Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Profile: William J. Bernard, Jr., Surface Combustion, Inc.

Toledo Business Journal, Jul 01, 2004

William J. Bernard, Jr., president and CEO, Surface Combustion, Inc., has over 34 years of experience in the industrial equipment industry. fie joined Surface in 1969 following his graduation from Michigan Technology University with a BS in Metallurgical Engineering. In the years prior to 1987, Bernard served in a range of positions from equipment start-up and field service through contract engineering, product management and international assignments. In 1987. Bernard participated in the successful management purchase of Surface Combustion, Inc. (SCI).

SCI is a developer, designer, and manufacturer of thermal process equipment (industrial furnaces) used in the processing of ferrous and nonferrous metals, glass, and ceramics, and in the destruction of toxic and hazardous materials. The company has over 250,000 thermal systems and other equipment installed worldwide and more than 635 patents, 40 registered trademarks, and 20 trademarks.

SCI was founded in 1916 by two scientist / engineers with the objective to use natural gas, which was considered an undesirable byproduct of oil drilling, to provide energy for industrial furnace applications such as glassmaking. The firm moved to Toledo in the 1920s to capitalize oil the area's abundance of natural gas and its growing automobile and glass industries.

In the early 1980s Midland Ross Corporation, SCI's parent company was purchased in a LBO by Forstmann Little for subsequent break-up and sale. Ultimately, the management team stepped in and in 1987 SCI again became a privately held business. In December 1998, SCI repurchased 75 percent of the outstanding shares of' the company leaving William Bernard, a member of the above management team, as the sole shareholder of the company.

Industry trends have formed the foundation for research and development spending in the last five years at SCI. The main areas of highest expenditures include modularization of onerow, carburizing systems and expansion and new product introduction in the vacuum market.

The expenditure for modularization of one-row carburizing systems was made to counter the shift in equipment business away from batch integral quenching furnace technology.

Modularization of multi-chamber vacuum, gas vacuum, multibar equipment, and vacuum carburizing are all separate projects where significant effort and spending has been focused on expansion of SCI market position with vacuum furnace equipment. SCI is implementing strategic and unique designs to significantly improve its vacuum sales position in this increasing market, where new and innovative designs are required to successfully compete.

SCI's leadership is active in both the domestic and international markets in a hands-on role analyzing changing events, According to SCI, this enabled the company to foresee earlier than most that the key issue for the future of both manufacturing markets in general as well as SCI's primary customer base was the continued flight of many basic industries from the US. SCI recognized this change and stressed three key areas: international alliances, proactive cost control, and technology projects with patentable potential.

SCI's future plans entail the strategic use of two key strengths in domestic and international markets. First is its technology leadership position in the design and manufacturing of a range of thermal processing equipment that is important to basic manufacturing in a developing economy.

Second is SCI's strength in understanding the cost of its products during execution of complex projects. Customers value the ability to provide contract management and onsite technical support during both the construction and start up phase of equipment installation and that it is critical to the project's success.

Bernard was recently a recipient on behalf of SCI of the Governor's "E" Award for excellence in exporting. He has also been awarded a patent for the inside / out vacuum furnaces and is a recent inductee into the Michigan Technological University Academy of Materials Engineers.