Manufacturing Success from the Heartland

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We must take steel and build cars, take clay and make bricks, take wood and build homes or we will become a service economy in which we pour the tea and coffee for the people that do.

Sugarcreek, OH (PRWEB) January 15, 2010

By showcasing the attention to detail and work ethic expected from Ohio’s Amish Country, SUPERB Industries at Sugarcreek is doing something rare among stateside manufactures: It’s growing.

SUPERB President John Miller credits its Bottom-Up Management System and utilization of high-speed, near-net-shape manufacturing technology for giving SUPERB the edge needed to compete and win contracts away from foreign-based manufacturers for the production of metal and plastic components and fully-assembled parts for the automotive, electronics, home appliance, hardware, security and other industries worldwide.

“I am passionate about manufacturing because our middle class quality of life depends on it,” Miller said. “We must take steel and build cars, take clay and make bricks, take wood and build homes or we will become a service economy in which we pour the tea and coffee for the people that do.”

SUPERB grew from $4.7 million in annual sales in ’08 to $5.8 million in ’09 and is expected to top $8 million this year, according to Miller, who was proud to say that despite the worst recession since 1939, SUPERB’s commitment to old-fashioned values and investment in new-millennium technology have allowed him to increase its workforce by 25 percent.

That growth has prompted state and national recognition as a “fastest growing manufacturer,” from Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Inc. 5000, a magazine that follows under-reported companies.

“SUPERB is an example that with the right tools, the right team and the right strategy, the tangible manufacture of goods can still be done successfully in the heartland of America,” Miller said. “Some of these parts, made here in Sugarcreek, end up in just about every major appliance brand such as GE, Whirlpool and Frigidaire.”

Sugarcreek is a small community in Ohio’s Amish Country and is located about an hour and a half south of Cleveland in the rolling hills of Tuscarawas County.

Production and products made by SUPERB vary by day and contract. One product line, for Marquardt, a German automotive supplier, has it making millions of key fobs for Chrysler and VW. New contracts, such as Marquardt’s, and expansion from existing clients, like Emerson’s Therm-O-Disc division, have Miller looking forward to sustainable growth beyond 2010.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to refine our production process to best meet our clients’ needs on an individual basis,” he said. “We have a business alliance where we’re making Latticel knee protection devices that provide the same safety as an airbag, only our version cost about four dollars to make where their airbag version cost about forty.

“In other areas we’ve taken what was a multi-step production process and have refined it to one or two steps using high-speed, near-net-shape technology. Our innovation and technology are the reasons we are competitive and continue to grow.”

To keep up with its growth and stay SUPERB (which stands for Superior quality, Unbeatable value, Performance on-time, Equity environment and Employee Empowerment, Refinement and Bottom-up management system), Miller has designed a productivity pay schedule and benefits package that has attracted key talent locally and from out of state.

He said recruiting technicians with Class A carbide die experience is key to maintaining the precision in SUPERB’s stamping production and plastic molds.

Kevin Bond, stamping manufacturing manager, got his start as a journeyman tool and die maker in Pennsylvania’s famed Carbide Valley, a portion of southwestern Pa. nicknamed for the large number of employers in the specialized carbide die manufacturing trade.

“The durability and rigidity of carbide allows for enhanced production and quality, which is a must when maintaining the standards required for doing business with the auto industry,” Bond said, noting SUPERB’s ISO 9000 and TS 16949 certifications.

Steve Blickensderfer, plastics manager, said a synergy between SUPERB’s stamping and plastics divisions will continue to open new doors and sustain the company’s growth.

“Our facility is truly unique,” Blickensderfer said. “We can do precision stamping and combine that with the plastics that we mold. It’s something we have just started to take advantage of, and really, for our customers, it makes it easier because they know they can deal with one source and address issues and problems without a big lag time in production, or having to work with several different suppliers.”

SUPERB began in a two-car garage in 1986 and today is a global company, headquartered at 330 N. Third St. in the Village of Sugarcreek, Ohio. It supplies companies in Canada, China, Europe, Hong Kong, Mexico, Vietnam and the United States.

“To think we had the audacity to name ourselves SUPERB back when all we had was an old grinder and a milling machine in a garage,” Miller said. “But it was that commitment to being and becoming SUPERB that has made the difference. We will never waiver from that ideal.”

ON THE WEB: http://www.superbindustries.com

By Zach Lint
Freelance Business Writer

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