Ferguson Production: Some 30 years

Mid-America Commerce & Industry, Nov 01, 2004

If you had asked Norlan Ferguson in 1974 what his business would look like in 30 years, you probably would have been painted a much different picture from what Ferguson Production, Inc., is today.

The company started in 1974 as a machine shop, sub-contracting to the aircraft industry. Within a couple of years the focus changed to custom plastic injection molding. To this day some of those same customers use Ferguson Production, Inc. as their supplier of molded parts.

The company's first injection molding machine was a 7-ton air operated press. One of the very first molds weighed only 13.2 lbs. The first projects were difficult, engineering type materials with relatively low volumes. Norlan says this was an excellent foundation for what the company does today.

Change began to take place early on as customers began asking for more and more capability. The company began an ongoing process of acquiring the machinery to meet customer needs.

The company's traditional approach of acquiring used equipment and rebuilding now gives way to buying newer more sophisticated equipment. Additional equipment has meant larger facilities.

Over the years Ferguson Production Inc. has grown from that one machine of 7 tons to a total of 36 machines with tonnages ranging to 1650 tons. Their state-ofthe-art 65,000-square-foot facility includes overhead cranes and the latest in automation and material handling.

An in-house machine shop is utilized for engineering changes and mold maintenance activities. The overhead cranes are now handling molds to 10 tons. Automation includes servo robotics, which allow for insert molding, stacking and degating. The material handling system can distribute material from the eight silos to each of the 36 machines.

As a custom molder Ferguson Production Inc. provides 1100 part numbers to over 60 customers comprised of nearly 100 materials.

All facets of the business are controlled with the use of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) manufacturing software. That allows the staff at Ferguson Production instant access to data. Scott Ferguson, Sr VP of Operations, notes that these are nice features but they are really just the basic requirements for doing business in today's global environment.

As you walk out on the plant floor at Ferguson Production Inc. you can see the American challenge to work moving overseas. There is some form of automation on almost every machine.

A mammoth 1650-ton machine now sits where a 720-ton sat just a few months ago. Where there used to be three 200-ton machines, there now resides another large tonnage press.

Norlan notes, with a hint of frustration, that smaller work has been moving overseas. So, The only thing left to do is to add large tonnage machines.

Today, the company enjoys customer diversity as a result of the numerous investments in technology over the years.

ISO 9000 certification and in-house trucking are just two more features that Ferguson Production Inc. uses to serve its customer base.

Norlan added that the business is equipped well enough to handle almost any customer request, but none of the equipment is any good without the company's staff.

As for the future, Norlan is confident that his continual investment in people and his willingness to internalize technology will provide more opportunities in the future.

Ferguson Production can be contacted at: (620) 241-2400; Fax (620) 241-2084; 2130 Industrial Drive, McPherson, Kansas 67460; www.fergusonproduction.com.