Made with Xara

Modern Manufacturing; I’ve been fortunate to have worked with companies that have not opted-out for low cost outsourcing (well, except for one, which will remain nameless). I'm passionate about manufacturing because I know it can be strong again someday. If you compare any product made in China to what's manufactured here in the U.S.A., you see such a difference in quality.  I'm beginning to see the trend reverse as jobs are  starting to come back. 

Today’s automobiles are manufactured to last 7 to 8 years trouble free.  This is no fault of the manufacturing processes, rather the material inadequacies.  At American Classic Conversions we take a strong chassis and retro-fit them with electric motors.  In part, the chassis was made lighter over the years to achieve better fuel efficiency and cost reduction.  Aside from the obvious safety compromises, the chassis of today’s vehicles are not engineered to last , they do perform to the best of their ability yes, but last…, no.  With an electric drive train, the cost of driving a classic car that will out last any modern car is worth consideration.

Current Endeavors

As a member of the maintenance team at the Tennant Company I’m enjoying the challenge of helping to keep the factory running on all cylinders. Our machine-to-tech ratio is an astonishing 30:1 as we run around the clock. Tennant designs and manufactures excellent products that are definately built to last!  Oh…, and this company started 10 years after the Civil War!

I started my manufacturing career building two-way radios for the E.F. Johnson Company.  Since then I’ve enjoyed the fast pace environment of being an automotive Tier 1 supplier; then into the highly detailed , heavily documented world of manufacturing medical devices for the Guidant Corporation.  As a process perfectionist, I prefer the medical device environment because quality is paramount to everything.  My next stop was building low volume, high mix aerospace assemblies for Honeywell while working at Celestica, Inc. Kudos to Honeywell for having meticulous quality standards.  After Celestica, I worked for the Berquist Company creating CAD drawings for a variety of consumer products.

You can review the type of equipment I’ve worked on, from past to present.  My list will include only the equipment which I’ve gained experience on. One of the exciting advances in manufacturing, referred to as additive manufacturing, is the flexibility 3D printing has provided.  I can measure, design and print many replacement parts within hours rather than waiting a day or two for delivery.   The wish list of some machines I’d like to get a close-up look at include; the Mori Seiki              -                  , very impressive. Also, any machine using the new line of Siemens PLC’s called the Simatic Series.  These PLC’s are designed for the sensors or devices to be addressed on the internet giving the line controllers low level data to help make the macro decisions and to do central location diagnostics. Is the day coming soon when technicians repair the machines that repair the machines? <<<Interesting photo of an outdoor press brake.

Lasertec 65