We are all familiar with automatic elevator doors, yet how many of us know the name Alexander Miles? Despite adversity, African American Miles became a successful businessman, inventor, and the genius behind U.S. patent 371,207. Awarded in 1887, Miles’s life-saving patent, which “relates to mechanisms for closing the openings to the shafts of passenger and freight elevators and for operating the doors of the elwatoncages [elevator cages],” spared many from injury or death.

For Black innovators, the road to success has been far from easy. When many of us think of researchers, innovators, and inventors, names like Johann Gutenberg, creator of the printing press; Jethro Tull, inventor of the seed drill; telephone pioneer Alexander Graham Bell; and Thomas Edison, who was awarded 2,332 patents worldwide (1,093 in America alone) for countless devices still in use decades after his death. These inventors, and more recent ones like Robert K. Jarvik, inventor of the artificial heart; Apple’s Steve Jobs; and Tesla’s Elon Musk, persist in the public consciousness and are discussed in classrooms around the world.

Meanwhile, many of the names of pioneering Black innovators, inventors, doctors, engineers, and businessmen and women remain relegated to history textbooks.

While the name Marie Van Brittan Brown is relatively unknown, her work has helped make the world a much safer place. Frustrated by excruciatingly slow police response times, Brown, a nurse, invented the basis for today’s home security systems when she attached a camera to a series of peepholes in 1966. And without the invaluable contributions of Otis Boykin—who held over 20 patents—many men and women with heart issues would not be alive today. Creating a resistor initially used in computers and guided missiles, Boykin’s technology soon became a vital part of the success of pacemakers.

Throughout history, other Black pioneers have been behind innovations we use every day, such as the ubiquitous three-light traffic signal (thanks to Garrett Morgan), and the foil electret microphone, co-invented by James E. West. And even Thomas Edison’s most famous invention, the incandescent lamp, benefited from introducing a long-lasting carbon filament courtesy of Lewis Howard Latimer. From the period of 1750 to 1820, Nova Scotia saw over 2,000 Black men and women settle in the area. Highly resourceful, many set about making and selling everyday goods such as brooms and barrels. In Ontario, Black entrepreneurs started dressmaking shops and other enterprises.

All industries, from construction to health care, continue benefiting from the valuable contributions made by Black leaders in their fields, and perhaps none more than manufacturing. Today, Black-owned manufacturing is on the rise in Canada and the United States, even in the face of global adversity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Black-led businesses shuttered twice as quickly as other businesses; however, recent data states these businesses came back faster, with small Black-owned businesses increasing by an impressive 28 percent.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Small Business Administration issued a press release stating that President Biden’s ‘Investing in America agenda’ has ushered in a Small Business Boom, seeing more Americans than ever apply to start a business. “New Business Applications Reach Record 16 Million Under Biden-Harris Administration,” stated the release. “Black business ownership is growing at the fastest pace in 30 years, and the share of Black households owning a business has more than doubled, from five percent to 11 percent between 2019 and 2022.”

Across North America, Black-owned manufacturers have continued establishing a foothold in everything from beauty products to food and beverage, fashion, health, household goods, and more. Not to be outdone, many Black-owned tech companies are also making their mark, with manufacturers involved in care for patients with Parkinson’s, innovative lithium-ion batteries, a Bluetooth alternative, advanced ‘smart kiosk’ vending machines, bedsore detection, and even a unique technology for converting carbon dioxide into food for astronauts.

Today, Black entrepreneurs cover a wide swath of small to large businesses. These include World Wide Technology (WWT), owned by David L. Steward. Ranked the largest Black-owned business in the U.S. and number 23 on the Forbes list of largest private American companies, World Wide employs 10,000 individuals and realized $17 billion USD in revenue in 2023. And in terms of employment, Black-owned companies like Thompson Hospitality Corp. and Coca-Cola Beverages Florida employ 6,000 and 5,000 people, respectively.

Speaking of employment, a discussion paper authored by Michael A. Stoll, Steven Raphael, and Harry J. Holzer revealed that Black-owned businesses are more apt to hire Black women and men. Historically, Black individuals have faced more challenges finding meaningful employment opportunities and in the paper, Why Are Black Employers More Likely than White Employers to Hire Blacks?, researchers explored steps in hiring, applicant race differences, physical proximity to Black residential areas, access to public transportation, and other factors.

“We find that establishments where blacks are in charge of hiring are considerably more likely to employ blacks even after controlling for the proportion of applications that are submitted by blacks, establishment spatial location within the metropolitan area, and a large set of observable establishment characteristics,” state the authors. “In addition, we find that black application rates at firms where blacks are in charge of hiring are significantly greater than those for white firms, even after accounting for spatial location and other observable covariates.”

In May, the Biden-Harris Administration issued a statement on the latest labor market conditions for Black workers. Helping to see all Americans, particularly Black Americans, realize post-COVID recovery, the 2024 Economic Report of the President noted that, “the sustained strong labor market during this time led to sizable benefits for middle class workers, and historically strong outcomes for Black Americans.”

Some highlights include the longest recorded period for Black unemployment to remain at or below six percent (for the period September 2022 to February 2024), and a trend toward lower Black unemployment (5.6 percent in April 2024). Although lower unemployment rates are often attributed to potential workers not seeking employment, the report states: “…the historically low unemployment rates for Black Americans have coincided with strong labor market participation. The 2024 Economic Report of the President highlighted that the Black-White employment-population ratio gap, after accounting for factors like age, education, marital status, and geographic region, reached historic lows in 2023. By the end of 2023, there was little to no unexplained gap for females, and the gap for males was lower than any year on record.” Certainly, a greater pool of available Black workers will continue to benefit not only Black-owned manufacturers, but entire communities.

The remarkable history and ongoing contributions of Black inventors, entrepreneurs, and business leaders illustrate the vital role they play in shaping our world. From life-saving inventions and everyday conveniences to cutting-edge technology, Black innovators have persistently overcome adversity to make significant strides in diverse industries. The growth of Black-owned businesses, particularly in manufacturing and technology, signals a promising future. As we acknowledge and celebrate these achievements, it is crucial to continue fostering an inclusive environment that empowers Black entrepreneurs, ultimately benefiting society as a whole and paving the way for future generations to innovate and succeed.

The post Innovation and Entrepreneurship<p class="company">Celebrating the Legacy and Future of Black-Owned Businesses in Manufacturing</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

In addition to providing a full range of industrial gearing service and repair options, the company’s top concern is adhering to its manufacturing timelines by offering a thorough assessment and work scope before starting any job. Furthermore, as H&S stocks its own components, the typical six to 10-week process can be completed in as few as four weeks while rebuilds can be even quicker.

In short, this company is continually looking to make business-changing improvements, be it through product offering or market diversity.

Diversifying markets
“Horsburgh & Scott is a 138-year-old company that has historically been focused on metals and mining. In the seven years since I’ve been in the President/CEO position, we’ve worked hard to be much more diverse in our market presence,” says Randy Burdick. “Now we’re in anything that requires gears, from energy to oil and gas to chemical processing; from cement to sugar to tire and rubber. We’re much more diverse in the markets we serve now than ever in the history of the company.”

This opening up of new opportunities has brought an impressive quadrupling of business in the past seven years, Burdick says.

In keeping with its commitment to change and growth, the decision to acquire a facility in Louisiana came about in part due to the lure of a tremendous talent pool that the company could tap. “By acquiring the facility, we’ve also acquired a group of very talented employees that supported that site,” says Burdick. “We also see the Gulf Coast as a target-rich environment for our products and services.”

As Horsburgh & Scott services the power transmission industry as it pertains to gear drives, closed gear drives, loose gearing, and field service, it does a “tremendous” amount of business along the Gulf Coast in the petrochemical, oil and gas, and pulp and paper industries.

Propelling the Navy
H&S is also manufacturing new U.S. Navy propulsion systems, which will be produced in a 32,000-square-foot facility in Slidell that has been created to repair, maintain, and assemble industrial gears and gearboxes for the defense sector.

“That’s part of our growth initiative and strategy,” Burdick says. “We’ll grow that facility as that contract matures and bring in additional business to justify the expenses to continue to grow that footprint.”

The $4.9 million capital investment in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana—the result of the recent defense contract award and growing demand for the company’s products and services—will also directly create 40 new jobs with an average yearly income of more than $100,000. In the southeast region of the state, Louisiana Economic Development projects the creation of an additional 57 indirect employment opportunities, for a total of 97 possible new jobs.

According to Burdick, the H&S Slidell Service Center will assemble U.S. Naval propulsion drives that will be put to service protecting the sovereignty of the nation and U.S. allies. In addition, to service the commercial and military marine markets more completely, H&S has established its Industrial Marine Gearing Solutions subsidiary, offering 24/7 field service, gear and gear drive rebuilds and repairs, and ABS-certified gearing solutions. Propulsion drives, pump drives, winch drives, dredge pumps, alignment-free drives, and other goods are included in its line of marine gear.

To combat expensive downtime in the marine industry, Horsburgh & Scott will offer the fastest turnaround times in the industry thanks to its quality service technicians and durable ABS-certified gearing solutions that can withstand demanding usage. H&S also offers drop-in replacement drives and OEM spare parts to minimize downtime, and can repair or rebuild most gearbox brands with improved engineering specs. Additionally, the company can provide value-added services to its maritime clients, including comprehensive bore scope inspections, non-destructive testing, in-house carburizing and heat treatment, and more.

“We do brand-new, custom-engineered design and manufacture of U.S. Navy boxes and propulsion systems, and we’re undertaking repair of tugboats and dredge applications, pump cutter heads, and ladder drives for the marine industrial support side of our business as well,” Burdick explains.

Always essential
Considering the incredibly wide variety of industries that need gears and manufacturing processes, it’s no wonder that Horsburgh & Scott was not only considered essential at the height of the COVID pandemic, but did not need to lay off employees or reduce hours.

“We were hiring during COVID because there was a demand,” Burdick says. “One of the big issues during the pandemic was the U.S. market was offshoring gear manufacturing for various reasons including talent and cost. During COVID, Asian and European companies couldn’t get product or service technicians to the U.S., and people couldn’t get assistance because there was no one available to support product manufactured offshore. So, in the past three years, there’s been a tremendous push to re-onshore gear manufacturing back here in the United States.”

Horsburgh & Scott has benefited from this development by winning new business opportunities not previously available.

“Once COVID happened and people started looking for options and they realized that Horsburgh & Scott manufactured 100-million inch-pound gear drives for the mining sector or the steel sector, certainly we could manufacture a 10-million inch-pound gearbox for the cement sector,” Burdick says. “We had a lot of visitors, and we tripled our sales force to make sure we were reaching the right customers and giving them the customer focus they’re looking for.”

During this time, H&S also expanded its product offering to include field service. If customers couldn’t come to the company, Burdick says, the company would go to them, with trucks and trailers and all the essential tools to undertake inspections and comprehensive repairs on-site, ranging from laser alignment equipment to borescopes to portable milling machines for full comprehensive repairs.

“Where gear drives can’t be taken out, we’ll go to that customer’s site, rebuild or overhaul their equipment, and do that in a very expedited way,” he says. “Customer centricity is broadly used, but we’re a 24/7 company. We work 24 hours a day around the clock, seven days a week. That takes a certain type of character and a certain level of commitment by our employees.”

Customer centricity
“Customer centricity is key,” says Burdick. “Speed kills the competition, and we drive that throughout the organization. That culture of speed of response applies to everything we do, from the time we answer the phone to replying with a quote to shipping product.”

Maintaining that level of service also drives the company’s need to make acquisitions, Burdick adds. “We’re looking for acquisitions out west to get closer to our customers there in the mining sector; they don’t want to send gear drives all the way across the Rocky Mountains to the Midwest. We’re also making acquisitions down on the Gulf, really driving that customer-centricity focus and delivering that difference in everything we do.”

H&S is hot on talent acquisition, too, building its talent through hiring people, giving them better job training than they’ll get elsewhere, and expanding its workforce both internally and externally.

“We’ve also tied in with some really good customers that are the leaders in the industry,” says Burdick. “When they toured our facility and met our team, they saw the passion and our capabilities for vertical integration. We don’t talk the game, we deliver it.”

Owning the lifecycle
As a vertically integrated company, H&S fabricates, heat treats, cuts, manufactures, and designs its own gears, and also handles installation. “We really own the product lifecycle of our products, but we can also reverse-engineer competitive product and make it better and more reliable,” Burdick says. “That’s the unique difference we bring to our customers over a traditional gear manufacturer that’s focused only on their core offering.”

In terms of service, gearboxes don’t fail according to a company’s prescribed schedule, Burdick adds; they usually just fail at the worst times, which is when Horsburgh & Scott has to respond—and immediately.

“We certainly never tell the customer, ‘I’m sorry, we’re too busy,’ or, ‘it’s a holiday weekend, we can’t get to you,’” he says. He adds that H&S employees are committed to sacrificing their personal time to ensure that when customers call, there’s somebody available to service them at the highest level.

“That was a culture change,” he says. “That wasn’t something that was initially part of the DNA of this company. It’s been developed over the past seven years.”

Owner GenNx360—a private equity firm that invests in industrial and business services companies—has invested heavily in Horsburgh & Scott, which has enabled the company to grow with vigor and make the acquisitions necessary to build top-class product and customer portfolios.

“Without that support, we couldn’t do that,” Burdick says. “We’re now in a position where customers are seeking us out to drive speed and response on a breakdown, or for a technical matter where they’re having repetitive failures or reliability issues. We’re being brought in to help resolve those problems and we’re doing it better than anybody in the marketplace.”

The post Speed, Precision, and Responsiveness<p class="company">Horsburgh & Scott</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

The origin of Hull Forest Products goes back to the Great New England Hurricane of 1938, the most powerful and destructive storm in recorded history. Causing an estimated $620 million in damage, the hurricane left thousands homeless and uprooted approximately two billion trees. “Among those who set up portable mills to deal with the wood downed by the hurricane of ‘38 was my grandfather, Isaac Hull, whose Rhode Island community was devastated by the storm,” explains Mary Hull, Co-Owner and Marketing Communications Manager.

Getting the “sawmill bug,” Isaac Hull later set up a stationary circular mill behind his house. He was joined by his son, Bill (Mary’s father), who grew up tail sawing on the mill with his dad from age 10 and also learned how to cut cordwood on the family land and plant white pine. Eager to learn, 15-year-old Bill bought his first log truck and ran his own logging business in the summers while majoring in forestry at the University of New Hampshire. “He was so busy working, he didn’t have time to attend his own college graduation,” says Mary Hull.

In 1967, two years after founding the company, Bill purchased the first Pettibone forwarder ever sold east of the Mississippi River. A new concept at the time, forwarders were designed to efficiently extract and transport logs from the woods to the landing with minimal ground disturbance. “That made them a more versatile and environmentally friendly machine,” explains Hull. A few years later, in 1970, Hull Forest Products moved to its current Pomfret, Connecticut location, expanding to become the largest hardwood sawmill in southern New England.

The largest sawmill in the Metro NYC and Metro Boston area, Hull Forest Products is proud to supply customers with locally grown, sustainably harvested timber. This includes everything from sawdust and wood chips to NHLA grade lumber, industrial and pallet lumber, oak timbers, custom staircase treads, landings, risers, and nosings, made-in-America custom wide plank hardwood floors, and much more. In addition, Hull provides award-winning woodland management services to regional forest landowners. Supporting working woodlands, the company is proud to help local landowners “keep their forests as forests.”

Sustainability leaders
Forests are one of the world’s greatest resources, and must be treated with respect today, tomorrow, and long into the future. For Hull Forest Products, this includes key areas such as sustainable forestry, open space preservation, and forest conservation. In the United States, private landowners own the majority of forestland, and 90 percent of all U.S. wood products come from these private woodlands.

“To sustain these forests, we must sustain those who own them,” states Hull. “By providing a market for local wood, we help landowners derive income from their forest. Without this kind of market, subdivision and development can become a more attractive alternative to forestland for some landowners.”

Unlike public land, private forestland is an economic engine for rural America. For every forest-related job in the U.S., there are two indirectly related jobs in transportation, distribution, and sales. “We produce over 11 million board feet of hardwood lumber at our Connecticut sawmill each year, and our manufacturing also creates secondary jobs in pallet manufacturing, timber framing, firewood processing, and flooring installations,” says Hull. “We are part of southern New England’s agricultural industry, which contributes over $100 million to the regional economy annually. We are also a proud member of the ‘Connecticut Grown’ program, which connects consumers with producers of local agricultural products. On a national level, the forest products sector in the U.S. represents over $210 billion of gross domestic product.”

Today, the company’s licensed foresters steward over 30,000 acres of client forests in New England, helping forests and owners to thrive; in fact, the company has worked with some client families over successive generations. As a further commitment to the natural environment, the business is also behind Hull Forestlands L.P., the Hull family land trust. Over the years, Hull Forestlands has permanently protected more than 10,000 acres of its own forestland, with conservation easements preventing the land from ever being developed. Additionally, Hull’s southern New England land is also enrolled in the certified tree farm program and is third-party certified for sustainability by the American Tree Farm System.

Sustainable forest management has myriad positive environmental impacts, including carbon storage and supporting robust biodiversity. The finished product, wood, in fact has the least embodied energy of any building material. While wood products make up 47 percent of all industrial raw materials manufactured in the U.S., they consume just four percent of the total energy needed to manufacture all industrial raw materials, according to the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials.

“We practice sustainable forest management, which has been recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climage Change (IPCC) as an effective strategy for controlling greenhouse gas emissions (GHG),” Hull explains. “The GHG benefits of sustainable forest management include: forest regrowth after harvest; lower risk of wildfire; production of energy-efficient materials and biomass energy; and carbon sequestration in forests and in wood products.”

“These practices are not something that has to be done, but it’s something we really need to do for our industry,” says long-time Mill Manager Jon St. Jean. “We don’t do much planting, but we engage in the proper practices to promote future growth.”

Another way Hull Forest Products helps conserve working forests is by building partnerships with environmental groups. For the company, this often means giving up the development rights of its forests to groups that share Hull’s goals of sustainable forestry. By doing so, the value of the property is reduced, and taxes are lowered, with environmental organizations receiving credit for helping conserve the forest.

Some of the organizations Hull has partnered with include the Nature Conservancy, the New England Forestry Foundation, the Norcross Wildlife Foundation, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, the Connecticut Forest and Parks Association, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission.

Hull Forest Products’ many environmental and sustainability initiatives have certainly not gone unnoticed. In 2019, Hull became the first company in New England to receive the Aldo Leopold Conservation Award. Presented to founder Bill Hull, the prestigious award acknowledges the company’s role in conserving the working forests of New England, both by working with landowners to grow value in their woodlands, and by providing a market and infrastructure for processing local timber.

This year, the company received a U.S. Forest Service Wood Innovations grant. This will support forest management by expanding local wood products manufacturing capacity; will increase market access; and will enable the company to invest in equipment that will increase throughput and manufacturing efficiency. “We have also received the Best of Houzz award—most recently in 2023, but also for 10 years in a row prior to that—for our outstanding customer service and wood flooring products,” adds Hull.

Earning trust
With a stellar reputation in the industry, Hull Forest Products is well known and respected. Products can be bought by coming to the company’s yard, and are sold primarily through manufacturers and local distributors, along with export. “We’ve sold into Mexico, most countries in Europe, the UK, Portugal, Spain, Germany, China, Vietnam, and Morocco,” says
Stephanie Van Dystadt, in charge of all lumber sales and procurement, “so we’ve sold into quite a few different areas.”

The reasons customers keep coming back to Hull include quality, consistency, and much more. Many clients prefer wood products made from North American tree species; working with its own timberlands and local partners means everything can be traced, from where the tree originated to how it was grown and harvested.

“That’s part of the story; we are selling sustainability,” says Van Dystadt. “It’s a renewable product, and we are doing things responsibly. We take pride in what that is and what we can offer—and I believe that’s why customers keep coming back. It’s always the same thing, and it’s consistent. If customers buy from us in one month or in three months, they know what they are getting, where it comes from, and that we’ve done everything responsibly.”

Along with factors like product selection, outstanding customer service, consistency, and quality, Hull Forest Products’ facility is National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) certified, and grade certified. NHLA inspectors check random bundles to ensure grades, quality, and consistency. For customers, this means the product is the same every time, while the same cannot necessarily be said for some other producers who source from multiple suppliers and mix everything together, resulting in different moisture content or stress issues.

Indeed, “Honesty and reliability are two reasons why people choose Hull,” comments Van Dystadt. “We do what we say. We don’t just talk the talk; we walk the walk. In the age of the Internet, you can buy from anybody. With us, the store is there, and you can come and see for yourself. The founder of the company is still in the office 90 percent of the time, and very much involved on the timber side, so there is a long-term reputation. We are very well regarded among our peers and the community. When you hear the Hull name, it brings a sense of confidence. Customers know they are dealing with good people who are reliable and provide consistent, quality products,” she says.

The company remains proudly family-owned by Mary, her brothers Sam and Ben, and their father, Bill Hull. Committed to upholding the highest professional standards in the combined fields of forest management, timber harvesting, and wood products manufacturing, the company looks forward to celebrating its 60^th anniversary next year. This will include a sawmill tour, with members of the public learning how Hull’s forest-based business stewards local woodlands and manufactures wood products for the global bioeconomy.

“We invite the public to tour our facility and watch us make products from local timber, learn about sustainable forestry, and understand how the use of forest-derived products increases the economic viability of local forests,” says Mary Hull. “Wood offers a unique opportunity to store carbon in the forest, but also in products and through substitution (by avoiding fossil-intensive products) while, at the same time, providing ecological services such as clean water, clean air, and wildlife habitat. Half of the weight of dry wood is stored carbon, and when used as a building material, wood stores that carbon for its full life cycle,” she explains. And with a service life of 100 years or more, wood can play a significant role in enabling the building and construction industries to reduce the environmental impact of building.

“Using wood from well-managed forests helps keep forests as forests,” she says. “We want people to understand why it’s good to use wood and to come away with an understanding of how wood products can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and store carbon throughout their service life.”

The post From the Backyard to an Industry Leader<p class="company">Hull Forest Products</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Hathaway, who’s been with the company for 25 years, tells us how it began 40 years ago when the original owner, who was in the retail furniture business, needed a secure place to store excess furniture shipments where they would be protected from rain or wind. Today, the company still has storage trailers, but is also one of the leaders in Maine when it comes to distributing shipping containers for storage needs.

“One thing led to another and that got us into the storage business itself, and from there it segued into containers as the more popular option for storage needs. Customers use us now to customize containers that can be used as office spaces on job sites and other business ventures. In addition to storage, Maine Trailer also has a full trailer service department, a parts showroom, a sales and leasing department, and a trailer registration department,” he explains.

Containers provide solutions
Maine Trailer, Hathaway tells us, is the largest independent dealer of containers in the state, with most of the ISO steel containers the company rents, sells, and/or customizes manufactured in China. All meet international specifications for worldwide shipping.

Imports come directly into the U.S. in these containers on ships where they are stacked 17 to 18 high and 20 wide, which adds up to more than 100,000 containers arriving annually in ports all along the Atlantic seaboard, where they are unloaded. Retailers can then buy both new and used containers. ‘New’ refers to containers that have crossed the ocean only once, with used containers having crossed many times. And, while used containers may show exterior dents or scratches, they have different classifications, such as wind and watertight, or cargo worthy. Maine Trailer always purchases wind and watertight containers for its used inventory to make sure customers are receiving a quality product.

By partnering with CARU Containers, a global container distributor, Maine Trailer maintains a robust inventory of containers in its yard, with a website updating inventory daily, allowing customers to see what is in stock in real time.

The external measurements of the rugged steel containers measure 8 feet wide by 20 or 40 feet long by 8 feet 6 inches high, with the most sought-after containers being the 40-foot-high cubes, offering one extra foot in height in comparison to the standard height containers.

“People can call us and say, ‘I want number 101342 in blue,’ and we can check our system, make sure it’s still available, and give them a price and delivery cost right then and there,” says Hathaway. “We are unique in that there are other companies who will advertise containers online, and customers can order them, but they may not be able to pick out the exact one they want. We want to make shopping even more convenient where a customer could shop for a container while sitting on the couch in their own living room.”

Containers can be sold as-is for customers’ storage needs, or they can be customized in-house to meet a variety of needs, something Maine Trailer is very skilled at. “We tell our customers if you can dream it, we can make it happen,” Brady explains.

To create container office spaces, for example, the work begins with building a frame, cutting out spaces for a door and dual-pane vinyl windows, applying spray foam insulation if desired, and ensuring everything is welded and caulked correctly. Custom office spaces can be provided with an HVAC system, electrical package, and security cage, and repainted with the client’s color of choice. These solutions are ideal for businesses that require more workspace or need to spread out, as some did during the pandemic, or for temporary construction-site offices which can be moved to different sites when a job is completed.

For customers who may want a modified storage shed, customization can include placing double-width doors or even up to three roll-up doors, something self-storage companies like because they can put in dividers and rent space to three separate individuals. “People like these storage units,” according to Brady, “because they are wind-resistant and watertight, especially important with regards to the weather patterns of recent years. People know what they have stored there will stay secure and dry and don’t have to worry about a wooden shed blowing over or roof tiles coming off.”

Recently, the company attended the Maine Resource Recovery Association trade show to discuss its products and capabilities in providing solutions at dump stations and recycling storage operations.

In addition, Brady notes that there are many variations to what people think of as the standard container. Variations include refrigerated containers, containers that have a tarp over an open top so they can be filled with bulk materials, those that have sides that open and can be used to store motorized vehicles, as well as smaller “mini” containers that can nest inside larger ones.

As a former physical education teacher, Brady is proud to tell us that Maine Trailer is the official trailer and storage container partner of the Maine Black Bears at the University of Maine in Orono. The University is currently using some of the company’s containers as they renovate their athletic spaces. “It’s great to have support from them,” he shares. “We don’t have any professional sports teams in Maine, but when it comes to hockey, everyone is watching the Black Bears. Being their official partner is a big deal.”

Made-in-America trailers, parts, and service
After acquiring trailers to store furniture early on, Maine Trailer eventually expanded into a retailer of North American-manufactured, brand-name trailers.

The company’s trailers, which can be purchased or leased, are true workhorses, manufactured in North America, including CAM Superline, LOOK Trailers, Econoline, and Manac. These trailers, with various payload capacities, are ready to fulfill a variety of needs: hauling equipment, dumping, or enclosed cargo transportation.

Maine Trailer, in partnership with Aurora Parts To Go, stocks a complete inventory of over-the-road and heavy duty trailer parts, which can be delivered free within the state. Frequent customers can avail themselves of the company’s Parts Ordering System where they can list specific preferences, brands, and pricing for a myriad of trailer-related parts.

Meanwhile, Maine Trailer’s expert technicians deliver service in-house or on the road in Maine. The Hampden location includes a seven-bay garage where skilled mechanics handle tough repair jobs.

Registration from Maine to Alaska to Hawaii—and everywhere in-between
Since 1985, Maine Trailer has been a bonded, licensed registration agent for the State of Maine for registering and titling trailers. But as Hathaway tells us, “We register fleets of trailers across the U.S. as we go well beyond the state of Maine. Companies out of Alaska, Hawaii, California—in fact, in all 50 states—revert to the state of Maine for their trailer titles and tags.”

He explains that it is relatively inexpensive to register in Maine because owners do not have to pay property tax, as they do in many other states, and they can register for up to 12 years, with 5-year plates being the most popular. “Once they register with us, we send out notices when it is time to renew, and all the owners have to do is let us know if they want to renew their plate. We send them a new registration card and there’s no need for them to have to be off the road.”

Currently, Maine Trailer is developing a new website that will make it even easier to complete the registration process—just the latest in a series of smart moves for this experienced and trustworthy company.

The post If It Has to Do with Containers or Trailers, Maine Trailer Can Handle It<p class="company">Maine Trailer</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

“We take a lot of pride in continuing to grow the legacy that’s been handed down to us,” says CEO and President Colleen Parran. “It’s a big deal. And not only that, but we also take pride in being able to provide not only for our family, but the families of our employees. Every single person here contributes toward our success. I know that sounds cliché, but it’s true.”

Parran, and her brother Cory Stewart, who serves as Director of Sales, represent a new generation of leadership at the firm, which was founded by their grandfather back in 1959.

Stewart Sutherland’s main wares include bread bags; sandwich bags, wraps and liners; breadstick and hot dog bags; pan liners; and carry-out bags. Stewart Sutherland can print up to four spot colours on foil or paper (natural or bleached) during the manufacturing process.

Deli, grocery, fast food, bakery, and the concessions industry represent the company’s main markets. Of these, fast food brings in the most revenue (Popeyes, Taco Bell, Hardee’s and Steak ‘n Shake are all clients within this sector). While Stewart Sutherland has worked with customers in Mexico and Canada, it is primarily focused on the United States.

In Vicksburg, the company boasts a head office, manufacturing plant, and two warehouses. A small number of personnel work from home and some sales representatives operate as far afield as Florida. Most work at Stewart Sutherland is self-performed, although a few tasks are sub-contracted out.

“We might produce 90 percent [of a product] for a customer, but if there’s one item that we don’t have the ability to make, we outsource that and then bring it in and ship it with the rest of the product. We do that for a handful of customers,” explains Parran.

For Stewart Sutherland, being successful means more than just generating revenue. The company is a strong advocate of sustainability and has implemented several measures to help the environment. The company’s paper products are compostable and its inks water-based, and the team has formed partnerships with waste companies that share its sustainability focus. Stewart Sutherland aims to put “systems and processes in place to cut back on unnecessary steps and moves, and make [work] as efficient as possible,” adds Parran.

The company has trained its employees in lean manufacturing practices which aim to minimize waste. For its efforts, Stewart Sutherland has earned SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) certification. Based in Ottawa, Canada, the SFI is a non-profit organization that certifies conscientious forestry-sector companies.

Stewart Sutherland’s founder, Bob Stewart, spent years working as a sales representative in the packaging and paper products industry before he decided to launch his own firm with his wife, Barbara. Their son, John Stewart, joined the business as a salesman in the 1970s. By the 1990s, John and his wife, Patty, owned the company. John Stewart died in March 2020, leaving full ownership in the hands of his spouse. As a result of this change, Stewart Sutherland was certified as woman-owned-and-operated by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), a Washington, DC-based non-profit. Patty Stewart still serves as Chair of the Board at Stewart Sutherland but is no longer active in its day-to-day management.

There are “obviously pros and cons” to having a “family-oriented culture” notes Parran, who became President and CEO about four years ago. Open communication is one advantage: customers can talk directly to Parran or anyone else in upper management. Parran contrasts this with a more bureaucratic corporate structure in which a customer has to work through “multiple channels… to get an answer.”

On the negative side, finding consensus on issues such as company growth and expansion can be trickier when dealing with family members rather than business partners or shareholders. Still, the family ownership model has without doubt contributed to the company’s success and there are no plans to move away from it, says Parran.

The firm’s “people-first” culture has also been key to its longevity, and this ethos extends to “the people that we work with, the people we employ, the partnerships we have with our suppliers and customers. We really pride ourselves on keeping strong relationships,” explains Parran. It also helps that Stewart Sutherland operates in “an insulated market… in the fast food, concession, bakery, and grocery markets, there are not a lot of companies that do what we do,” she shares.

Adaptability has enhanced Stewart Sutherland’s durability as well. By remaining flexible in the face of adversity, Stewart Sutherland has made it through “all kinds of crazy ups and downs… We’ve been able to adapt and survive—not only survive, but grow,” says Parran.

These ups and downs, of course, include the COVID-19 pandemic. As an essential manufacturer, Stewart Sutherland didn’t have to close although some staff were furloughed so the company could focus on sectors where demand remained high. Safety measures such as masking, remote meetings, and temperature monitoring were introduced, and infected staff were told to stay at home (Stewart Sutherland provided pay for anyone who had to quarantine because of the virus).

Eating habits changed, too, during the pandemic, with restaurant closures and concerns among some consumers about buying groceries in person. As a result, demand soared for certain Stewart Sutherland products. During COVID “the fast food, takeout, and drive-through markets exploded, so obviously our business exploded with it. We were very busy,” recalls Parran.

Today, the company employs 137 people, up from 122 last year at this time and a leap from roughly 100 personnel in pre-COVID days. To retain workers, the company recently performed “a full audit of our wages in comparison to companies in the area,” and examined its benefit packages, says Parran.

Stewart Sutherland seeks potential hires with a strong work ethic and an upbeat attitude. Benefits include tuition reimbursement, technical training, and access to daycare via MI Tri-Share (Michigan Tri-Share, a daycare program that is funded equally through the state, the employer, and the employee).

The company takes a highly proactive approach to promotion: “We’ve done it all. We’ve done billboards, we’ve done radio ads. We’re on Indeed, Craigslist, Instagram, Facebook. We’re constantly trying to recruit through those avenues,” says Parran.

“We attend some of the big trade shows like the National Restaurant Association trade show in Chicago. We also [go to] smaller trade shows that our customers put on,” adds Stewart.

Retention, recruitment, and technical training are indeed the biggest challenges facing the company at present, says Parran. Young people in general aren’t flocking to the skilled trades, and they are sorely needed to replace existing workers approaching retirement age. In response, Stewart Sutherland has introduced some innovative measures to tackle the need. “We offer a referral program for our current employees if they refer somebody and bring somebody in, and that person sticks around for a while and does well,” says Parran.

The company is also looking at establishing an apprenticeship program. For all that, the simplest way to recruit new staff “is to make sure we’ve got competitive wages, competitive benefit packages, and a positive culture—the things that people appreciate in the workplace.”

The firm also engages in philanthropic ventures such as the Special Olympics and programs at local high school and elementary schools, adds Parran. “We try to participate to support the community that a lot of our people live in,” she explains.

The company is equally focused on quality and safety. Hourly and daily checks are conducted during production to ensure that customer specs are being followed and there’s never a dip in quality. Stewart Sutherland also conducts random spot audits of its suppliers when they deliver raw materials and boasts SQF (Safe Quality Food) certification, the latter being a worldwide food safety initiative. In addition, a Stewart Sutherland safety committee regularly reviews operations to investigate any incidents and discuss issues. There is protective guarding on machines to prevent accidents, and employees are issued hairnets, goggles, and other PPE.

Going forward, Parran anticipates a possible expansion of Stewart Sutherland facilities. “We’ve really maximized our current floorspace with machinery, and our warehouses. So, a building expansion is [a possibility] in the near future, along with capacity growth. With that extra space comes added machinery and added workforce,” she explains.

There aren’t any plans at present to introduce brand-new products; instead, the near-term goal is to build volume and expand the line items the company already offers for certain clients, “while staying within the realm of what we currently produce,” continues Parran.

The firm is also eager to forge new relationships within the speciality paper and packaging product markets. “We want to continue to expand our partnerships in the industry, whether it’s with customers or suppliers. [We want to expand our partnerships with] companies, customers, and suppliers that have the same values. We also want to grow as a business—continuously trying to get bigger and better,” says Parran.

The post A Packaging Firm Built on Sustainability and Family Values<p class="company">Stewart Sutherland</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Previously IS-Motorsport, Rayfast USA is part of the Interconnect Solutions Group (ISG). Additionally, ISG is proud to be a part of Diploma PLC. Listed on the London Stock Exchange and part of the FTSE100 , Diploma PLC is an international and decentralized group of businesses delivering practical, value-add solutions to customers across a broad range of industries.

As an international group of companies, ISG draws on the strengths of its eight global locations. With well-respected entities under its umbrella like Rayfast UK, Sommer, Filcon, LJR Electronics, Cabletec, and Gremtek, customers can order high-performance metal braided products, connectors, customized cables, rugged industrial electrical connectors with molded shells, accessories, tooling, heat-shrink tubing, bespoke assemblies, and many other items to meet their exact needs.

Global supplier
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Rayfast USA is known as “the global supplier of specialized electrical solutions with the personal touch” for many reasons. Much more than a supplier, the company is renowned for its outstanding technical support, industry-wide innovation, customer service, and knowledge-based, cost-effective solutions. With an average NPS of 80+, the Rayfast model delivers exceptional customer satisfaction. From cable solutions to cutting services and pre-print services to logistics, clients can tailor-fit products to meet their specific needs and applications.

“We don’t curtail our business model depending on size,” says Nick Prudden, Sales Director USA. “If you’re one of the big guys, or the small guys, you get the same level of service. With personal touch, you are working with a representative.”

In the electrical space, there are a lot of large competitors, including multibillion-dollar distributors with deep pockets, lots of resources, and a significant online presence. Although impressive, it can be difficult—sometimes impossible—to reach someone since some larger companies do not have sales representatives or technical experts in specific product areas. “They are great for what they stock, and if the project is large enough, you can usually get someone to help you out, but don’t expect the level of technical expertise customers often need, as their range is far too wide to be experts in any particular area,” comments Prudden, “so the companies who need technical support and the smaller guys are left behind.”

Expanding into new markets
To ensure customers in all markets, including motorsport, civil aviation, medical, and industrial receive prompt, professional service, Rayfast has a global technical support staff, over 60,000 stock keeping units (SKUs), and a speedy 24-hour turnaround time. As a value-added distributor, Rayfast USA doesn’t specifically make components from raw materials, but has the capabilities to do some processing, such as re-spooling and labelling.

Rayfast USA carries a vast assortment of industry-specific products to meet every need. A one-stop solution provider carrying just-in-time inventory, the company has all kinds of wire and cable, heat- and non-shrink tubing, molded parts and shapes, interconnect and termination devices, connectors, adaptors and backshells, cable management systems, and more.

Since 2001, much of Rayfast’s core business has been high-end global motorsport, such as Formula 1® Racing, IndyCar (NTT IndyCar Series), NASCAR, and MotoGP. The company’s main business was supplying wiring harness components that go into wiring looms on cars.

Over the past few years, Rayfast has been developing its Aerospace, Defense, Industrial, Oil & Gas, and Energy expertise. This growth includes military and naval applications, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL), and electric vehicles (EVs). “That has all been new business for us over the past few years, since we branched out from motorsports,” says Prudden. A recent franchise agreement with TE Connectivity for Aerospace and Defense is another accelerator in these areas.

Rayfast USA focuses on the wiring harness portion of electrical builds. “When we look for suppliers, we look for things that can bolster our offerings and capabilities in the space we are playing in,” Prudden explains. This includes working with manufacturers who are authorized to make products that meet military specifications, which gives Rayfast USA access to a greater range of military spec items.

Future goals
Following the acquisition of industrial electrical connector stocking distributor LJR Electronics a few years ago, LJR’s Dayton, Ohio warehouse was reformatted. This saw some walls being knocked out and changes made to racking and forklift systems. By reformatting the warehouse, Rayfast USA expanded the building’s capacity five times, increasing space for inventory and processing.

“The trajectory is up and up,” says Prudden of the company’s future, supported by Diploma, which focuses on value-added solutions, not just products. “We are lucky to have that backing, as it gives us the ability to bring on new partners and increase stocking packages. Our goal is to continue to push into the aerospace and defense industries.” Prudden envisions additional acquisitions in the future, all while maintaining Rayfast USA’s personal touch.

“How do we differentiate ourselves from the big, humongous, billion-dollar distributors?” he asks. “Our ISG Technical Academy Training Programmes are there to ensure we stay ahead of our customers’ needs. This enables our sales force to help our customers to find the right solutions for them, alongside ensuring that Rayfast USA has the right stock and value-add manufacturing capabilities to provide our customers the right stock in the right volumes for the right application, on time.”

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Vexos came into existence after a merger between Staci Corporation out of LaGrange, Ohio and EPM Global Services from Markham, Ontario in 2014. Innovative business practices and state-of-the-art global facilities have made Vexos a leader in the delivery of electronics manufacturing services (EMS). Vexos’ global manufacturing footprint of approximately 300,000 square feet extends across North America (with facilities in Markham, Ontario and LaGrange, Ohio) and Asia (with facilities in Dongguan, China and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), enabling them to reach and serve its large customer base around the world. Vexos has a range of advanced capabilities which is supported by its cutting-edge manufacturing facilities network.

“One of the benefits of Vexos is that we can offer value out of any of our four facilities based on what clients’ business objectives are,” says Brad Koury, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Vexos Ohio.

Vexos is the go-to solutions provider for original equipment manufacturers in the automotive, medical, internet of things (IoT), industrial, communications, aviation defense, and space industries across North America, Asia, and Europe. Vexos prides itself on providing a personal touch in EMS services with a culture that emphasizes customer-centricity, responsiveness, flexibility, executive engagement that understands the needs of customers, and effective communications across all levels of the organization. This level of customer focus combined with unique offerings in custom commodity support, global footprint, leading-edge value engineering (DFX) services, global supply chain management, and support forms a cohesive offering that sets Vexos apart. Vexos is deeply involved with provisioning highly complex, fine-pitch electronics assemblies, electromechanical assemblies, full turnkey solutions, and custom mechanical parts, making its selection of services truly impressive. The company is always receptive to new technologies and new ideas that its customers may provide.

While other industry players may offer similar products, Vexos’ impressive range of technologies and value-added services is a great differentiating factor for the company. “Our service levels and capabilities are validated by the fact that we are being acknowledged independently as a leader in this space,” says Cyril Fernandes, Senior Vice President of Global Business Development, Vexos.

The acknowledgment includes an all-time record for the firm when it received five Service Excellence awards from Circuits Assembly in 2022. This is in addition to awards received in 2019 and 2021. Vexos won awards for Overall Satisfaction, Flexibility, Technology, Manufacturing Quality, and Value for Price. “These awards provide further recognition of our commitment and dedication to our customers. It reinforces how we do business with a singular focus on lasting relationships and global success. I find it particularly encouraging that we continue to maintain and increase our momentum in terms of capabilities and services, helping Vexos to offer its world-class service levels,” Fernandes continues.

Vexos believes each customer is unique, with their own project requirements, and thus arises the need to craft exceptional EMS programs designed around their core needs in the product introduction, product launch, production, and sustainment stages of the product lifecycle. The company offers a diverse range of services, including Value Engineering and DFX capabilities which ensure customers have a comprehensive and seamless experience with Vexos beyond traditional EMS offerings.

From prototyping to product launch and logistics, Vexos guides and supports its clients from pre-conception to delivery with attention to detail and optimal design. To achieve the best results, design-for-excellence methodologies guide organizations to make the best decisions when choosing materials, fabrication processes, assembly, manufacturing, cost, testing, and reliability studies. “We have modern warehousing logistics services that allow us to pipeline materials and products for our customers. Be it overseas or North American-based, we bring it to our LaGrange, Ohio facility with twenty-four-hour turnaround release times,” says Koury.

Vexos‘ partnership with its systems and equipment suppliers is the key to its success. Automation of traditionally manual activities, including mechanical assembly, soldering, and even warehouse automation, has provided game-changing efficiencies, traceability, and throughput. It provides an infrastructure for further automation extending into manufacturing execution, job management, and reporting at a level that could not be realized without these systems.

In addition, Vexos is giving its manufacturing execution system an overhaul and will be moving to the Aegis FactoryLogix software. The beauty of this transition is that the two companies—Vexos and Aegis FactoryLogix—received Service Excellence Awards from Circuits Assembly in 2022.

When the impact of COVID-19 rattled supply chains around the world, Vexos stepped up by advising its customers on the processes they needed to put in place to meet customer demand. Vexos initiated a comprehensive communications program with its customers that provided timely information on materials’ lead time and pricing issues. This enabled Vexos and its customers to make smart supply chain decisions in a timely manner.

On the supply side, Vexos worked closely with its supplier networks, both locally at the site level and globally by taking a page from its customer approach. “We engaged at the most senior levels with our supplier network at a regular cadence to discuss approaches to Lead Time increase. To help our customers, we enabled and ramped up Strategic Materials Analytics programs. These dynamic programs enabled our customers to make the right decisions in terms of materials investment and focus, thereby mitigating the component shortage issues,” says Fernandes.

Vexos is working with Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio with its micro-electromechanical systems study program to help talented students build careers while pursuing their post-secondary education. Vexos supports this college post-secondary education program with on-the-job training to provide students with the necessary hands-on experience. This is a small example of Vexos’ dedication to developing people, which has resulted in over four hundred loyal employees in North America.

“It is a fantastic developmental ground for the workforce here within our facility. We have quarterly curriculum reviews where Vexos, along with other contract manufacturers, provides input to the program to ensure that it stays abreast with manufacturing processes currently used within our manufacturing facilities,” says Koury.

The two leaders are especially pleased with their teams’ incredible work and the perseverance they displayed during the height of the COVID-19 emergency, describing staff as showing true leadership across facilities while making a “truly collaborative effort.”

“Our facilities were deemed essential as we provide assemblies, systems, and products for medical applications. In many cases, the end-use applications of the products that we build were essential in the fight against COVID-19. As an organization, we demonstrated our capabilities, our commitment, and the singular focus of our organization from top to bottom to meet our commitments,” says Fernandes.

Vexos also supports local charitable events. In 2022, Vexos announced its association with Tree Canada. Together with other industry partners, Vexos organized a tree planting event where 375+ trees were planted in a conservation area in Markham, Canada. Participants in the event were from the local electronics industry, customers, and local municipal officials. The event was a success, and demonstrates the importance of sustainability and community involvement to Vexos.

The company’s leaders are steadfast in continuing its growth by leveraging the unique attributes that have made Vexos an award-winning leader in its domain.

The post Taking Electronics Manufacturing to New Heights<p class="company">VEXOS</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

“Our market is truly global. We do have a steady customer base within Canada and the United States. I would say we’re the go-to solution for a SWAT [special weapons and tactics] vehicle with Canadian law enforcement,” notes President and Chief Executive Officer Durward Smith proudly.

Terradyne offers a variety of armored vehicles under what it calls the GURKHA line, named after the famously tough soldiers from Nepal who have served in the British Army since the early 1800s. The lineup includes the 16,000-pound Light-Armored Patrol Vehicle (LAPV), the 16,500-pound Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV), and the 15,500-pound Rapid-Patrol Vehicle (RPV). They feature six-speed automatic transmissions and V8 turbo diesel engines capable of 330 horsepower.

“Government law enforcement are the main end users in all the categories,” says Smith, of the LAPV, MPV, and RPV.

The company’s vehicles protect more than just police officers. The Multi-Purpose Vehicle, for example, “is not necessarily a front-line fighting vehicle, but it’s an important supply type vehicle. We have, for example, supplied it into Ukraine where the medical forces are using it as a frontline evacuation vehicle. It does an awfully good job of keeping everyone safe,” Smith states.

The company also makes a Civilian Limited Edition Vehicle (CIV) which weighs 13,500 pounds. The CIV closely resembles its GURKHA counterparts but is the only vehicle Terradyne produces that can be purchased by members of the public.

While it stocks and sells spare parts and components made by other firms, the company’s vehicles are developed and made in-house. “We design them,” says Smith. “We have a pre-determined option list; however, we are open to special requests within reason. We obviously like to work with the needs of our customers.”

GURKHA vehicles offer military-grade protection against all manner of threats, and to prove their worth, the vehicles are put through ferocious testing. The company hires third-party inspectors to determine if its wares meet National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) standards. The NIJ is the self-described “research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice,” while NATO is a coalition of European nations which banded together in a mutually supportive military pact.

Testing can literally involve firing weapons at vehicles or subjecting them to explosions. “To start, you test the material, and once the material has proven it works, they fire at the vehicle looking for what are termed ‘structural weak areas’. We’ve had armor-piercing rounds shot at [our vehicles] with zero penetration,” says Smith. “We’ve done full-vehicle destructive testing, both ballistic and blast. Not only are the test reports available for customers, the test vehicle itself is available at our factory for them to review.”

He notes that Terradyne vehicles recently passed some extreme side-blast tests. These tests were conducted in the United States and involved “a significant amount of TNT equivalent and a large blast,” he says.

“People who are experienced in the industry don’t use the term ‘bulletproof,’” he adds. “It’s about manufacturing the armor to protect against a pre-determined threat level.” GURKHA vehicles are “armored to the highest level within our class of vehicle,” with the company using an “engineered, metallic solution using steel especially formulated for armor plate.”

According to Terradyne specifications, protective armor on the LAPV, MPV, and RPV meets B7/STANAG 2 levels. This stands for ‘standardization agreement’ and is a term used for NATO testing.

While strong, Terradyne’s armor plating is relatively light, which makes for improved vehicle dynamics, driving performance, and durability. The vehicles also feature extremely tough glass and run-flat inserts on the wheels. The latter enable the vehicle to keep driving even after a rubber tire has been punctured or shot out, explains Smith.

The Civilian Limited Edition Vehicle has optional armor and an upgraded interior. “We initially were not servicing that market, kind of intentionally staying away from it. However, we were still getting a fairly strong demand signal from the customer side,” he says of the CIV. “So, we came up with a product for them.”

Some people purchase a CIV because they like the “security aspect to it—where it could function as a rolling ‘panic room’ type of application, should that ever be needed. [Other customers] have means and they are maybe a little bored with typical things,” he continues. “They are unique, and they are looking for a unique vehicle.”

The company’s armored vehicles are built upon a Ford Super Duty truck chassis, and all manufacturing is done in Newmarket. Supplier loyalty is a core element of the company’s quality assurance program, and Terradyne maintains ISO 9000 and 14000 certification and extremely high standards. Each workstation in the plant has specific instructions on which operators are trained. There are quality checks at each station along the way, a final inspection, and annual third-party audits. The company only works with suppliers who are equally quality-focused. “We’re loyal to our supply base and they’re loyal back to us,” says Smith.

“We like to know for the sake of our customers that what we’re providing works well and is proven. We take changes in key components very seriously. We tend to stay with suppliers long-term, and we pick vendors that we consider to offer the best product globally,” he adds.

The company has produced up to 100 vehicles in a year, with the capacity to go higher. Completed armored vehicles are either sold directly to clients or through dealers. The U.S. military is not using any Terradyne vehicles at present, although the company is in discussions with Canadian defense officials regarding possible sales.

The company maintains an inventory of tires and spare components and can also make a replacement part if need be. “If someone needs a new door, we can manufacture a door here and send it out to them and it’s going to fit their vehicle.”

Terradyne was founded in 2011 as a subsidiary of Magna International, a huge Canadian auto parts manufacturer, and from the start, Terradyne’s work was centered on armored vehicles. Three years after it was launched, it became an independent outfit.

In terms of new hires, “We definitely want people who are flexible, able to take on different tasks, and then, obviously, we have a lot of welders. We have assemblers and people doing electrical work. So, our range of workers can go from an entry-level basic assembly type of job up to someone who is pretty advanced and skilled on welding on vehicle electronics,” Smith explains.

The company is registered with the Controlled Goods Program, a Canadian initiative that enables it to export products or data that have “military or national security significance,” according to the Government of Canada website. Under Canadian regulations, GURKHA armored vehicles are also street legal, adds Smith.

To promote itself, Terradyne attends trade shows and industry events around the world for law enforcement groups and places advertisements in specialty trade publications. On occasion, the company will produce prototypes for potential clients. “We will sometimes make demonstrator vehicles available to select customers,” Smith explains. “It’s a big purchase for them, and sometimes, just having the ability to try it out provides the experience and the evidence they need to say, ‘Yeah, this is the product we want.’”

Educating the market about the benefits of GURKHA armored vehicles is the company’s biggest challenge at present, he adds. Over the next few years, “I would say we will be continuing to increase market share. I think customers are becoming more conscious and aware of the quality that they’re buying, not to mention the standing of the company they’re dealing with—the product reputation. And we will also continue to develop and incorporate new technologies and integrate those into our vehicles—increasing the tool kit within the vehicle, if you will.”

The post Providing Protection With Unique Vehicles<p class="company">Terradyne Armored Vehicles</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

The company is “unique in that we have both an electrical and a systems group in one company,” notes Sales and Business Development Manager Graeme Shepherd. Having these services under one roof means the team is in a position to offer complete new projects and upgrades to existing facilities. Shepherd cites a recent job where Western was contracted to provide electrical upgrades at a local recycling plant.

“Once our electrical team got onsite, they realized pretty quickly there was a lot of automation that needed to be upgraded as well. We called our automation group and sent our systems team in. We went onsite, did an evaluation of what was needed, and then made a proposal that turned into a complete upgrade package for the customer,” he recalls.

The company’s turnkey solutions—which can incorporate automation systems, from small PLC to large DCS systems, motor controls and drives, dynamic braking, railway welding controls, and panels—are designed and assembled at a 20,000-square-foot facility that also houses the head office. While the welding control panels are designed in-house, other products are purchased from various original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and integrated into solutions for customers.

Western’s services range from installation and construction to overload and shift coverage, local standards compliance, and thermography. The company has also registered as a contractor with Power Smart Alliance, an energy efficiency program run by B.C. Hydro, and has started performing electric vehicle charging station installations. Forestry, mining, machine safeguarding, municipalities, airports, manufacturing, and materials handling are the main sectors served.

Western is “an engineering company as well. We have our permit to practise here in B.C. We can engineer systems for the end customer. We’re moving more into that kind of realm, where we’re looking for projects where we can get in early, help design, help engineer, then move [the project] through our system,” Shepherd explains.

The company backs its products and services with committed customer support and maintains a call service that is accessible at any time to clients facing electrical issues. The technician on duty can sometimes even prescribe a fix over the phone. When the problem is more complicated, Western will dispatch personnel to the customer’s site to resolve the issue.

Over the decades, the team has handled a number of high-profile projects. It took on an assignment for a food and dairy handling facility in Port Coquitlam, B.C., for example. Among other tasks, Western’s technicians installed a new Rockwell programmable logic controller system to control boilers and the HVAC network in the plant, and exhaust/supply fan controls to regulate room pressure, temperature, and humidity.

Another key project involved a recycling facility in Delta, B.C., where Western designed and installed a control system at an organic composting facility that incorporated multiple stations that sent data back to a central site. It has also provided technological help at a sawmill. This job entailed installing a PowerFlex755 – AC Drive and an RPM-AC low inertia motor to increase plant efficiency by boosting the speed at which logs were processed and reducing the gap between logs.

As an example of a large project, Western Integrated provided the entire electrical MCC lineup consisting of 28 lines averaging 12 sections per line that included over 300 motors connected to VFDs and Soft Starts. “Our technicians were instrumental in a successful start-up and commissioning, which drew significant praise from the owners.”

The company also performs “a lot of municipal contracts, doing electrical maintenance contracts for municipalities. That could be everything from street light changes to lighting upgrades, system upgrades, or generator upgrades to municipal halls, fire halls, RCMP detachments,” Shepherd says.

Always looking to the future, the firm is looking to expand into Eastern Canada and is contemplating a move into the Southeastern United States. “An abundance of our customers have bought mills down there,” Shepherd explains. “We’re still doing a lot of work out of the Burnaby location and shipping it to the Southeast, and we have our service techs go down and commission the products.”

Western Integrated prides itself on keeping quality high and has multiple industry certifications to show for its efforts. These include CSA/UL approval, ISNetworld certification, and ComplyWorks compliance. A quality assurance manual is available to everyone in the company, regular quality checks are performed at the plant, and quality tests are a standard part of the manufacturing process. Solutions are put through a final compliance test before installation. Any deficiencies found at any point during the manufacturing process are immediately brought to the attention of a supervisor and the company will perform a root cause analysis to determine what was behind the deficiency to prevent it from happening again.

Given that it works with potentially dangerous electrical equipment, the company is as focused on safety as it is on quality. “Safety is key for us. Our goal is to have zero safety incidents in the workplace,” states Shepherd.

Toolbox meetings are held before any project commences so staff can assess the work at hand, job site conditions, and any possible risks, and then figure out ways to mitigate them. In addition to regular meetings and a comprehensive safety manual, “Everybody in the company has the right to refuse work if it’s an unsafe condition. If they come across an unsafe condition, they’re fully entitled to stop the work and report it.”

Founded in 1982, the company only did electrical work at first, Shepherd recalls. 14 years after the launch, a systems group was created as Western began to expand its services. Growth continued with the acquisition of a firm called Wespac Automation in 2016.

Since 1996, the company has been an official Rockwell Automation solution partner for engineered drive systems. While it acquires most of these systems from Rockwell, Western also purchases equipment and technology from Mitsubishi, ABB, and Schneider Electric, among other major suppliers. While Western serves a wide range of clientele today, forestry remains its core sector.

While it attends trade shows, much of the company’s business is generated through word-of-mouth referrals and public knowledge of the company’s longevity and reputation. “Especially in forestry, we work with a lot of the larger OEMs as well as the end users,” Shepherd says. “They’re well aware of our capabilities, so repeat business is a big part [of what we do]. In the forest industry, like every other industry, people talk to one another.”

Of course, Western Integrated also had to deal with the COVID pandemic. In response to the virus, some staff worked remotely at home while hand sanitizer, cubicle barriers, split shifts, and full clean-downs between shifts were introduced at the plant and office. Since it was deemed essential, the company did not have to shut down.

Still affecting the firm in the form of supply chain woes, the pandemic caused massive manufacturing delays and bottlenecks. In addition to making customers fully aware of the situation, the company encourages clients “to get us involved early in the project. The earlier we’re involved, the more successful we’ve become, because we can help them mitigate some of the issues,” states Shepherd.

Not counting COVID, he says “getting qualified people,” is the company’s biggest challenge. The company currently has 75 employees, and did not have to lay anyone off during the COVID crisis. It has high standards for potential new hires. Experience with automation drives and controls helps, although, “on the electrical side, it’s a little bit different because we do employ apprentices, as well as supporting local colleges and universities by hiring interns and coop students,” says Shepherd.

Western Integrated sponsors a team of apprentices who receive Red Seal certification when they finish their training and education. The Red Seal program recognizes tradespeople nationwide who have “demonstrated the knowledge required for the national standard in that trade,” according to the Red Seal website.

For all its employees, Western offers a culture of transparency and support. “We have a very vibrant culture here… the work environment, the open-door policy that the entire company has, right from our General Manager through the leadership team. There are five of us on the leadership team: our GM, myself, our Office Manager, our Engineer Manager, and our Controller. And from the GM down, all of us have open-door policies. We walk the floor every day,” says Shepherd.

He offers an upbeat forecast for the future: “Our goal is to double our current size five years from now; to support our company plan we will grow organically and inorganically.”

The post An Electrical Automation Systems Company in Growth Mode<p class="company">Western Integrated</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Based in Woodburn, Oregon, Patriot Products Group designs and manufactures pump packages. Besides the pump, a pump package can include a diesel or electric engine, fuel cell, a skid or trailer, control panels, and other features. These components are manufactured by various suppliers and then put together by Patriot staff. The company also sells parts and is looking to launch a refurbishment service in the near future.

“We’re not really reinventing the wheel when it comes to packaging a pump or an engine or a pump and an electric motor,” says Vice President Josh Standridge, “but the style, the design of our platform, the priming system—those are the things that give us a [good] position in a lot of verticals.”

Patriot sells many of its pump packages to distributors who in turn rent them to end users in the oil and gas, mining, industrial, sewage, infrastructure, and municipal sectors. And since we last spoke in August 2022, the company has moved into a new sector.

“We picked up a new customer. It’s a company that rents out a pump and an engine, and their end users are farmers,” shares President Dan Kaplan, who notes that the company provides, “a very slimmed-down package with a large fuel tank and no frills. It’s a very low-cost unit catered to [the agricultural] market.”

Patriot Products Group does most of its business within the United States, particularly in the South, the Southwest, and the Gulf Coast. It has also worked with clients in the Northeastern U.S. and Canada, as well as Mexico, Vietnam, Chile, Dominican Republic, and the United Kingdom. “We sell to a lot of distributors who end up shipping all over the world,” says Kaplan, “so our product can end up pretty much anywhere, either as a Patriot product or as a private-label product.”

In new product news, the company has developed a patent-pending product called Quick Pick. Introduced in 2023, this enclosure system wraps around a pump, reducing noise and protecting machinery from the elements. Users “can run the engine quietly in an environment like a school zone or hospital or residential area,” explains Standridge.

Quick Pick was also designed to simplify repair and maintenance. “A lot of the features we like to add to pumps or packages are maintenance-friendly; the Quick Pick is that kind of asset. It allows the end user or operator to get inside the enclosure and remove the pump without having to take the enclosure off,” he explains.

Quick Pick was given a soft introduction in 2023 but Patriot does not plan to kick off a “commercial marketing blast,” about the product until early 2024—not that a huge Quick Pick marketing push is necessary. “It’s a simple, simple idea. When somebody in the field has a fleet of pump packages, they instantly see the usefulness of it. They see the reduction of downtime. It sells itself,” says Standridge.

Since most pumps need to be primed, the company also developed an in-house product called the Patriot Priming System. The priming system boasts a vacuum pump built of corrosion-resistant material with a suction spool, priming chamber, and discharge check valve, among its features. The team recently improved the priming system’s design by “adding a new feature to it where you can connect the priming chamber to the engine’s coolant system,” Standridge says. This alteration is designed to prevent the system from freezing in cold weather.

Patriot also produces a product known as a water bridge, a fabricated metal solution that is placed on roads to facilitate car traffic and pumping operations at the same time. Vehicles can drive over the metal structure while a protected embedded pipe moves fluids from one side of the road to the other.

The company self-performs all design and assembly work and does some fabrication, while outside firms handle most fabrication duties, along with powder coating and other services. “Our core competency is design and build,” says Kaplan, “while our longer-term growth strategy is to potentially vertically integrate some of these other elements. We’re looking at a larger facility that would, ideally, have some machinery that would allow us to bring in some.”

Patriot also wants to expand in another way by possibly adding a new refurbishment service. When the economy goes south, some companies cannot afford new pump packages and instead refurbish old gear to save money. “That could be tuning up the engine or… putting a whole new diesel engine on. We’ve put together a good plan for making that happen. It’s profitable for us, obviously, but it also saves the customer a significant amount of money against buying a new package,” notes Kaplan.

The company hasn’t yet decided where it will perform refurbishment work, but southern Oregon has been considered as an option. “We have some viable interest in it so we’re going to go ahead and take a swing at it,” he says. “We believe it’s an untapped opportunity.”

These expansionary plans are being fueled by Patriot’s explosive growth. The company was founded in Arizona in 2018, and in 2019, total revenues stood under half a million dollars, soaring to $11.9 million in 2022, and then climbing to an estimated $19.5 million in 2023. For 2024, “we’re forecasting, conservatively, between $20 million and $25 million,” says Kaplan, who notes that all company operations have been consolidated in Woodburn.

Rewarding as it is, such fast-paced growth is also daunting. “Getting it all done can be a challenge. There are staffing challenges, capacity issues, supply chain issues,” he adds.

Patriot’s meteoric rise can be attributed to excellent customer service, stellar products, and a growth-minded attitude. The company refuses to rest on its laurels and is always eager to seek new business. It also helps that Patriot has a knowledgeable staff with “real hydraulic experience,” says Kaplan. “The upfront technical information that we provide our customers is second to none—we’ve been told that by everybody.”

The company will take on custom projects on occasion and is focused on continuous improvement. As evidence of the latter, it recently upgraded its enterprise resource planning system to an open-source, cloud-based solution called Odoo.

Patriot has grown from 15 employees at the time of the previous profile to 20 today, which points to another company strength: hiring motivated staff and promoting from within. Management appreciates potential hires with degrees, “but if they don’t have the drive and are not intuitively geared toward making things around them better, then it doesn’t really matter to us… I think the most important thing to us is cultural fit. We want people who have a high sense of urgency and attention to detail. We want people who are hungry to grow and can operate under an environment that is evolving quickly,” states Kaplan.

As for moving up within the company, Kaplan cites the example of an employee who started as an assembler, transferred into warehousing, and then expressed an interest in learning SolidWorks 3D CAD (computer-aided design) software. Patriot acquired a new SolidWorks license and had two other designer/engineers train the employee, who now works as a junior designer.

Another employee who had been with the firm from day one was recently promoted from production supervisor to quality control field service technician. “He does process inspections, tears down pumps to see if there are any problems. In terms of field service, he will fly anywhere he needs to go,” he says.

This newly developed position is part of a broader strategy to enhance and codify quality control. Patriot is compiling a collection of its existing standard operating procedures for inspections, pre-shipment quality approvals, and other quality assurance elements. The idea is to come up with a template similar to an ISO 9001 checklist, says Kaplan.

Previously, he said Patriot’s biggest challenge was the rising price of parts and raw materials, along with supply chain delays, but this has changed. “I would say our single biggest challenge right now is scaling quickly enough to support the growth,” says Kaplan. “Sometimes we have capacity constraints because of space and labor. There’s a host of things we’re doing to combat that, not the least of which is being open to considering bigger infrastructure.”

Standridge would like to see the company bringing in $45 million to $50 million annually within five years and possess a sizeable share of the national pump package, parts, and refurbishment markets.

“You could argue that Patriot is just a packager, but we don’t see ourselves as just a packager,” adds Kaplan. “It’s quite important for us to have [intellectual property]. We have enclosure designs that we’ve patented; we have a priming system that we’ve patented… We’re trying to highlight to the market that we are a value-add partner, and in five years, I would expect us to have a pretty significant amount of innovations that further set us apart.”

The post Soaring Growth, New Products, Same Customer Care Focus<p class="company">Patriot Products Group</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.