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J.C Gibbons: Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center SUCCESS STORY

J.C. Gibbons (J.C.), in Livonia, Michigan, manufactures precision screw machine and CNC products. The technical knowledge of its skilled staff has ensured the highest quality product since 1959. J.C. Gibbons can take a prototype job and move it into low or high volume production without ever leaving its facility. A robust ISO9001:2000 program is the driving force behind J.C. Gibbons’s quality system and provides assurance that each job is made in a reliable, consistent manner. Statistical Process Control (SPC) data is analyzed at the shop floor level daily in order to manufacture quality parts. This ensures a better, more consistent product for customers. With all of these strengths firmly in place, J.C. Gibbons Vice President, Jeff Gibbons, was ready to expand his company’s reach beyond the automotive industry to find opportunities in other markets.

With this goal in mind, Jeff contacted the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC) to begin its market diversification program. At the beginning of the program, J.C. identified their biggest challenge as an internal lack of resources devoted to securing new business. Robert Hess, MMTC’s Growth Services Director, conducted an assessment which was critical to illustrating the importance of having dedicated resources. In order to focus as much as possible on diversification, Jeff brought his brother Dan in to help manage the day to day operations. The process of diversification involved learning new tools to help identify key strengths - both in J.C.‘s manufacturing processes and in the finished product itself.

One of the most powerful tools was developing an understanding of the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code process and utilizing it to identify new business opportunities, while avoiding industries with declining trends. This approach helped link J.C. with a medical industry supplier in Troy, Michigan. What began with a quote for one part has developed into a strong working relationship. Now J.C. is supplying 10 different parts to this same company! Another search connected J.C. with a local commercial signage company which led to opportunities in related industries.

In addition to learning how to identify new markets with NAICS codes, J.C. learned a variety of sales and marketing approaches to implement within those selected markets. Activities ranged from developing a telephone call script to creating and sending out e-mail flyers advertising their products and services. They even discovered how to make better sales use of existing assets, such as using on-hold messages to provide informative and compelling messages to clients during any necessary wait times. This is a simple example of an additional sales approach that many companies can take advantage of, at virtually no cost. 

Today, through hard work and assistance from the MMTC market diversification program, J.C.’s business is about 49% automotive instead of 75%, and the medical and other diversified markets continue to grow. J.C. continues to pursue excellence in difficult economic times and MMTC has been there right alongside to coach and to encourage implementation. Training with the MMTC has included Activity-Based-Costing financial analysis, LEAN office projects, LEAN Kaizens, Statistical Process Control (SPC), and Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) training in addition to the market diversification program. “The MMTC’s goal is to make you better and to help you grow your business,” Jeff stated, “as a small company, we wouldn’t have been able to diversify without help.” As a result of working with the MMTC team, J.C. has been able to grow their non-automotive business 9.3% over the last eighteen months, during one of the toughest economic periods in decades.

(MMTC, 2009)

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Steel Prices Rising

The demand of steel is a good economic indicator of a country building infrastructure, but a high volume market with ever increasing prices due mostly to developing countries, can and will slow demand on manufacturing. Steel is the foundation for building development; in the pilings, foundations, and is heavily used in transportation and general manufacturing.

During post WWII when Japan was restructuring and the United States was growing, we saw staggering rates of production and consumption. According to the chart, India (a known developing country) and China are now starting to produce and use steel at alarming rates. China's rate of production and usage relative to the great growth period of the United States and Japan is even greater, driving demand and the market price for steel up. The notion of obtaining steel at a price is likely never going to happen, which will have a direct impact on manufacturers, even in China.

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Manufacturers Urge Senators to Support McConnell Amendment to Restrain EPA

Washington, DC, 03/16/11 -  National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Relations Aric Newhouse issued the following statement today on Senate Minority Leader McConnell’s (R-KY) amendment to the Small Business Bill:  
“Manufacturers continue to believe the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ove regulation of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) on stationary sources will put high -paying manufacturing jobs at risk and prevent further economic recovery. We urge senators to pass this important amendment to prevent continued uncertainty, likely job losses, rising energy prices and additional administrative costs on manufacturers.

Manufacturers support a comprehensive federal climate policy within a framework that will cause no economic harm, while granting sufficient time to deploy low-carbon technologies, such as carbon capture and sequestration, renewable energy and a renewed and large-scale deployment of nuclear power plants. We encourage Congress to have a substantive and realistic debate regarding GHG regulation before the EPA implements costly protocols on emissions from stationary sources, which will include manufacturing facilities.
If left unchecked, these EPA regulations will only discourage any long-term investments necessary to grow jobs and expedite economic recovery, placing America at a disadvantage in the global marketplace.”

Source: NAM

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Recovery- Our Success Is In Our Hands

This graph is pretty clear.

PMPA's Index of Sales of Precision Machined Products in February 2011 was 110, staying even with the adjusted value for January 2011. (January had been reported at 111.) February's index of 110 remains at its highest level in the thirty-two months since June 2008. Additional data in the February report indicated the industry is recovering nicely, and outlook is positive. The February 2011 sales level was equal to the February 2008 level prior to the Economic Recession.

This strong showing of industry sales is a clear signal that we need to adjust from our recessionary mode "hunker down" management style to a recovery mode "aggressively manage risk" methodology if we are to take full advantage of the markets today.
More than ever before, the keys to our company's success are in our hands, not market externalitites.


PMPA members can read the full report at this link.
Accredited Press please contact PMPA for a copy of the report.

Source: PMPA

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Three Criteria for Selecting Bar Steels

Three primary criteria for selecting bar steels are  1) suitability for end use, 2) suitability for manufacturing process, 3) economical delivery of the requirements.

Suitability for end use includes appropriate mechanical properties, physical properties and chemical compatibility. Mechanical properties can include hardness, tensile and yield strength, ductility as measured by % elongation or % reduction in area, and / or impact properties. Mechanical properties can be achieved by chemical composition, cold work, or heat treatment. Note: properties need to match the environmental conditions of the intended end use…  Physical properties that are often considered include magnetic properties for solenoid, actuator, or electronic applications. Process path of steelmaking can play an important role in determining these properties.


Suitability for manufacturing requires at least a cursory understanding of the intended process path. Will there be extensive stock removal by machining? Welding, brazing or other means of bonding? Heat treatment? Will the equipment used to machine require tight dimensional tolerances or straightness? Will the material be upset or cold worked? Will the material be cold worked (crimped, swaged, planished or staked) after machining? Bismuth additives can prevent achievement of bond strength in brazed joints unless special techniques and materials are employed. Various chemical constituents can have an effect on the cold work response of steel. These too can be determined by the melting and thermomechinical history of the steel before it arrives at your shop.


Economical delivery of requirements means choosing a materal that permits the creation of conforming parts that fully meet the requirements for end use and manufacturability at a total lowest cost. There are many ways to meet any particular set of requirements for steel in most uses. Chemistry, cold work, heat treatment, as well as design details can all be criteria used to select one material over another. Minimizing costs is clearly important, but most important is assuring that all of the "must have" properties (strength, hardness, surface finish, typically) needed in the finished product are delivered.


Costs of manufacturing can make up a large fraction of the final products cost. For some parts, the cost of manufacturing and processing can exceed the cost of the material. Choosing the lowest cost process path that will assure required properties often requires steel materials that are priced above the cheapest available. This is because free machining additives, or cold finishing processes  can reduce cost to obtain desired properties or product attributes when compared to those needed to get hot rolled product up to the desired levels of performance.


Bottom line: Buyers may want to get the cheapest price per pound of steel purchased; Savvy buyers want to buy the steel that results in the lowest cost per finished part- assuring that costs are minimized for the total cost of production of their product. Understanding the role of steel making and finishing processes can help the buyer optimize their material selection process.


Source: PMPA 

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Manufacturers Urge Senators to Support McConnell Amendment to Restrain EPA

Washington, DC, 03/16/11 -  National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Relations Aric Newhouse issued the following statement today on Senate Minority Leader McConnell’s (R-KY) amendment to the Small Business Bill:  
“Manufacturers continue to believe the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) overregulation of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) on stationary sources will put high -paying manufacturing jobs at risk and prevent further economic recovery. We urge senators to pass this important amendment to prevent continued uncertainty, likely job losses, rising energy prices and additional administrative costs on manufacturers.

Manufacturers support a comprehensive federal climate policy within a framework that will cause no economic harm, while granting sufficient time to deploy low-carbon technologies, such as carbon capture and sequestration, renewable energy and a renewed and large-scale deployment of nuclear power plants. We encourage Congress to have a substantive and realistic debate regarding GHG regulation before the EPA implements costly protocols on emissions from stationary sources, which will include manufacturing facilities.
If left unchecked, these EPA regulations will only discourage any long-term investments necessary to grow jobs and expedite economic recovery, placing America at a disadvantage in the global marketplace.”

Source: NAM, Michael Frohlich

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Our First Post

We're glad to finally join the blogging community, but we have some major changes to make to really get things started.

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