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from the editor
Market Momentum: Companies Using Software and Business Savvy to Gain Leads
Teeth whitening, low-carbohydrate diets, cosmetic surgery — there are so many popular options today for consumers to change physical appearances in order to brighten smiles, lose weight and look good, all in attempts to feel more confident, obtain jobs, look younger and gain recognition. It's a craze, with providers offering quick fixes on the Internet, TV, radio, print media and consumer goods. This zeal for change and renewal is apparent in the manufacturing sector as well.
Today, companies are reinventing themselves utilizing smart, dynamic management and innovative strategies to keep them viable in a fiercely competitive global marketplace and, most importantly, investment in technologies that keep them more efficient. Call it organizational facelifts — companies are taking steps to redefine and enhance sales, marketing and profits. For instance, after a nearly three-year downturn, consumers and businesses are once again buying software, computers, networking devices and associated services. According to USA Today, IBM reported that earnings this past quarter tripled on an eight percent increase in revenue versus one year ago. "This year begins the next growth cycle for technology," says John Joyce, IBM's CFO.
Moldflow customer Dean Sparks of DRS, Inc. says his company has been so busy lately that he is doing all he can to keep up. Since 1982, DRS, Inc. (Holland, OH) has provided vital product development assistance to manufacturers in primarily the automotive, healthcare and consumer goods industries. Since its inception, the company has grown from building hand-constructed parts and tooling to fully automated manufacturing.
Sparks says that keeping software and hardware up-to-date are key elements to remaining competitive. His 30-employee operation spends approximately $150,000 annually for IT support. "Leveraging the cost of the new systems against the performance gain by faster computers allows us to manufacture our products faster year by year," says Sparks. "Not only can our computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) equipment be cutting faster on new work, it also speeds up the painful process of fixing mistakes. We added seven new high speed CNC machines in the past year, and both cutting time and surface finish have dramatically improved. In addition, we added a new Makino electrical discharge machining (EDM) unit that can burn mold components in less than 10 percent of the time required by conventional EDMs."
In addition, DRS outsources servers for specific tasks instead of forcing one server to carry the burden of many tasks. The organization also invested in new Windows 2003 Enterprise Server software to be able to cluster its servers. "This allows several computers to act as one," notes Sparks. "We have three mail servers acting as one server. We have three SQL servers acting as one to maintain our database information available at all times. Our shop data servers are clustered as well to feed the CNC machines with programs 24 hours each day. We can't afford to have a single PC go down that would result in disabling 20 CNC machines."
St. Louis-based Coin Acceptors, Inc. (Coinco) is a world leader in the design and manufacture of coin mechanisms, bill acceptors and control systems for vending machines for the global food and beverage vending industry. Max Molenaar, Coinco senior engineer, says that while production slowed in the last couple of years, a new vice president of engineering realized the importance of investing in new hardware to support the latest version of Unigraphics, the company's main design software. Molenaar says, "The company knew that the investment would pay off in the long run and we are definitely more productive as a result of the implementing the new hardware."
"Capitalism and the American dream reward those who take risks," says Joe Moglia, CEO of Ameritrade. "Executives should not feel too limited. Successful leaders assess risk and reward all the time. The most successful evaluate the risk, define tolerances and decide whether they can accept the consequences on the downside."
Many companies such as DRS and Coinco have achieved success by thinking outside the box — pushing the envelope and taking risks. For example, VDO North America purchased Moldflow Plastics Advisers® software to do upfront analyses of wall thickness and Moldflow Plastics Insight® software to gather vital design information in terms of flow, cooling and warpage, including thermoset and Fusion analysis capabilities. VDO's manufacturing engineer Dana Bryan says, "As a direct result of using Moldflow software, we have avoided a lot of design-related issues and problems. Performing simulation is definitely worth it in terms of improving product design and saving time and money."
Advanced Elastomers Systems (AES) is saving its customers time and costs associated with building expensive prototypes. Shaival Mehta, AES senior process and design engineer, says, "Moldflow software helps our customers to optimize part and mold design without guesswork and can eliminate the cost and time to produce a prototype tool."
Avenue Mould, the UK and Ireland's leading mold maker, is committed to using state-of-the-art products and techniques to develop its molds. "As a result of investing in Moldflow technology," says Felim McNeela, the company's managing director, "we have retained top manufacturers and our return business is at a rate of 98 percent. Our work demands precision and quality and using Moldflow assures us and our customers of both."
These examples and many others from Moldflow's archives detail how savvy manufacturers around the world are taking risks, investing in leading edge technology and upgrading operations to remain successful and profitable. These "facelifts" are reaping significant rewards and return on investment.
Laura Carrabine
Editor
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