Flexible Suppliers – Superior Customer Service
The practice of insourcing is the direct opposite of outsourcing and off-shoring. Delegating jobs from production within a business, to an internal or specialized local subcontractor, is becoming more prevalent, especially with small businesses. “We have always had to be flexible to respond to our marketplace’s constant changing demands for higher performing valves. Maintaining and nurturing internal and local expertise is the most efficient means of controlling both costs and quality in a dynamic make-to-order environment” said Jim Lenihan, President of Gemco Valve.
Gemco Valve, always looking for ways to build strategic alliances with its manufacturing partners, has formed a new, insourcing relationship with Viser Manufacturing of North Bergen, NJ by deciding to purchase a Wardjet, water jet cutting machine.
The Wardjet’s high-pressure water jets (60,000PSI) contain abrasive powder, and with water accelerated up to twice the speed of sound can cut through inches of the hardest metals in seconds. The advantages of water-jet cutting are: (1) absence of thermal distortion and work hardening; (2) noncontact during cutting, thus eliminating tool wear and contact force; (3) omnidirectional cutting, allowing the cutting of complex shapes and contours and (4) allows for more efficient utilization of material with smart layouts and use of drops which were previously considered scrap.
Gemco Valve and Viser saw an opportunity to collaborate in a new way. “We have been working together for 15 years – long before they were calling it insourcing, and the Wardjet purchase just made sense to us. This is good use of resources, it strengthens our partnership and ups the value of both of our businesses” said Cesar Villamil owner of Viser Manufacturing.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has recently released new productivity data, which indicates that even though the recession reduced demand for many US manufactured goods, companies figured out how to make the best of the situation. The latest release from the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) shows that utilization of manufacturing machines and tools was up more than 80 percent in the first 10 months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. This statistic indicates that manufacturers made an investment in productivity-enhancing tools and equipment. The Wardjet acquisition is an excellent example of this kind of purchase.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, new orders for manufactured durable goods in November increased $7.5 billion or 3.8 percent to $207.0 billion. “The gains are modest but steady and working smarter, especially for small companies is a controllable way for us to keep productivity up and costs down,” Lenihan said.
