A Christmas wish list

Modern Machine Shop, Dec, 1995 by Tom Beard, Mark Albert, G. Chris Koepfer

It's December; Christmas is around the corner. This is a season of optimism for some, pessimism for others, but a very good manufacturing economy for jest about everybody. Many shops have been on a roll for a while now, which got us thinking about what may come next for these successful companies. So we contacted some of the best shops we know of -- all of which have been featured in Modern Machine Shop sometime in the last several years -- to see how they are doing now, and what they'd like to see happen to improve their prospects for the coming year. These shops are successful for many technological reasons but, common in all, is forward-looking management. Here are their hopes for the future.

Keeping In Front

In 1992 when we met Fred Young, president of Forest City Gear (Roscoe, Illinois), his operation was arguably America's most modern gear maker. His philosophy is very simple: keep ahead by keeping up. He keeps up by investing in new equipment, process technology and employee training -- continuously. Mr. Young's investment has totaled $4.5 million over the last three years.

What does Mr. Young get for this investment? Well, his company has managed to maintain a 63 percent gross profit margin as sales have gone from $3.8 million to $6.4 million in those three years. Forest City remains successful. So, what does Mr. Young have on his wish list this year?

From his comfortable, cluttered office Mr. Young sees an industry no longer going but gone global. "My competition," says Mr. Young, "is not domestic but international. We U.S. manufacturers are all bound by similar rules and regulations. Taxes, EPA, OSHA, Commerce Department rulings, and all the other requirements for business impact domestic industry with relatively equal enforcement."

Mr. Young would like to see our manufacturing shops comprehend the nature of global operation and begin an era of cooperation. He would like to see shops in the United States act more in the interest their industry as a whole and back-off from fierce competition between neighbors, concentrating that energy instead toward foreign businesses, who play by different rules. "Fighting among ourselves makes the industry as a whole weaker and therefore more susceptible to outside competition," says Mr. Young.

"If I could have a Christmas wish," says Mr. Young, "it would be for me and my competitors to begin sharing what we do so we could all manufacture better. Not conspiratorial or illegal activities like price fixing or such, but rather an exchange of best practices. The goal is a strong competitive domestic industry that can bid and get work from every corner of the globe."

Help Wanted!

Dave Pratt's company, South Shore Tool And Die (Baroda, Michigan), was featured in May of 1994. Since then, Mr. Pratt sold controlling interest but continues to run the shop as a minority stockholder. South Shore is a job shop specializing in large, complex workpieces. "We're looking to move into larger work with a more predictable order repeatability and a little higher volume," says Mr. Pratt.

The business is growing. Mr. Pratt expects the company to double in the next five years from $5 million to $10 million in sales. There's only one thing that could side-line this company's plans -- a lack of qualified help. "We've got advanced machine tools, including a new A-77 horizontal from LeBlond Makino. We have automated many of our shop control systems. Our shop is clean with good work and good pay," continues Mr. Pratt. "But, we are close to being stymied by a lack of workers."

South Shore has run help ads in papers to no avail. "We get people in but most can't even read a micrometer," says Mr. Pratt. "I work with the local vocational schools but demand for their graduates is very high." Smaller shops like South Shore are facing crunch time for good workers. "Demand is going to drive up the price for a limited supply of machinists and programmers. Those costs must get passed on to our customers," says Mr. Pratt. "It's getting very competitive."

"My wish for Christmas," says Mr. Pratt, "is more space and more machines but most of all, more people. Without them, I can't use the space and machines -- and my business cannot grow."

A Data Exchange For All

Lasers were the topic of our March, 1994 story about 3-Dimensional Services near Detroit. Their business is prototyping. Making one-offs and making them pay takes some clever manipulation of many technologies. We checked back with Alan Peterson, sales manager, to see what's new with the business and what's on his wish list this year.

"Technologically," says Mr. Peterson, "the neatest thing we've seen lately is in motion control. We're applying the most advanced motion control products as they become available. In laser cutting for example, we've applied linear motors to X- and Y-axis positioning tables under our laser cutters and welders. We're getting acceleration and deceleration rates approaching 2 g's, which is letting us move work at rates approaching the oscillating speed of the laser itself.