July 2007 Edition

VMC

The Match Game: Customers vs. Growth

Determining when it’s best to grow a business is a balancing act. This Michigan firm expanded with three new machines and found a $21,000 profit.

The Feeler Machine Tool FTC-20 and FV-760 purchased by Control Turning Inc. from GBI Cincinnati offer compact footprints and expand capability to meet customer demands

“Measured growth” have been watchwords for Control Turning Inc., Jackson, MI, during its 30-year life. After weathering the economic storms that swept through the state as a result of changes faced by the automotive industry, the shop found customers to keep it stable and expand as the need arises.

“Our growth is slow on purpose,” Jerry Broughman, Control Turning president, said. “We grow in step with customers’ needs. We’re not the kind of operation that throws money at things and hopes something works. We take our lead from our customers.”

The company manufactures tooling for the auto industry, hydraulic and pneumatic components, and medical and dental parts. Materials machined include ferrous and non-ferrous material, mild steel, medium alloys, stainless and tool steels, brass, aluminum, and plastic.

The company has 26 employees and occupies an 8,000 ft² facility, soon to be expanded by another 3,000 ft². It operates a variety of CNC turning and milling equipment, mostly for short run jobs. Last year about 40,000 different parts went through the shop.

“When we pick up a new customer, we grow the business to fill its needs,” Broughman said.

Upgrade Philosophy

Although cautious about plant expansion, Broughman and his wife, also a company officer, have no reluctance to upgrade technology.

Broughman says they look for new equipment, both as additions and replacements. The company replaces machine controls on a regular basis.

“We use Fanuc controls and drives exclusively,” he said. “We update about every five years.”

Within the past three years, Control Turning purchased three Feeler Machine Tools from GBI Cincinnati, Inc., Cincinnati: a FV-760 CNC vertical machining center and two FTC-20 CNC turning centers.

“GBI Cincinnati introduced us to the Feeler line,” Broughman said. “We needed additional turning and milling capacity. We tried the Feelers, and they’ve been performing well since we brought them aboard.”

The Feelers have been running 20 hours a day since they hit the floor. The company runs two 10-hour shifts five days and two six-hour shifts on Saturdays.

“The Feelers are compact, which is what we need” Broughman said. “We pack in our machines wall-to-wall and waste no space. The machines’ compact size, plus their rigidity and stability worked out fine. They’re real performers.”

The company runs parts from 0.0125" to 15" in diameter on the CNC FTC-20s and up to a 16" cube on the CNC FV-760.

“We’re holding 0.0004" on turned parts,” he said, “and our hole patterns on the mill have been within 0.0001", point-to-point, at all times. Surface finishes are also good. When we consistently hold close tolerances, we know our surface finishes are going to be fine as well.”

Parts runs have been from one-offs to as many as 5,500 pieces.

Alien Resistance

According to Broughman, GBI Cincinnati expected resistance to the Feeler machines since it was a relatively new name in the U.S. and a Chinese import. Feeler is part of the Fair Friend Group, one of the largest manufacturers of machine tools in China and Taiwan and one of the largest machine builders in the world.

Control Turning produced more than 40,000 parts for different customers, ranging from one-offs to runs of more than 5,500 pieces

“My advice in buying machine tools is to approach the purchase rationally,” Broughman said. “Is the machine solid and stable? Is it rigid? Is it flexible? Will it meet and exceed the tolerances you need to hold? Is it highly repeatable and reliable? Is there ample support and service staff behind it? Does it meet your requirements from a price and delivery perspective?

“If the answer to these questions is ‘yes,’ does it matter where the machine comes from? What matters is that it enhances your ability to get the work out and keep your customer more than just happy.”

The three additional machines were purchased to meet company growth.

“Our business expanded last year by about 40 percent,” Broughman said. “It was one of our biggest years, but the growth was from a single customer. We had to determine whether to invest in technology to meet the demand. We decided to commit to the customer. We couldn’t turn down the work even though we were hard-pressed to put in more hours.

“When we went to 20 hour-a-day shift, the move and the machines let us maintain production at a higher level than previously.”

Expansion Discomfort

Broughman said the quick expansion was anything but comfortable.

“We hadn’t run that fast before,” he said. “Now we operate differently. We run at a faster pace; everyone runs full tilt all the time. Since the arrival of the last two Feelers, we’ve netted more than $21,000 in savings.”

For a Michigan company, it wasn’t unusual for the firm to experience downsizing, corporate outsourcing, and the squeeze for lower costs and quicker deliveries associated with the automotive industry.

“We rode up and down through those years,” Broughman says, “but you can’t stop searching for new customers, can’t stop working, and can’t stop satisfying your customer base.”

“I’ve been at this for 45 years, and I’ve seen all the changes and trends come and go in the industry. Most of it has been exciting. Now that I’m 65, I’m taking time to watch a young management team come into its own. I’m not going to retire soon. I plan to work the rest of my life.”

GBI Cincinnati ,  www.rsleads.com/707mn-208

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