Smart Business Magazine, February 2021

February 2021 Smart Business 31 The die casting business has been impacted in several ways over the last decade Overseas competition has caused tremendous downward price pressure while new research and development have allowed the die casting process to produce castings of quality and complexity to replace components produced from more expensive processes Led by CEO Brian Lennon General Die Casters Inc has combated price pressures by aggressively implementing robotic automation in the companys casting and machining operation As a result its productivity has increased 30 percent over the last four years Now General Die Casters is developing its own internal education system GDC University to advance the knowledge and education of its entire workforce And while its workforce is now smaller than it was previously it is also more productive and knowledgeable The company has been early an adopter of cutting edge casting technology In addition to automation it has invested in plant wide process monitoring and control vacuum assisted die casting and high efficiency stack melting It uses software that models the flow and solidification of the metal into the die for new process development and improvement high pressure jet cooling for die cast dies new die coatings to extend die steel life and energy efficient equipment that improves quality Brian Lennon CEO General Die Casters Inc Jack Schron President Jergens Inc Adam DeFrancesco Founder and CEO OMNI Systems Inc COVID 19 has led to increased uncertainty for businesses across the globe and for a majority of companies business as usual has not been an option This has especially been true for the medical device industry Medical device manufacturers are facing immense pressure to rapidly produce tests and ventilators needed early everywhere around the world In response to the global pandemic and the invocation of the Defense Production Act to increase COVID 19 related medical equipment production Jergens under the leadership of President Jack Schron implemented an order priority initiative for medical device manufacturers During this time Jergens received a call from one of its partners DMG Mori stating that medical device manufacturer Vyaire Medical was in desperate need of parts to build ventilators and under pressure to quadruple production as fast as possible Jergens team members traveled to Vyaires facility to reverse engineer its current tooling and duplicate and retrofit an existing machine Within three weeks Jergens Reversed engineered Vyaires current process Provided product drawings to the Vyaire engineering team Fabricated and shipped custom tooling Installed the new setup and cutting chips Implemented a new custom workholding solution OMNI Systems Inc led by Founder and CEO Adam DeFrancesco has been in business for more than 30 years Over the past 10 years it has had consistent sustainable double digit growth in an industry that grows 2 to 3 percent yearly And despite the pandemic as an essential business its 2020 growth was over 20 percent The company has created and sustained this growth by offering label products and accessories at the lowest cost and the highest quality with exceptional service With its business model it has built simple and easy sustainable standard operating procedures in all departments This consistency and the daily attitude of continuous process improvements create a culture and atmosphere that allows OMNI to sustain its operations Its no debt running of the business creates opportunities with large customers that its competition either cannot perform or takes too long to react while its training programs have helped it train associates with no prior experience to become top skilled operators Many of its associates have been with OMNI for over 15 years in part due to the companys collaborative culture and the fact that it maintains better than average wages with a substantial bonus program based on performance