CONTRACT MANUFACTURING
Decisions on purchasing new equip- ment depends on the cost. Managers can make the call up to a certain point (the company didn’t provide the specifi c fi gure). Large capital expenditures require approval from the board of directors, whose mem- bers are elected by the employee-owners. The Fastener Industries divisions also
are confronting modern manufacturing issues, including use of newer materi- als such as high-strength and stainless steels, and joining dissimilar materials such as steel and aluminum while avoid- ing corrosion.
At an Ohio Nut & Bolt plant in Brook Park, OH, work shoes of retired employees hang from the ceiling.
Also, at both plants, tool and machine part storage was centralized, and more clearly labeled so tools could be lo- cated more quickly. A small, basic step, but one that resulted in more effi ciency.
All of this is causing employee-owners to re-think how their operations are run. “We used to be afraid to spend the employee-owners’ dollars,” Morgan said. “What we used to do was a time tested method that served well for 100 years.” That usually meant re- building machines instead of buying new ones. In some cases, machines were decades old and had been rebuilt repeatedly.
New Way of Thinking Over time, managers concluded newer ma- chines were necessary. “We needed newer machines to the get the numbers we want and the quality we want,” Morgan said. “I like the new way we’re thinking. It’s very invigorating. It’s starting to click. Everybody’s on board.”
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AdvancedManufacturing.org | April 2016
“Our engineers are constantly going to trade shows and conferences,” said Larry Kelly, business development manager for
Buckeye Fasteners. “We’re investing in new welding equip- ment” that will “enable you to do better jobs with stainless steel and aluminums.”
Auto History
In 2015, Kelly said, Fastener Industries benefi ted from a surge in automotive production, one of the main bright spots for manufacturing last year. Ohio Nut & Bolt is experi- enced dealing with the auto industry. One of its early major
An employee checks a part produced by a German tapping machine.
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