extremely thin metal films to illustrate the potential of solar sails.

In 1992, a year after he submitted his doctoral thesis, Drexler’s work was published as Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery Manufacturing and Computation. The book earned Drexler the 1992 Association of American Publishers award for Best Computer Science Book, and the honorific, “Mr. Nanotechnology.”

Even today, more than 30 years after its publication, Nanosystems remains a controversial, groundbreaking work. The late Marvin Minsky—a computer scientist who made massive contributions to Artificial Intelligence (AI)—described Nanosystems as “the book for starting the next century of engineering.”

Prophetically, Minsky said: “Devices enormously smaller than before will remodel engineering, chemistry, medicine, and computer technology. How can we understand machines that are so small? Nanosystems covers it all: power and strength, friction and wear, thermal noise and quantum uncertainty.”

Making it big
Historically, nanotechnology predates Drexler, the nanometer scale, and the now-famous lecture by American theoretical physicist Richard Feynman in 1959. Titled “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom,” Feynman’s lecture has, according to researcher Richard Jones, “achieved mythic importance in discussions of nanotechnology; to many, it is nothing less than the foundation of the field.” While some have criticized Feynman for presenting imaginative ideas more than a coherent vision, the importance of nanotechnology is indisputable.

Nanotechnology already touches our lives, with few of us being aware of the science that informs items we use every day. In recent years, nanotechnology has been used in everything from “smart fabric” clothing we wear regularly, inhibiting bacterial growth, preventing odour, and reducing staining and wrinkling, to body armour for police and soldiers. In eyewear and computers, nanotechnology is critical to making surfaces resistant to ultraviolet or infrared light and scratches, and even water and residue. In the medical field, nanotechnology is being used in flexible, health-monitoring sensors.

Small but mighty, nanotechnology is integral to larger items too, such as motorcycle helmets, tennis rackets, luggage, and even power tools. Used in creating polymer composite coatings and housings, nanotechnology helps make products lighter but more durable and even serves to act as electronic and thermal shielding.

In manufacturing, nanotechnology is used to create long-lasting ceramic coatings, while lubricants enhanced with nanotechnology prevent many surfaces exposed to friction from premature wear.

Shrinking electronics
Over the decades, a field that has greatly benefited from nanotechnology is electronics, including computers. It wasn’t that long ago that transistors shrank the radio and allowed us to slip it into a pocket. Thanks to pioneering manufacturers like IBM and Intel, transistors—which themselves were much smaller and less cumbersome than tube technology—paved the way for smaller and faster computer chips able to process enormous amounts of data.

What does the future hold for nanotechnology, especially for much larger products? In recent years, it has proven itself in many areas, particularly flat-screen televisions and computer monitors. Without nanotechnology, which has greatly improved picture quality, resolution and colours, clunky tube televisions would still predominate.

Recent research utilizing groundbreaking nanotechnology is also making great gains in science and medicine. For persons needing medication, scientists at the State University of New York are working on different chemical formulations of “biocompatible nanoparticles” in the delivery of life-saving drugs to treat infectious diseases and even cancer.

For patients with cardiac issues, researchers are working on nanosensors which will detect heart attacks before they happen. At just 90 microns—significantly smaller than a single grain of sand—a life-saving nanosensor chip is in the works. Injected into the patient’s body, the sensor will screen for endothelial cells, precursors of a heart attack. If these cells are detected by the chip, a message is sent to a smartphone, alerting the patient to seek immediate medical attention.

Enhancing vision
For persons at risk of blindness, nanotechnology shows great promise through a tiny, magnetically guided ‘microbot.’ Powered through external magnetic fields, the miniature microbot known as the OctoMag can reach places conventional surgery cannot access to perform procedures such as dissolving clots. Much like the nanosensor chip used in cardiology, the OctoMag is injected into the body through a needle. This not only eliminates cutting into the patient’s eye but significantly reduces the risk of scarring and infection.

As if these technologies weren’t impressive enough, nanotechnology is showing promise with diabetics. For years, persons with diabetes have had to prick their fingers to draw small amounts of blood to measure their blood sugar, a time-consuming process. Researchers at Western New England University are working on a unique nanotech-powered ‘breathalyzer.’ Instead of drawing blood, the breathalyzer measures acetone levels in the breath, eliminating the need for traditional blood testing.

While future nanotechnology applications are still developing, one thing is for certain: this technology will make our lives better in the years to come.

The post Thinking Small Is Going to Be Huge<p class="company">Molecular Nanotechnology</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

To achieve this, the ECIA has three constituencies through which it contributes to the interests of distributors, manufacturers, and independent manufacturers’ representatives within the electronics components field. The ECIA also provides its members with opportunities to build relationships and meet while giving them a voice in developing industry best practices and standards. It is a source of crucial industry knowledge and information from which its members benefit in many ways.

As part of this role as an industry convener, influencer, and optimizer, the association organizes gatherings where industry leaders compare notes, get to know one another, and make important, industry-defining decisions. These include, amongst others, its joint council meetings—brainstorming events where scores of stakeholders and other trusted voices from the three constituencies gather to compare notes on their operational successes and new initiatives based on thorough market analysis followed by policy development.

Then there is its annual conference, to be held in October in Chicago this year. The conference is attended by guests like the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Commerce, who discussed how the industry can improve its collaboration with the government through what it calls “advance due diligence” to prevent electronics shipments from going to undesirable agents posing as legitimate businesses. The event is an opportunity for leaders from across the electronics components industry, including executives from manufacturing and the distribution world, to connect and share in motivational talks, panel discussions, and forecasts on the world’s economy and their position in it.

Following the cancellations of the event due to COVID-19 in recent years, it sold out entirely in 2022. “We do a lot of original market research—especially as it applies to industry sentiment. We cut the data in a lot of different ways. That’s very beneficial to be able to help people know what’s going on in the overall market,” says David Loftus, President and Chief Executive Officer. The ECIA also hosts an executive conference, the EDS Summit, in Las Vegas, where partner companies discuss and agree on business strategies and upcoming product releases every year.

Established nearly a century ago, the original association on which the ECIA was founded was involved in radio distribution. Today, the organization continues to do invaluable work, ensuring the safety of purchasing original electronic components, online and elsewhere, from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). To achieve this, it also runs what the association considers the only online authorized channel marketplace—www.trustedparts.com—supported by its OEM members.

“Other marketplaces have all kinds of brokers, grey-market activity, and things that can potentially fuel counterfeiting, which is very dangerous in the electronic space, as you can imagine,” Loftus says, underscoring the benefits of protecting quality and reliability, which set this platform apart. “Our online marketplace is a way for buyers to be fully confident that they’re getting genuine products from the OEMs with the full manufacturing warranty and the highest levels of quality and reliability.”

Alongside these efforts, the ECIA collaborates with affiliated organizations like JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the self-described “global leader in developing open standards and publications for the microelectronics industry,” and others responsible for developing and overseeing industry standards of comparable goods. It also has dedicated groups of experts to oversee implementing, maintaining, and further developing around 500 industry standards governing manufacturing methods and quality craftsmanship in the country.

The association’s work is not only about protecting its partners and customers, however. The ECIA also sees to matters it considers its civic duty, such as training and education. Its courses and educational materials are custom-created with novices in mind. A welcome addition to this body of work is its focus on enumerating and explaining a myriad of industry acronyms.

Finally, the ECIA is a loyal industry advocate and works in partnership with other industry players to drive more solid support for industry legislation creation across the United States. As part of this commitment, Loftus is a member of the board of advisors for manufacturing association members of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). According to him, NAM’s invaluable work reaches far beyond the electronics components industry to fabrication across North America.

“A lot of issues touch manufacturing worldwide. So when it comes to sensible environmental regulation, it’s not that we are against it; it is just that we want it to be sensible,” he says of the work done by contributors from America and abroad.

As some of the country’s most respected fabricators join the association to ensure that standards are upheld across industries, the ECIA is also known for joining with others to get the job done. “We find that there is a lot of benefit in putting our voices together and having a stronger message in trying to create a more sensible regulatory environment and more favorable economic conditions to ensure that manufacturing is strong here in the U.S. and the rest of the western world,” Loftus says. He points out that the offshoring of fabrication is, according to trusted indicators, a declining trend as North American manufacturers respond to the supply chain challenges of the past few years.

While there are companies setting up new fabrication outfits in the United States following COVID-19, Loftus’ grasp of and experience in the complexities of manufacturing electronics components leads him to be conservative in his forecasts—especially when it comes to the speed at which this specific type of manufacturing may or may not return to home soil.

“It takes many, many years to be able to plan, build, and make effective new production lines for production facilities, especially for things like semiconductors… and a tremendous amount of capital,” he says. It takes the training of workforce, being able to tune and perfect… the most complex manufacturing processes on the planet to be able to create advanced semiconductors.”

The Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 has given the local semiconductor manufacturing industry a tremendous boost, with estimated investments of around $150 billion confirmed by the White House. “The government’s partnership with our industry to be able to provide incentives to build these very expensive [facilities] on U.S. shores is showing some promise,” Loftus says. While economic pressures may have delayed some of the activity in this area, he remains positive about the industry’s outlook.

He is especially proud of the association’s “small but mighty team,” of 11. These valued people are responsible for organizing and facilitating everything from meetings to sizeable events for members to significant original market research. Without these member companies, their loyal support, and selfless contributions of time and expertise, the ECIA would have no claim to existence, let alone have its guidelines and work accepted by the industries it serves.

The association also serves the next generation of electronics experts through its support of FIRST Robotics. An acronym for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” the organization was the brainchild of Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway and the automatic portable insulin pump in 1976—amongst several other notable technologies through his company, DEKA. Kamen wanted to allow children and youngsters to learn from and be mentored by professional engineers while making it fun and inspiring them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

“I could talk to you all day about the merits and wonders of this competition that is run almost like high school or college sports teams… that form almost like small businesses. We are happy to be significant sponsors. Our member companies also sponsor these teams locally,” says Loftus of the initiative that reaches over 700 thousand children annually across the globe.

As the evolution of electronics directly drives the evolution of modern technology, the ECIA takes its contribution toward education and industry advocacy locally and toward global industry practice seriously. To this end, its Paul Andrews Continuing Education (PACE) program boasts over 1100 participants at present. It is with this pragmatic view ahead that the ECIA looks toward its own good fortune and ability to expand its reach by continuing to do what it does best.

The post Protecting North American Electronics<p class="company">The Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA)</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Xymox (pronounced “Zy-Mocks”) custom designs and manufactures membrane switches, capacitive touch sensors, and specialized circuitry. Membrane switches are a type of human-machine interface (HMI), made from layers of printed film or other material, that relies on pressure to open and close circuits. Capacitive touch sensors, meanwhile, are used in capacitive touch screens (displays on smartphones, computer tablets, and other products manipulated by the fingertip).

Based near Ravensburg, Germany, RAFI describes itself as “the solution provider for HMI and E2MS [Electronic Engineering and Manufacturing Services]” markets. To this end, RAFI supplies electronic assemblies, electronic systems, and electromechanical components, and offers engineering services.

Despite the merger, much remains the same at Xymox. The company continues to mine its own areas of expertise, but now it has a partner with over 2,300 employees in facilities around the world. RAFI’s broad market reach and core competencies present new opportunities for Xymox.

“Our focus has been membrane switches and capacitive touch sensors for really just the front of the assembly. What RAFI brings to us are all the electronics and everything needed to [move] deeper into the assembly,” says Xymox President and CEO, Bob Hartline.

In return, Xymox will serve as the “manufacturing platform to launch all of RAFI’s capabilities into the United States,” adds Hartline.

He says that his company has not been subsumed by the RAFI Group, even though the latter is a considerably larger business. Going forward, Xymox will “continue doing what we do. Of course, we’ll take input from Germany.”

Xymox’s solutions are used in medical equipment (including IV pumps, defibrillators, and hospital beds), food equipment (ovens, meat slicers, and warmers), and appliances (refrigerators, mixers, and dishwashers). The company’s wares are also utilized in industrial controls for gas pumps and power distribution equipment and in consumer products such as hand-held devices, wearables, and sport accelerometers. Xymox is currently eyeing new markets where RAFI has a presence, including off-road vehicles, construction equipment, and agriculture.

As mentioned in the previous profile, Xymox has a 55,000-square-foot facility in Milwaukee, where it performs a variety of services including sheet-fed printing, design and engineering, laser cutting, optical adhesive lamination, and full production. New ESD (electrostatic discharge) flooring was added to the facility to enhance electronic assembly work.

A showroom was created as well to display “all the different technologies that RAFI is bringing to Xymox. We’ll have a place where customers can come in and look and see and touch and feel all the different types of technology we offer,” says Hartline.

While most of Xymox’s products are custom-made, RAFI “does have a portion of their product line that is off-the-shelf or components-based,” he adds.

Xymox also continues to work with a manufacturing partner in Guangdong, China. Thanks to this connection, Xymox had advance warning about the impending COVID crisis, and began receiving reports about lockdowns and emergency pandemic measures in China back in the fall of 2019, before the virus colonized North America. This advance notice gave Xymox plenty of time to prepare.

By the time COVID hit Canada and the U.S. in 2020 and some businesses were shut down, Xymox already held multiple letters from medical firms stating that the firm was an essential supplier that needed to stay in operation, recalls Hartline. To protect its staff, Xymox quickly introduced hand sanitizer and barriers and implemented shift changes.

Company revenues actually increased at the start of the pandemic, thanks to a soaring need for hospital bed control systems in critical care facilities. Business soon declined, however, and Xymox also had to cope with COVID-related supply chain challenges. The company uses acrylic for its front panel assemblies and due to COVID, acrylic see-through barriers to separate staff from the public in stores and offices became a high-demand item. As a result, Xymox faced a temporary acrylic shortage. Things eventually worked out and Xymox’s supply situation has returned to normal.

The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified and works hard to ensure quality. Parts and products are subjected to multiple tests, including abrasion testing (rubber keypads get rough treatment from an abrasion tester), life testing (to ensure a design meets key aesthetic, electrical, and physical requirements), environmental testing (whether a product meets key temperature cycling standards), and product performance testing.

In addition to following ISO guidelines, Xymox likes to emphasize the notion that quality is everyone’s responsibility.

“We want every person who works on the shop floor here to be the quality person that builds quality into the part. We build parts that go into defibrillators; the defibrillator has to work every single time, as does all sorts of medical equipment. Our operators understand that the part they are working on could save a person’s life,” says Hartline.

Xymox currently has 88 employees, up from about 85 last year at this time. While experience and knowledge are important prerequisites for anyone looking to come aboard, Xymox also considers “how well you fit into the company. Culture is very important to us,” says Hartline.

This company culture centers on four core values: integrity, service, results, and employees. Integrity can be summarized as “how you act when no one is watching: I want our customers to walk away from Xymox knowing if they come here to watch us, whatever they see us doing, they can go back to their office and say, ‘I know Xymox is doing the right thing,’” says Hartline.

Service means always being grateful and gracious to customers, while results refer to the need to constantly improve to achieve goals. As for its employees, Xymox takes a keen interest in workforce well-being and offers staff financial training and office visits from a chiropractor.

“A lot of people would describe our business as a family. We’re a great team and we care about our employees,” says Hartline.

Employees stand to benefit from the RAFI merger, which is slated to expand Xymox’s range and revenues. It’s the latest chapter for a company that began its existence in 1979 as a business unit of the WH Brady Company of Milwaukee. Tasked with making membrane switches, Xymox was spun off as an independent enterprise in the early 1990s.

Discussions with the RAFI Group commenced in 2019. At the time, Xymox was merely looking to form a manufacturing partnership. Collaborating with a European manufacturer, says Hartline, would allow Xymox to “service our customers on both sides of the ocean equally well.” In particular, Xymox wanted to work with the RAFI Group because “they have more experience with touch screens. They’ve been manufacturing touch screens for a lot longer than we have,” he explains.

“We had an excellent meeting with them,” Hartline shares. “Their culture and our culture seemed to be a fit. RAFI is a much larger company but seemed to treat employees the same way we did.”

Negotiations were briefly thrown off-track by the pandemic, but the two returned to discussions in early 2022. As talks went on, it became apparent that RAFI wanted to buy Xymox outright. While RAFI maintains a small division in Seattle, Washington, the otherwise globally successful company was struggling to penetrate the American market.

“The reason that this deal came about was because RAFI wanted a United States presence. They recognized that their attempts at breaking into the market through the operation in Seattle were not meeting their expectations,” says Hartline.

An agreement was reached but before the merger could be finalized, due diligence and federal approval were required. Thanks to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) rules, the deal needed to be reviewed by U.S. regulators.

“We had to get approval from the State Department to have a foreign entity own us because we manufacture a few parts for the military. We were hoping this wouldn’t be a showstopper because Germany is our ally,” explains Hartline.

The State Department review was followed by a Treasury Department review. Government approvals were granted in early July 2023, and the merger closed shortly thereafter.

Xymox is eager to spread the news about its partnership via social media and by appearing at more trade shows than it has in the past. Xymox wants to highlight its own capabilities, the merger, “and all the new technologies that RAFI brings to us for the future,” says Hartline.

Again, he stresses the importance of the new opportunities presented by working with RAFI. “We’re not going to just rely on membrane switches and touch screens,” he says. “We want to do the whole user interface assembly. That’s where I think we’ll see some significant growth in the future.”

The post High-Quality Interfaces<p class="company">Xymox Technologies</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

As a business that places a high priority on customer satisfaction, AB Electronics is dedicated to client success with its cutting-edge technology for comprehensive production solutions. From supply chain management to finished products, the company’s goal is to provide partners with unwavering quality, trustworthy on-time delivery, and best-in-class economics.

As a member of the Aragra Technologies family, AB Electronics provides its clients with the full spectrum of top-notch manufacturing services, and in order to lower costs and boost capacity, the company invests in state of the art equipment to better serve the demands of its partners.

When it comes to the various improvements and investments AB has made to embrace and utilize leading-edge capabilities, it comes down to equipment, teams, and processes. “In terms of equipment, we put in a lot of new and improved equipment, things that will automate certain parts of the process and allow the operator to focus on more critical tasks rather than, for example, just keeping the machines fed,” explains President Akash Monpara.

This includes, amongst other upgrades, putting in two new pick-and-place machines and two solder paste inspection machines to give better yield on the fine pitch placements. “At this point, we could pretty much place and assemble the most complex parts in the market,” says Monpara. “We also put in equipment that will help consistency of process.”

For example, where processes used to be dialed in with knobs, AB has added computerized and more modern equipment so the job is run the same way every single time. There is also equipment to maximize productivity per production hour by improving consistency in processes, reducing process rework, improving first pass quality, and improving quality out the door. AB has also added a number of engineers to its team to focus on process improvement and equipment integration, along with several mechanical and industrial engineers to focus on process improvements.

“We also added to our ranks a number of material handlers as we got into more traceable materials operations, which is important for the medical industry,” says Monpara. “We’re gearing up our certifications and our processes to take on more medical devices.”

These upgrades involved a lot of process trialing to achieve better consistency because better processes equals better quality, adds Monpara. Over the last two-and-a-half to three years, the company has also completed a lot of process trials, utilizing its new equipment and resources.

Along with this commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, AB is also strongly committed to taking care of its employees with a positive company culture. Along with the ownership change in 2020—which is also when Monpara joined—there was also a change in working philosophy, a readiness to invest in the team and the equipment, and a different philosophy on how to treat staff.

“We make everybody feel included and impactful toward the outcomes that they’re driving,” Monpara says. “For anyone who’s working on a product, we want them to know what it is that they’re working on, why it matters, and why it’s important that it gets done right. It gives them more satisfaction and [leads to] a good outcome.”

When the company does well, the whole team benefits, he adds. Team-building events are held at least once per quarter, whether it’s an outing at a sports bar or a golf club, or a company picnic or potluck lunch. Monpara’s team strives to conduct a lot of these events, and emphasizes that the team is really what makes the company and what makes the product. “It wouldn’t be possible without a good team,” he says.

And the team certainly appreciates everything AB does to make the working environment the best possible. “Everyone is pretty happy with the new ownership and the new environment. We’ve almost doubled since 2020, when we took over. The team is very energized about that; they feel like they’ve had a direct impact on driving that outcome and on making our customers happy. Overall, I think that’s the biggest thing; it’s not about just me as the owner of the business, but the happy customer and a happy employee. Basically, the rest takes care of itself.”

Among AB Electronics’ world-class products are printed circuit board assemblies, cable and wire harness assemblies, and box build assemblies, to name a few. AB builds the products, providing manufacturing as a service. Where it used to just build printed circuit board assemblies and cable harnesses, it now takes those and puts them onto a chassis or enclosure, building out the full product.

“It’s a lot more exciting to the team to be working on it and seeing the product come to life rather than just a component of it,” says Monpara. “And I think it’s also been something that our customers have really appreciated, because now we’re able to help them outsource more of their manufacturing processes.”

AB has also built out its testing, integration, and final assembly capabilities, taking that product one step further. Rather than just delivering a sub assembly, AB looks at how much more it can add on to give the customer more of a turnkey solution.

Certainly, AB has faced its share of challenges and also celebrated some key accomplishments over the past few years. Doubling in terms of revenue and increasing its footprint from 13,000 square feet to 21,000 square feet, along with the team growing from about 33 to about 48 today, are admirable goals that have been met.

“We’ve gotten a lot more work done proportional to the resources that we’ve invested in capital equipment, making every person that much more productive. We’ve then also been able to pay them a better wage because of the output of their time,” Monpara shares. “So investments in people and equipment have helped us grow and meet the customer needs of on-time delivery and quality.”

AB also recently became ISO 1345 certified, allowing the company to target more medical devices, and has implemented a new ERP system, which changes the way all of its business transactions are done and processed, to be more traceable and visible. But that was also one of the company’s biggest challenges due to the COVID-related semiconductor and electronics components supply chain crisis.

“Going through that challenge of not being able to get the right parts when you need them was tough. Sometimes we’re dealing with managing 200 incoming parts to make one assembly for a customer and if only one of those is delayed, then the whole build timeline is delayed,” says Monpara. “Then we’re also over-inventoried on the other 199 parts that we did get, and we can’t do anything about it until that last piece comes in.”

Simply maneuvering some of those challenges, while also changing the whole system in which the team works was a huge challenge—and a tough time to do it—but Monpara stresses that it set AB up for success moving forward.

“As we were trying to grow, customers’ demands were at an all-time high. It was hard to find people for that kind of staffing and it was a huge challenge getting the right people to be able to get the work done,” he says. “Culture shift is always a challenge.”

Looking ahead, AB aims to keep up with its success and its growth, growing with its existing customer base, and continuing on its journey to 100 percent on-time delivery and 100 percent quality, as well as targeting more medical builds, full box builds, and full product integrations. “We want to keep shaping the type of operation that we are, and our milestones are all related to that.”

When it comes to what sets AB Electronics apart from other companies in the industry, Monpara has a message that he regularly shares with his team.

“There are three guys within 10 miles that offer a similar thing, or market a similar thing as what we do, and they can probably make this for their customers, too. And if you look at just within the state, there are at least 50 of us. What sets us apart is our transparency, our integrity, and how we deal with the customer. We really make the customer’s problem our problem, and we want to be the first call that the customer makes anytime they have anything related to electronics assembly, whether it’s something in our wheelhouse or not. We want to take care of our customers and our customers’ problems.”

Ultimately, he adds, what matters most is that desire for a long-term partnership of building a two-way relationship. “Our customers’ success is our success, and our success will lead to our customers’ success,” says Monpara.

Just having that mindset as a core driver of the company’s whole operating philosophy is what truly sets anyone apart in this industry, he adds: How well do you take care of your customer and your customers’ problems?

“It’s all about the customer, and how we approach getting a good quality product delivered on time is pretty much the whole story of what we do,” Monpara says. “It’s a very competitive industry. But we want people to see that it’s easy and a pleasure to work with AB.”

The post Building a Mutual Partnership Through Transparency and Integrity<p class="company">AB Electronics</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Passive components—like capacitors and inductors that store power in different formats and resistors that transmute electricity—are used extensively in technological circuitry to regulate, rather than supply, power. While passive electromechanical components are commonly available from large multinational companies, Masline’s success comes from its attention to detail and ability to suit its customers’ needs in a way rarely possible for larger outfits.

In a technologically-driven world where customers are often just another name on an invoice, Masline Electronics prides itself on giving faces and names to its global and national clients. Providing them with superior service and a single point of contact from its facilities in Rochester, New York is how the regional firm secures its place in an ever-shifting market.

This proud member of the Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) may be comparatively small, but with that comes the agility to deliver fast solutions and good service combined with next-generation components of outstanding quality. Another huge plus is that, as per federal law, the company’s merchandise contains only conflict-free minerals, which it sells at the same prices as the multinational players.

Masline Electronics encourages its sales team to consider every contract a commitment that must also make business sense while providing its customers with focused value. “I am proud of my team for being able to do that and continue to move forward,” says Sales Manager, Jim Gerling. As such, Masline Electronics tailors its business to suit each client’s passive electromechanical needs.

The company has evolved alongside technology for nearly a century. It was established by Ed Masline, Gerling’s grandfather, in 1932. When Ed passed in 1964, his wife, Winona, who also owned a flourishing real estate business, kept his firm going. The company continued developing, specializing in television repairs and parts until the seventies, when it started moving toward serving the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) market. At this time, their son, Glenn, and later, their daughter, Sheila, joined. In 1991, they would be joined by Sheila’s son, Jim Gerling, when he started in sales.

Since 2005, the company has been expanding its reach, posting sales representatives in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indianapolis.

“We believe that doing business is still a face-to-face relationship. People buy from people they like. We have qualified people in place who are liked by our customers. You buy from people you trust,” says Gerling. He admits that the approach may seem old-fashioned to some; however, being able to solve issues and provide solutions when you know your customer well makes all the difference. Through this approach, Masline Electronics turns an otherwise often-unnoticed service into an essential source of support and expertise for customers who prefer having its value-added services on hand as an extension of their operations.

To ensure the smoothest buyer experience possible for its customers, Masline also invests in the necessary software and other technology to streamline buying. With the company’s annual goal of a ten percent growth rate, maintaining optimum customer comfort is imperative. Driving rapid growth through structured programs means that the company supplies its customers with roughly three months’ supply of consignment stock, the sale of which gets settled monthly. The process is simple, saving time, money, and labor. It also means that clients can order stock in quantities they need instead of bearing the cost of carrying dead weight inventory.

Naturally, the quality of the company’s wide variety of products and the strong reputations of the fabricators it represents are its star features. “We lead with our line cards, which are the lines we have franchise agreements with, and we believe we have a very good line card. So, we have the ability to sell our customers Tier1 suppliers and let the customers dictate what they want,” says Gerling of the system that makes stocking its components not only straightforward, but also cheaper due to significant shipping savings. Masline Electronics is especially committed to doing its part for the environment and reuses packaging where and when it can.

In addition, Masline offers end-of-life product benefits whereby it stocks components that allow OEM customers in instrumentation, audio, and medical devices and equipment to help maintain equipment warranties, for instance. “If you have a problem part, why wouldn’t you want to get it into your facility and have it there so that you can see it?” he asks. Under special agreements, the company even goes as far as holding up to two years’ worth of stock in support of such customer obligations to carry them through until they require components for the next iteration of their machines.

These longstanding relationships with well-known original equipment fabricators brought the company through COVID-19, unscathed and growing. To keep up the trend, Masline is firmly committed to adapting to the market and its customers. As a result, its sales team benefits from continuous education opportunities and training that raises awareness about the context within which they work.

Gerling considers the team to be like family. “We all don’t agree on everything, but at the end of the day, you want to treat people like you want to be treated. You try to hold people in the highest respect,” he says. “We figure that, when we hire people, we hire them for a lifetime. We want this to be the last job you ever have.”

The current goal is to grow the tight-knit group from 16 to 20 people by the beginning of next year’s third term as the company begins to explore new regions across the United States. “We are always looking for people—even when we don’t have an opening. When we find someone who we believe is qualified, we will make a home for them,” Gerling says. As it happens, many of its existing staff came to the company via word-of-mouth recommendations, illustrating the value of networking.

By meeting new people and building lasting relationships, Masline Electronics will continue to expand its foothold in ways that cultivate stability and trust. As a company that prioritizes family, its leadership is always ready to welcome the next new member of staff and customers alike.

“I think that’s a thing a lot of people are missing in corporate America. We try to put your needs and your family in front of everybody else,” Gerling says, highlighting how incredible the Masline team is for increasingly finding new ways of remaining relevant and providing improved value.

The post The Midas Touch of Stocking Distribution Flexibility<p class="company">Masline Electronics</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Spirit Electronics recently acquired Insight Analytical Labs, which has been in business for 30 years, in order to add new offerings—including destructive physical analysis (DPA)—to its turnkey semiconductor supply chain services. The team is always looking to advance its end-to-end capabilities, so the acquisition just made sense. “That is a goal for us to always increase what we call the ecosystem,” McCurdy says. “Our customer base is always looking for DPA, so we decided to buy a lab.”

In addition to DPA, the lab’s electronic analytical services include failure analysis, reverse engineering, and IP litigation support.

The lab is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the same experienced team will remain. Spirit Electronics has had external auditors qualify the Colorado Springs facility, ensuring that all operations meet the company’s robust quality management system and lab suitability.

Spirit Electronics has also been working hard to expand its ASIC programs in order to better serve customers. Short for Application-Specific Integrated Circuits, these programs take multiple IC functions and design, manufacture, and package a single IC to handle all of it. “We’re always moving more and more into manufacturing,” says McCurdy, “so our ASIC opportunities are becoming a big piece of our offering.”

Spirit is “the only exclusive distribution channel or access channel to have foundries through Texas Instruments,” she continues. “So we are working with them on allowing the outside world to have access to the mature analog 65 nanometer and larger technology nodes for ASIC mixed signal and analog devices that our aerospace and defense market uses. Our foundry access provides supply chain security for our customers by allowing them to have products made fully in the USA.”

The advantages of creating an application-specific IC are clear. “That secures the supply chain for the customer,” McCurdy explains. “They’re not waiting and relying on that supply chain to deliver.” This is particularly critical in an industry where deliveries can take as long as 140 weeks. “That’s three years, and you really cannot plan a program if you can’t get parts in your hands for three years. An ASIC allows you to own your supply chain and IP. The fact that we will design it for you, we will run the fab foundry service through TI or your preferred foundry, we will provide the assembly, test, and the qualification, gives any customer a lock on their product and supply chain for life on that component.”

An ASIC gives the customer control regardless of a supplier’s capacity—or any unforeseen situation, such as COVID, that negatively impacts the supply chain. “Now they’re not waiting on somebody to increase capacity; there’s nothing that’s restricting them. They own it. The price will be fixed. It will always be their IP and that removes all the strangleholds, all the price increases, all of the delays from them, and they literally can move into production in their systems.”

With so much to offer, it comes as no surprise that Spirit Electronics has been expanding rapidly. “We’ve outgrown our building,” McCurdy shares, and this has created new challenges due to fierce demand in the area. “We’re looking for a building here in Arizona. The challenge is Arizona is in such a tech boom right now that, within the Phoenix city limits where we want to stay, there are very few buildings that meet our criteria.”

The good news is that business is booming within the region. “The tech industry here in Arizona is just on a roll, especially Phoenix itself. The city proper is, for the fifth straight year in a row, the largest growing city in the U.S. at over 200,000 people per year coming into Phoenix only—not the Phoenix metro area, but Phoenix city.”

The company is taking full advantage of this tech boom. “We have been pursuing the CHIPS Act money simply because we are a very good candidate for that to help us expand quicker than we could from just our organic growth,” McCurdy says. “We are almost doubling every year. So the fact that we need a building in short order is pressing.”

The team is committed to staying in Phoenix, regardless of the challenge to find available space. One factor in this decision is the strong relationships it has built in the area. “Our desire is to stay within the city limits of Phoenix,” says McCurdy. “We have a great working relationship here with the mayor, the city, the city council, the developers. They’re very tied to us, very encouraging for us to stay within the city limits.”

The industry’s ongoing supply chain constraints are a key reason the company is seeking a larger building. “A lot of our customers now are going into storage contracts with us where we secure their pipeline of material, either for an immediate build or a build in the future,” explains McCurdy. “We have programs here that are in excess of five years, whereby we’re pipelining material to be guaranteed to be available when they need it.”

Customers taking advantage of Spirit Electronics’ storage capabilities include businesses in sectors ranging from commercial aviation to aerospace and electric vehicles. “They’re willing to put [materials] on their shelf so they have it as a guarantee.”

As Spirit Electronics grows, the team remains committed to positively impacting the community—take the location chosen for the business, for instance. “Currently, the building that we’re in is in a HUBzone, which is a Historically Underutilized Business zone,” McCurdy shares. “And interestingly enough, it has kind of raised the bar in our local business community here, where they’re hopefully going to be able to elevate this section out of the HUBzone. The growth here has been pretty astronomical. The two buildings that we are looking at are also in a HUBzone, so maybe we can have a positive impact there for the city and help to elevate that community as well.”

The company also runs a non-profit organization called Sprit Gives. “We support our local children in this community,” says McCurdy. “We do activities with them every month,” many of them through the local Sunnyslope Community Center. “We have families that we sponsor there. It’s been super fun.” Last month, for instance, they built robots together. The hope is to make a positive, lasting impact. “We’re in it for the long haul to help the community be revitalized.”

Looking ahead, the team is eager to continue growing by offering much-needed services to the industry. “The majority of what we call domestic assembly and test, which is true back-end capabilities, probably 90 percent of it is offshore,” McCurdy says. “So with the support of the CHIPS Act, that’s what we’re bringing onshore.” The company already offers this at the prototype level, “but we’re looking to grow that into large scale production; that will escalate Spirit. We have a strong backlog already but we’re looking to launch into a much bigger platform, bigger growth than we can achieve organically.”

Major names within the industry have built, or are planning to build, foundries within the Phoenix area that produce wafers, so Spirit Electronics’ future growth plan makes good sense. “It will make a big impact on the local community because we have so many foundries here,” McCurdy says. “If you have all these wafers, what are you going to do with them? You still have to ship them… to get them packaged and tested. So we’re going to offer that here with the aim of growing it into a fairly commercialized capacity.”

Armed with a proven track record—and an ongoing commitment to the community—Spirit Electronics is certainly on track to continue making a significant, positive impact both locally and on the industry as a whole.

Spirit Electronics is an Authorized Distributor for Intelligent Memory and Radiation Test Solutions.

The post The Spirit of Success<p class="company">Spirit Electronics</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

“It’s not just about providing a rubber part or an insulation part; it’s also being a trusted advisor with our customer,” says Sales and Marketing Manager Roberto Naccarato.

Elasto Proxy’s custom fabrication skills include waterjet cutting, lamination, bonding, and taping. Lamination is the creation of “insulation sandwiches,” as the company puts it, consisting of layered rubber sheets. Bonding involves joining rubber profile ends to make finished gaskets, while pressure-sensitive adhesive or heat-activated taping temporarily or permanently fastens rubber products. Pure waterjet cutting is intended for rubber, plastic, foils, fabrics, and other softer, thinner, materials, and abrasive waterjet cutting is applied to tougher, thicker substances such as glass, metals, and composites. Warehousing, logistics, kitting, and sourcing are also offered by the company as value-added services.

Most production work is done in Boisbriand, although this might soon change. Elasto is preparing to expand light fabrication operations at a branch it maintains in Simpsonville, South Carolina. Once paperwork is finalized, this facility should be “up and running by 2024,” shares Naccarato.

The company also has a light fabrication plant in Ghent, Belgium and a distribution facility in Newmarket, Ontario. It remains committed to future growth and would love to expand west within North America.

Elasto serves the heavy equipment, defense, food equipment, building, medical and health, and transportation sectors. Transportation includes mass transit, semis, transport trucks, service vehicles, flatbed trucks, aviation, and aerospace. Heavy equipment—a broad category covering agricultural, mining, forestry, construction, emergency vehicles, and ground service vehicles—is the top revenue generator for the firm, followed by military.

The company’s products for the heavy equipment sector range from door seals and window gaskets to acoustic and thermal insulation, silicone hose connectors, bumpers, anti-vibration mounts, rubber grommets, and rubber hose clamps. Products for the defence sector include hatch seals, firewall protection for engine bays, and grip tape to prevent soldiers from slipping off the top of military vehicles.

Despite doing considerable business with the heavy equipment and military markets, the company maintains a diversified workload and avoids focusing too heavily on one sector. That way, if a downturn occurs within a particular market, it will not impact overall business too heavily.

Components are often custom-built “based on what the customer is looking for. We help with the design aspect of it,” says Naccarato. While plenty of other fabricators make similar parts, few offer the kind of comprehensive services and support of which Elasto Proxy is capable. “Most of our customers have a production-line type of business,” he says. “We try to ensure there’s no downtime on their production lines. This is where those value-added services come in, in terms of warehousing or kitting.”

Kitting refers to an inventory management system in which related parts or products are combined into a single unit. It is a way to enhance efficiency in manufacturing processes that use large numbers of separate pieces and components. The client benefits through faster assembly, reduced overhead, less packaging waste, volume discounts, and fewer errors. For example, Elasto can custom-fabricate and then package latch gaskets, rubber bumpers, mud flaps, door seals, and other service truck parts into a neatly organized kit.

Warehousing, of course, entails storing raw materials and production parts for customers. Clients use this service to stock up and guarantee continuity in case of unforeseen circumstances. Should a client experience water damage at their factory, for example, they can turn to Elasto for a safe and secure supply of parts. In North America, the company maintains warehouses in South Carolina, Newmarket, and Boisbriand.

Sourcing is another popular value-added service. Relying on its own huge raw material supply chain and decades of experience, Elasto Proxy is able to consolidate and simplify the vendor list of its clients. The company can provide one-stop sourcing while ensuring that raw materials for customers meet regulatory requirements and industry standards.

“I’ve seen customers with 20 suppliers in their commodity base. Most of them are single product suppliers. We’re able to consolidate that, so a buyer only has to manage one supplier, with multiple products,” Naccarato explains.

Assembly packaging and acoustic lab testing and metrology are other value-added services offered by Elasto.

The company was launched—under rather humble circumstances—by Doug and Donna Sharpe in 1989. At the time, many fabricators focused on high-volume production, a model that worked well for big automotive companies and the like but was not suitable for companies that required fewer components. Elasto Proxy was founded to fill this gap, with an emphasis on low-volume runs of first-class components.

The company name was created by blending the words ‘elastomer’ and proxy—giving someone authority to vote or speak on your behalf. The concept was that clients could rely on the Elasto team to look out for their interests.

Production work for the young firm was initially performed in the Sharpes’ basement, while the family garage served as a warehouse. The business became a success thanks to a combination of good products, hard work, and the Sharpes’ relationship-building skills. “They forged partnerships with the extruders,” says Naccarato of the company’s early days. “They were able to earn customers and build on that.” As the years went by, “we added suppliers and offered different types of products as well.”

Today, Doug and Donna Sharpe are transitioning out of the company, but this remains a family business. The Sharpes’ son Clyde has taken over as Chief Executive Officer while younger son Kevin works in the accounting department.

At present, 60 people are employed across all branches, up from 50 last year at this time. Interestingly, not only is this company 50 percent female-owned, a majority of its workforce are women, and all personnel are passionate about their jobs.

“The biggest thing that stands out—and it sounds cliché—is the people inside the company. Our passion is to build a community and culture that you can trust; that starts with our staff. Our customers love our service. We are quick to respond to them,” Naccarato states.

There is little turnover among existing staff. As for new hires, “We want someone who is curious. We’re engaged; we’re professional; we’re loyal, and we’re problem-solvers. You have to be curious to be a problem-solver,” he says. Employees also have to be prepared to take on different responsibilities if need be.

The company’s upwards momentum was briefly halted when COVID became a global scourge in March 2020. “We did take a hit; we lost almost 30 to 40 percent of our business that year. We’ve made that up [since and] more.”

Since it supplied products for the military and medical agencies, Elasto was deemed an essential business and production never ceased. To ensure the safety of its employees, health protocols including dividers, social distancing, and extra cleaning were introduced in the production plant while office staff worked from home.

This focus on workforce well-being is matched by an intense effort to ensure consistent quality. Elasto Proxy maintains ISO 9001:2015 certification and a comprehensive quality assurance program. The company has its own quality department, performs internal audits, and holds quarterly meetings to review quality issues and discuss any potential challenges.

“Every time a new part is developed, we have to make sure we understand the critical dimensions,” says Naccarato. “That gets recorded on an inspection form. We have someone that inspects products that go out. We have inspection forms for products that come in. All the raw material that comes in gets inspected.”

The company is keeping an eye out for potential new products and services and employs a research and development engineer whose job is to explore these areas. The firm is also considering ways to expand its presence in the burgeoning electric vehicle market. At the same time, it is enhancing its existing capabilities such as lamination and abrasive waterjet cutting. “We have a standard waterjet machine that can cut rubber and foam parts, but we also have abrasive waterjet capabilities [and can cut materials such as] brass, copper, ballistic metals, and composite materials,” says Naccarato, who adds, “we can cut up to four inch-thick titanium metal.”

Like most industrial/manufacturing businesses in North America, the biggest challenge at present is finding good, skilled workers. “Recently, we hired a digital content creator. One of the objectives we have is to be able to promote what it is to work for Elasto Proxy,” says Naccarato.

As for the future, expansion is definitely on the agenda. “My biggest message moving forward is, we’re a small company but we think big. We’re always looking to grow and continuously improve,” says Naccarato.

The post Family-Owned Fabricator Finds Its Niche<p class="company">Elasto Proxy</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Selling original equipment manufacturing (OEM) products, the company grew, bringing on additional staff to fill key roles in sales, service, engineering, and programming. Bringing on others and creating a solid leadership team saw LPS build a solid client base. Looking for a new name that sounded rugged and would fit in manufacturing, the pair came up with ‘Viking’. And Viking it was, after clearing the new name with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, appliance maker Viking, and Viking Trailers. In just a few years, the company changed its name to Viking Packaging Technologies, Inc.

In 2006, the brothers partnered with internationally known packaging equipment giant Masek based in Vlasim, Czech Republic, and their company is today known as Viking Masek Packaging Technologies.

Vision and dedication
Today, the company that began as a two-man operation has expanded to encompass hundreds of staff spread across Viking Masek’s worldwide locations including its North American headquarters in Oostburg, Wisconsin, Viking Masek Robotics and Automation headquarters in New Berlin, Wisconsin, and the European sites, including Viking Masek’s Czech facility.

Along the way, the business built and expanded its Oostburg facility, premiered innovations on the Discovery Channel, was named Sheboygan County Manufacturer of the Year in 2017, 2019, and 2020, and was awarded Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Top Workplace in 2020, 2021, 2022.

For the company and the Leonhard family, 2021 was full of highs and lows. That year saw Viking Masek make a 33,000-square-foot facility expansion and welcome the formation of Viking Masek Robotics and Automation. Sadly, it also saw the passing of Robb’s older brother Rick in July after a brief, bravely fought battle with cancer.

Serving as Executive Vice President until that time, Robb was the logical choice to take over as company President, continuing to fulfill Rick’s vision for the future, passion for the industry, and commitment to Viking Masek’s staff and customers.

“Looking back to when we started this journey 19 years ago, we were in a much different position and facing different issues, but the spirit was the same,” said Leonhard when his presidency was announced on August 21, 2021. “We were a small, driven team on a mission to bring simple, automated tote-to-pallet packaging solutions to customers around the world. Today, automation has become so crucial, but our mission remains the same.”

For Leonhard and the entire team at Viking Masek, it was crucial to carry on Rick’s legacy, keep advancing the business, and strengthen the company’s involvement in the community.

“One of the things Rick and I were passionate about was giving back, being really involved and a crucial part of the community,” says Leonhard. This included re-inventing the company’s café-themed lunchroom as a European pub, naming it in Rick’s honor, and using it as a venue for a free Thanksgiving meal for the less fortunate. “Rick was very passionate about that, and it’s something we continue to do.”

Diverse clients
Offering packaging solutions for virtually any industry, Viking Masek works with customers every step of the way to ensure success. If products are dusty, wet, heavy, or even sticky, the experienced team at Viking Masek is there to offer machines, service, and solutions custom-made to the needs of every client in food and beverage, health and medical, and non-food product sectors.

Just some of the products packaged with the company’s cutting-edge equipment include coffee, cheese, candy, individual quick frozen (IQF) items, cereals, nuts and snacks, pasta, beans and rice, pet food and treats, cannabis, pills and capsules, medical testing kits, and more. The California-based Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is one valued customer, and as Leonhard describes, “That’s a market we’ve focused on since day one. We provide a lot of automated machinery lines to regional coffee roasters, from very small to very large, for packaging ground coffee, whole bean coffee, flavored coffee, and more. We love the coffee industry.”

Able to pivot quickly to meet market demands, “During COVID, our machines were used very heavily to package COVID test kits, along with other test kits,” he explains. “We sold a lot of machines for packing COVID test kits.”

Highly knowledgeable about the packaging industry, Viking Masek advises its customers on the best equipment for their needs. Coffee and tea, for example, can be packaged through Vertical Form Fill Seal (VFFS) machines, Flat Bottom, Quad Seal, Premade Bags, Stick Pack Equipment, or Bag-in-Bag VFFS Machines.

For cheese packaging, the company’s breadth of machines includes the Viking-8SD-235, the VFFS Solitaire, the VFFS Velocity, and more. Packing cheese through intermittent and continuous motion, Viking Masek’s line of VFFS Machines can package everything from small, consumer-sized, three-side seal bags with zippers to large pillow bags intended for restaurants and food service customers.

For the first-timer
As packaging industry experts, the Viking Masek team works with both longstanding customers and new ones looking to buy their first automated lines. Realizing that purchasing automated packaging machines is a big decision and a big investment, the company maintains an informative “First-Time Buyer” FAQ section on its website. “To help customers with the buying process, Viking Masek has developed an extensive library of resources for first time buyers including downloadable PDFs: vikingmasek.com/packaging-machine-resources/first-time-buyers.

In the past decade, the company has partnered with clients embarking on their automation journey much earlier in the process than was the case previously, often in the pre-construction stages. Years ago, companies would call up asking for a vertical bagger; today, Viking Masek is doing much more full-line automation and becoming involved in the early stages of everything from plant design to room layout.

Becoming a one-stop shop was both intentional and driven by market demand. Building on years of combined experience, Viking Masek has the talent, technology, and skills needed to latch onto the process at the start and make valuable contributions through to the very end.

This approach includes not only engineering, design, programming, and automation, but also service, parts, and preventative maintenance packages. All pre-owned equipment sold through Viking Masek undergoes a minimum 25-point maintenance and safety check. Thoroughly inspected by the company’s certified technicians, all used equipment “is certified to perform to Viking Masek’s exacting standards.” And just like new pieces, pre-owned equipment can be modified to suit specific customer needs.

Automation for all
In the future, Viking Masek will continue its quality work with clients of all sizes—from those who need multiple lines running to those who need just one. And of course, the company will continue to develop new innovations. Its fast Twin Velocity VFFS machine is a unique offering, rated at over 500 bags per minute. First unveiled at the Pack Expo show last year, this September saw the company bring the popular machine back for this year’s show in Las Vegas.

“The businesses we deal with all require automation, automation, automation,” Leonhard emphasizes. “That’s been good for us because we’ve been ahead of the curve. We can do the whole thing—supplying that tote-to-pallet, fully automated line instead of just little pieces—so we’re a one-stop shop for customers who need automation,” he says. “Right now in the industry, automation is king. Everyone needs to automate because employees are getting harder and harder to find.”

At present, the company’s Robotics and Automation Division is exploring other areas, such as food preparation machines. And even though the company keeps growing, it continues to uphold its foundational values.

“We have been very fortunate and blessed. We started as a family organization, and we’re still a family organization. We view our employees and teammates as family, and we invest in them. Some people just say that, but It’s important to us and we do it. Our machinery is only going to be as good as the people who design it, maintain it, train on it. Our machinery has come a long way since the beginning, and that’s a testament to the talent, determination, and drive for excellence of our people.”

The post Proof That Top-Class Automated Packaging Takes Top-Class People<p class="company">Viking Masek</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), the U.S. dairy sector has grown considerably over the past two years. Responsible for over a million direct jobs, the industry added approximately 60,000 new jobs, saw average wages rise by 11 percent, and increased its overall impact on the American economy by an impressive $41 billion.

Responsible for three percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), the dairy sector is growing as per capita consumption increases—and BouMatic is growing to meet the needs of producers worldwide.

BouMatic means business
The history of BouMatic is one of ongoing innovation and determination. Founded as BouMatic Milkers, Inc. in Ontario, California in 1939, the company relocated to Madison, Wisconsin 22 years later when the Dairy Equipment Company acquired it.

With annual sales reaching approximately US$80 million in 1997—60 percent from outside the United States—the company is growing to this day. Known for its automated milking systems, parlor stalls, animal and equipment hygiene products, integrated computerized management systems, and more, BouMatic continues serving the needs of both domestic and international clients.

Over the decades, BouMatic has led the way with a number of innovations benefiting customers large and small in the dairy industry. These include the electric pulsator, the can milk cooler, bulk cooling tanks, and the Opti-Stor® Heat Recovery System (aka Thermastor).

The Opti-Stor story
“Our Opti-Stor heat recovery system was pioneered by BouMatic for use in the dairy industry over four decades ago,” says a company representative. Helping customers by re-purposing heat energy and reducing utility costs, this innovative system also helps reduce carbon footprints as it transforms waste heat from cooling systems into profits. To achieve this, the double-walled heat exchanger in the Opti-Stor cools hot gas from compressors. This means they run more efficiently and provide free hot water, stored in the system until needed.

One of the advantages of the Opti-Stor Heat Recovery System is that operations of any size can use the product and realize cost savings. “Any business or organization that has a refrigeration system of scale and a need for hot water can benefit from an Opti-Stor system,” says the company. “We have units that accept anywhere from one to six circuits, so even a small convenience store or restaurant can see the benefit. Some customers have experienced up to a 65 percent decrease in water heating costs, with a return on investment in less than two years.”

Along with the Opti-Stor, BouMatic manufactures other state-of-the-art cooling and heat recovery systems. These include the Opti-Kool™ Milk Cooler, Glacier Guard™, ChillGuard™, OptiFlo™ CF, and GlacierChill™, along with BouMatic Plate Coolers and Dari-Kool® Falling Film Chillers.

On the heat recovery side, BouMatic offers the Glacier Opti-Stor heat recovery in a variety of models, which are used in combination with each other to fit the scale of the installation.

The company’s main model—the original Opti-Stor TSII—doesn’t use any electricity. A true heat recovery unit, it operates by running hot refrigerant lines from a cooling system through the plates of the Opti-Stor tank. This, in turn, transfers the heat energy to the tank of water, heating the water for free.

“This reduces the heat load of the refrigeration cooling system as well, saving the business both energy and wear and tear on the refrigeration equipment,” says the company. It also reduces the time and energy it will take to fully heat the water in a water heater if desired.

“We also offer a line of Opti-Stor TS-III tanks, which include a supplemental electric heating element. These units will also continue to heat water to the desired use temperature in addition to the heat recovery capacity,” says the company.

Although BouMatic sells dairy equipment through a dealer network, Glacier Opti-Stor products can be purchased directly from the company. Interested parties can also be connected via BouMatic to one of its Opti-Stor distributors who sell, design systems, and install Opti-Stor products. The company handles a line of over 12 specific tanks, as well as repair parts and accessories.

Originally designed for dairy use, heat transfer technology came about with the need to relocate excess heat from large milk cooling refrigeration systems, and it was repurposed to heat water in a heat recovery tank, which looks like a “big blue water heater.” Dairies could then use this partially heated, free hot water for cleaning tasks. Alternatively, they could continue to heat the partially heated water to the required temperature in a water heater for equipment cleaning, showers, and laundry purposes and still realize cost savings.

“The resulting heat transfer subsequently reduces run-times, wear and tear, and energy consumption on the cooling system hardware, reducing operational expenses,” says BouMatic. “Since this dairy innovation decades ago, our heat recovery base has expanded to restaurants, hospitality, manufacturing, big-box stores, and other large industries worldwide.”

Built to last
All BouMatic equipment is designed, engineered, and manufactured to provide years of worry-free, reliable operation. “We put the components and sub-assemblies through vigorous pressure and quality tests at several stages of production to ensure optimal quality of the final product,” says a spokesperson. “Tanks carry a five-year warranty, and we have very few warranty claims made on our tanks. We find most tanks last over 10 years in the field. As with any water heater, soft water will prolong the life of an Opti-Stor as well.”

Like other sectors today, ongoing research and development is vital to the success of the many dairy operators worldwide. In the case of BouMatic’s Opti-Stor heat recovery system, the company has built upon the same tried-and-trusted design and manufacturing process it has used for decades.

Tanks are manufactured in-house by experienced BouMatic employees, and individually produced at the company’s factory in Madison, Wisconsin. Equipment and many components are sourced from long-time American suppliers. “Many staff are the same people who have manufactured these tanks in Madison for years, making Opti-Stor very much a ‘Made in the USA’ product,” says the company.

Shaping the industry
Although BouMatic has been one of the world’s best-known manufacturers in the dairy industry sector for nearly 85 years, the company still vigorously participates in several trade shows per year. On the dairy side, BouMatic is active in World Dairy Expo, held in Madison, Wisconsin every October. The company also participates in World Ag Expo in Tulare, California each February, and several other events with its dairy dealers each year.

On the Glacier Opti-Stor side, BouMatic takes part in the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago, Illinois in the spring, and has attended the National Grocers Association show in Las Vegas, Nevada as well.

“We are always looking for additional markets and opportunities to showcase Glacier Opti-Stor,” says the company. “Our quality product continues to thrive in a more cost-conscious, energy-conscious, and technology-aware world than ever before. Our goal is that through awareness of Opti-Stor heat recovery, we can explore additional markets and companies who can benefit from our Opti-Stor product.”

The post Helping Dairy Producers Do More<p class="company">BouMatic</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Cadman Power Equipment is one of those businesses. Today, Cadman is a global company, with distribution facilities overseas and more than 25 percent of its sales outside North America. But it is a company with a rich history. That history begins with helping people deal with serious challenges, and that is a goal that continues to this day.

Craig Cadman is the President and CEO of this third-generation family enterprise based in Courtland, Ontario. The company was founded 71 years ago by Craig’s grandfather.

“My grandfather was working for my great grandfather, who had a jewelry manufacturing business,” he explains. “My grandfather wanted to do something other than making rings and tie tacks.”

Craig’s grandfather saw his entrepreneurial future taking him in a very different direction: farm equipment. He started Cadman Power Equipment in 1952, selling lawn mowers, rototillers, and similar machines. Just one year later, Ontario farmers would face a challenging growing season.

“There was a really hard drought in 1953,” Craig shares. “My grandfather got into the irrigation business, selling pipes and sprinklers and pumps, and that was when the company started to flourish.”

Several years after the drought, things changed once again. “It rained in 1956—a lot. Irrigation wasn’t so hot,” Craig says. “So my grandfather took on the Ford tractor line, while maintaining irrigation as the main work we did.”

The business then began passing to the hands of the next generations of Cadmans. “My grandfather sold Cadman Power Equipment to my dad in 1969. At 21 years old, he became the owner and president of the company, and the youngest Dealer Principal for Ford tractors.” The company continued to sell tractors until the financial crisis of the 1980s. When interest rates skyrocketed, Cadman’s tractor business suffered, borrowing rates for that equipment being out of reach as they were for most farmers.

As a young man growing up in a successful family business in farm country, Craig’s childhood was inextricably linked with the business.

“I went full-time with the company in 1997, but I’ve been here since I can remember,” he says. “Some days my mom would come looking for me, when I wasn’t waiting for the school bus. I was hiding in my dad’s car, because I wanted to go to work, not school!”

He continued to work in the business part-time through the school year and full-time in the summers. “I’ve worked in every area of the company. It was my dad’s idea—he knew that if I worked in every department, I’d know what I was doing when I started running the business.”

A key advantage of family businesses is their ability to pivot and make decisions quickly, and Cadman Power Equipment has continuously shifted to meet its customers’ needs, adapting its product lines in response. Irrigation, however, has always remained its primary focus. In the 1980s, Cadman doubled down and began manufacturing its own line of irrigation equipment, producing its first three machines in 1982 and 12 more the following year.

By 1992, Cadman was the largest manufacturer of hard hose reel irrigation systems in North America, and was expanding its manufacturing and distribution facilities while also looking further afield for new business.

“In the late 1980s, we decided to spread our wings geographically, and started selling into the United States,” says Craig. “We started with nearby states, but by 1993, we had sales people pushing as far as California.”

Adapting its product lines again, this time to include manure management, was an easy decision. “We had always been partially in manure management, selling pumps and fittings. We saw an opportunity to move away from the guns; nobody wanted the spray in the air. We developed the hard hose drag machine and the top spread boom, and added some bigger pumps to do that kind of work.”

The Great Recession of the late 2000s brought more hardship for the industry, and a new opportunity for Cadman. Record-high oil prices drove a corresponding expansion in fracking exploration.

“We didn’t target the fracking industry, but there was a need to get water to frack sites,” Craig explains. “It’s the same thing we’ve always been doing, just bigger. Instead of selling a 150 horsepower engine to a farmer, we’re selling a 600 horsepower machine. Instead of a six-inch hose, we’re selling a 10- or 12-inch hose.”

As the approach to environmental sustainability has changed, Cadman’s products have also evolved. Today, its agricultural irrigation equipment helps conserve water by making sure more of it gets to the soil and plants that need it. “We started manufacturing low-pressure irrigation booms for farmers,” Craig says. “Typical irrigation reels are like a giant sprinkler; they’re about 70 to 74 percent efficient. Our irrigation booms are 90 to 93 percent efficient—as efficient as drip irrigation, with the benefit of washing and cooling the crops.”

This kind of innovation can only happen when a business is committed to listening to what its customers need and want.

“We’re really good at listening to our customers,” Craig says. “Someone might come in here, thinking they need the largest irrigation equipment we build. We talk it out to figure out what he or she really needs. That way, they don’t spend more money than they need to or conversely, buy a piece of equipment that’s too small for their situation.”

To build this level of credibility, a company needs great people, and Cadman’s team is a strong one. “I’m proud to say that the vast majority of our team has been with us over 10 years,” Craig shares. “A good number of them have been with us over 15, even 20 years. Our core group is dedicated, they’re loyal.”

That loyalty has been reciprocated through some challenging times. In the onset of the COVID pandemic, Craig was anxious about the impact that a shutdown could have on the business and on the members of his team and their families. The announcement that agriculture would be considered essential meant the business could remain in operation, keeping its people working.

And Cadman’s commitment to its people extends to its customers, too. “This company has always stood by one thing: no matter what, no matter when, we’ll get you fixed up. There’s nothing worse than downtime when it comes to irrigation, because of the stress to the crop.”

That kind of customer commitment runs deep in the family business. Craig recalls many instances as a child when customers would call at odd hours in need of parts or service. His father would jump in to help however he could. Today, his service team does the same, even as shifting weather patterns in recent years have made it more challenging for Cadman and its customers alike.

“As the weather pattern shifts, it’s really hard for us to know where to put our focus, geographically,” Craig explains. “The unpredictability is harder for the farmers, too.”

Nonetheless, he has remained steadfast in his vision for the future of the business and its ability to help customers facing unique challenges. Cadman excels at helping its customers overcome adversity with innovation, and its equipment is now being used to battle forest fires in a remarkable new way. Typically, water bombers draw water from lakes and drop it on the fire zone itself. This is very expensive. “It can cost upwards of $120,000 per dip, operating one of those big tanker planes,” and the traditional approach comes with other problems as well. It puts human lives at greater risk, and it’s not as efficient. Cadman’s equipment, in contrast, is not only less costly, but it keeps people and property safer, too.

“Using our equipment, they create a giant wall of water,” Craig explains. “For all intents and purposes, they’re changing the atmosphere around the fire. Because the fire draws in oxygen, it draws in the cooler, damp air. That allows the fire fighters to move in more safely, plus there’s a barrier between the fire and wherever it’s headed.” Cadman’s success with this equipment in Alberta has led to interest in California, where, tragically, the need is so acute.

In Craig’s eyes, the future of the business is bright. The team isn’t resting on its laurels; instead, it is building on its success and innovating even further. One challenge is finding the right balance when it comes to technology. Like most other products, Cadman’s equipment has become far more technologically advanced, offering the ability to control an incredible range of functions from smartphones.

“We want to offer technology that’s sustainable, and that takes balance: giving our customers the tools they need without overcomplicating things.”

Like the two generations before him, Craig is up to the challenge. He’ll do it like Cadman Power Equipment always has: listening to its customers, understanding their problems and how to solve them, and providing second-to-none support for the products it provides.

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