Measuring and Maximizing Throwpower – 30

We Profile the Best Practices of 5 Top Shops – 16

Technology You’ll See at The Powder Coating Show – 34

APRIL 2015 / VOLUME 79 / NO. 7

E-COAT

PLATING

Coating Research Achieves Better Implants – 8MEDICAL

POWDER

Benchmarking Survey Results

PFonline.com

Reprinted From:

BY TIM PENNINGTON EDITOR

50 plating operations make the cut in the Products Finishing Top Shops Inaugural Benchmarking Survey.

It is said baseball is a game of inches; in the electroplating industry, it is a game of percentage points.While the difference between victory and defeat on the

diamond could be the width of the ball or foul line, the span between being a Products Finishing Top Shop and others comes down to fractions of numbers.

For example, the plating companies that made the Top Shops list had some significant statistical advantages over the rest of the plating field:• Order lead time was just 5.0 days for Top Shops, and 8.6

days for all other shops.• Scrap rates are 2.0 percent for Top Shops; 3.8 percent

for others.• Active customers is 412 for Top Shops; the average is

349 for all others.• Capacity utilization is 83.4 percent for Top Shops; the

average of other shops is 59.0 percent.

After weeks of examining survey results from several hundred electroplating operations in North America, the Products Finishing Top Shops Benchmarking Survey is complete and being shipped to those shops that took part in the program.

The three reports will give shop owners and managers a unique look at how their plating shops perform compared with the rest of the industry. The information—and an additional executive summary that compiles all the data—is divided into three separate reports:• Comparison by shop type; i.e. captive, contract and

job shop.• Plant size, broken into five separate categories to give a

clearer perspective.• Comparison to the Products Finishing Top Shops so

plating operations can see where they need to be in order to be considered among the best in the industry.

Continued on page 19

ElectroplatingBenchmarking Survey Results

A Look Inside The Top ShopsWe profile the best practices of the Top Shops in different categories:

• Top of the Class: Roy Metal Finishing The third generation company employs 200 associates at three automated facilities and finished No. 1 in our rankings.

• Finishing Practices: Nobert Plating Co. Chicago-based Nobert produced some of the best finishing practices of all shops in the Products Finishing Top Shops Benchmarking Survey.

• Finishing Technologies: Reinfro Headquartered in Brownsville, Texas, Reinfro is not only a player in the finishing industry, but it made Inc. Maga-zine’s fastest growing companies list.

• Business Strategies: Microfinish The St. Louis finisher gets to know its customers by first name, and works to understand the challenge of that person’s business.

• Human Resources: KC Jones Plating Leadership is key at Michigan’s KC Jones Plating Co., and its management team works hard to develop good leaders and keep them.

TOP SHOPS

0 5 10 15 20 25

Annual Growth

Top Shops 21%

Top Shops Benchmarking Survey ReportsShops that completed the Products Finishing Top

Shops Benchmarking Survey will receive a series of data reports that separate the survey data into categories, including type of finishing business (job shop, contract shop or captive operation), number of employees and number of parts produced.

In addition, we’ll send an Executive Summary comparing responses between the Top Shops benchmarking group and the rest of the survey participants. This benchmarking group represents the top percentage of electroplating shops determined by totaling the points assigned to select business- and technology-related questions.

These reports not only serve as a baseline “report card” of sorts, but also provide hard data that will eliminate the need to rely on gut feelings as a method of identifying and prioritizing improvement efforts.

0 2 4 6 8 10 0 30 60 90 120 150

0 200 400 600 800 1000 0 500 1000 1500 2000 0 20 40 60 80 100

Other Shops 8%

Median 10%

Capital Exp./ Gross Sales

Top Shops 9%

Other Shops 2%

Median 4%

Gross/ Employees

Top Shops $134,000

Other Shops $78,000

Median $92,000

Finishing Capital Equipment

Top Shops $913,100

Other Shops $375,100

Median $200,000

Finishing Chemical Purchases

Top Shops $1,700,100

Other Shops $523,600

Median $224,250

Customer Retention Rate

Top Shops 100%

Other Shops 88%

Median 97%

TOP SHOPS BENCHMARKING SURVEY

A.M. Metal Finishing Inc.,Rick Hunter, President, Orlando, Florida, ammetal.com

American Metal, LLC., Konstantine Dotsikas, President, Mentor, Ohio, americanmetal.com

Advanced Plating Technologies, John Lindstedt, President, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, advancedplatingtech.com

Allied Finishing Inc., Bruce Stone, President, Kentwood, Michigan, alliedfinishinginc.com

American Metaseal Corp., Stephen D’Alfonzo, President, Arbutus, Maryland, metaseal.com

America’s Best Quality Coatings, Brian Stoddard, President, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, abqc-usa.com

Anoplate Corp., Jim Stevenson, President, Syracuse, New York, anoplate.com

Arlington Plating Co., Richard Macary, President, Palatine, Illinois, arlingtonplating.com

Aurora Circuits, Chris Kalmus, President, Aurora, Illinois, auroracircuits.com

AVM Inc., Vijay Kapur, President, Chantilly, Virginia, avmplating.com

Bergquist Co., Mike Maxson, General Manager, Prescott, Wisconsin, bergquistcompany.com

BFG Manufacturing Service, Jeffrey Grube, President, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, bfgmfg.com

Bron-Shoe Co., Robert Kaynes Jr., President, Columbus, Ohio, americanbronzing.com

Bronson Plating Co., John Welch, President, Bronson, Michigan, bronsonplating.com

Coating Technologies Inc., Robert Barrkman, President, Phoenix, Arizona, coatingtechnologiesinc.com

Danco, Ross Tiamson, President, Arcadia, California, danco.net

DC Coaters Inc., Dennis Cook, President, Tipton, Indiana, dccoaters.com

Denver Metal Finishing, Larry Morgan, President, Denver, Colorado, denvermetalfinishing.com

DiFruscia Industries, Frank DeFruscio, President, Johnston, Rhode Island, difruscia.com

E.M.E. Inc., Wesley Turnbow, CEO, Compton, California, emeplating.com

East Side Plating Inc., Gary Rehnberg/Tim Lamb, Owners, Portland, Oregon, eastsideplating.com

Electrolizing Corp. of Ohio, Bill Loucks, General Manager, Cleveland, Ohio, electrohio.com

Electro-Spec Inc., Jeffrey Smith, President, Franklin, Indiana, electro-spec.com

Elite Metal Finishing, Dan Rose, President, Oceanside, California, elite-metalfinishing.com

Freedom Metal Finishing, Keith Eidschun, Owner, Clearwater, Florida, freedommetalfinishing.com

Gleco Plating Inc., Jeff Fodge, President, Rowlett, Texas, gleco.com

Hohman Plating & Mfg., William Miller, CEO, Dayton, Ohio, hohmanplating.com

Houston Plating & Coatings, LLC, William Howard, Jr., CEO, South Houston, Texas, houstonplating.com

Howard Finishing, Jeff Mertz, President, Roseville, Michigan, howardfinishing.com

Hudson Plating Works, William Hudson, President, Moorpark, California, hudsonplatingworks.com

IPS Industrial Polishing Services, Alex Lebrija, Sales Manager, San Diego, California, ipsfinishing.com

K&L Anodizing Corp., Don Leiker, President, Burbank, California, klanodizing.com

KC Jones Plating Co., Robert Burger, President, Warren, Michigan, kcjplating.com

Lustrous Metal Coatings Inc., Mike Paxos, President, Canton, Ohio, lustrousmetal.com

Medina Plating Corp., Shawn Ritchie, President, Medina, Ohio, medinaplating.com

Microfinish, Bill Stock, President, St. Louis, Missouri, microfinishco.com

Nassau Chromium Plating Co. Inc., Shirley Waring, President, Mineola, New York, nassauchrome.com

Nobert Plating Co., Diann Sickles, President, Chicago, Illinois, nobertplating.com

Palmetto Plating Co., John Cutchin, President, Easley, South Carolina, palmettoplating.com

Pilkington Metal Finishing, Van Pilkington, President, Salt Lake City, Utah, pilkingtonmetalfinishing.com

Professional Plating Inc., Larry Dietz, General Manager, Brillion, Wisconsin, proplating.com

Reinfro Corp., Abelardo Gonzalez, President, Brownsville, Texas, reinfro.com

Reliable Plating Works / Elite Finishing, Jaime Maliszewski, President, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, rpwinc.net

Roll Technology Corp., Lew Walker, President, Greenville, South Carolina, rolltech.com

Roy Metal Finishing, Cliff Roy, CEO, Conestee, South Carolina, roymetal.com

Sheffield Platers Inc., Dale Watkins, President, San Diego, California, sheffieldplaters.com

Silvex Inc., Phil Ridley, President, Westbrook, Maine, silvexinc.com

Surface Technology Inc., Michael Feldstein, President, Robbinsville, New Jersey, surfacetechnology.com

Tanury Industries, Michael Akkaouri, CEO, Lincoln, Rhode Island, tanury.com

Techmetals Inc., Phillip Brockman, President, Dayton, Ohio., techmetals.com

Products Finishing Top Shops: The Best of The Best For 2015

“We are very focused here on getting better, and as such are always working on what we need to get better at,” says Matt Lindstedt, technical sales manager at Advanced Plating Technologies in Milwaukee. “It’s great to stop every once in a while and realize that we do a few things right, too.”

Actually, those that were named a Products Finishing Top Shop did a lot of things right, including being profitable in a business environment that doesn’t always lean toward being in the black.

Those earning the Top Shops distinction averaged about $2.7 million in gross sales off each finishing line, compared to the average of $1.5 million for all others.

More importantly, the Products Finishing Top Shops saw an average of 21 percent growth in their business from 2013, while the average of the survey was 8 percent.

The Products Finishing Top Shop Benchmarking Survey is nothing new; years ago, Products Finishing annually surveyed the largest finishing shops in the U.S. to gather general data on the status of the industry.

But this time around, we went looking to determine the best shops in the country. The comprehensive benchmarking survey is broken into four categories:• Current Finishing Technology: We looked at which

shops have the most up-to-date equipment and tech-nology to make them efficient and consistent in their plating operations.

• Finishing Practices and Performances: We examined shops that have substantial “best practices” in areas such as testing, quality control, environmental steward-ship and shop management.

• Business Strategies and Performances: The survey looked at shops that have unique and profitable

operation plans and business strategies that attract and keep customers.

• Training and Human Resources: Plating lines do not run themselves, and we looked at how shops hire and train employees, as well as how those employees are compen-sated and recognized for outstanding contributions.

The Products Finishing Top Shops Benchmarking Survey included more than 40 questions, which often required shops to dig up their records and supply statistics they may not have otherwise maintained on a regular basis.

But the reward is well worth it since the overall data has been compressed into an Executive Summary and three addi-tional reports that will let shops compare apples-to-apples with other shops, including those who made the Top Shops list.

When the statistics and data were compiled in our database, we scored companies on their responses to certain questions in the four critical areas. We relied heavily on ques-tions pertaining to testing and evaluation, as well as overall certifications and approvals.

The result was that we took the top 50 shops that scored best overall and made them the recipients of the Products Finishing Top Shops honors. When we notified the shop owners, most were extremely excited—and rightly so—while others were a little taken aback that their operation made the cut.

“When I got through completing the survey, I actually felt like we suck,” says Gary Rehnberg, who along with Tim Lamb owns East Side Plating in Portland, Oregon. “So I am honestly wondering if you are messing with me.”

Nope, we’re not messing with you, Gary. Welcome to the Products Finishing Top Shops club.

Continued from page 16

TOP SHOPS

Ohio – 8

California – 7

Wisconsin – 5

Michigan – 4

Illinois – 3

Texas – 3

South Carolina – 3

New York – 2

Florida – 2

Virginia – 1

Utah – 1

Rhode Island – 2Pennsylvania – 1

Oregon – 1

New Jersey – 1

Missouri – 1

Maine – 1

Maryland – 1Indiana

– 2

Colorado – 1

Arizona – 1

State-By-State Look at the Top Shops

TOP SHOPS BENCHMARKING SURVEY

Nobert Knows Service Is Key To Success

Roy Metal Finishing Comes Out On Top

Finishing Usage Per Day

Top Shops 20 Hours

Other Shops 15 Hours

Median 14 Hours

Number of Finishing Lines

Top Shops 13

Other Shops 8

Median 6

When BMW announced plans to build its North American manufacturing plant in Greenville, South Carolina, 23 years ago, it was only a matter of time before Greenville-based RMF would evolve into one of the leading providers of corrosion resistant coatings to the automotive industry in the U.S. In 1992, RMF had already established a solid foundation serving the various manufacturing facilities throughout the Southeast but it was the transition to meet the demands of the German auto industry that set the company on its current path.

The third generation company, started more than 50 years ago, today employs 200 associates at three automated facili-ties in the upstate of South Carolina. The company offers a wide range of functional coatings including zinc and zinc

Active Customers

Top Shops 412

Other Shops 350

Median 204

Customer Retention Rate

Top Shops 100%

Other Shops 88%

Median 97%

nickel electroplating, electrocoating and powder coating to the automotive, heavy truck, recreational and indus-trial vehicle markets.

RMF’s more than 50 years of experience in the metal finishing industry earned the company its ranking at the head of the Products Finishing Top Shop benchmarking program. Strong business practices, outstanding inspection protocols and world-class equipment put RMF at the top of the list. RMF’s plants operate 24 hours a day and satisfy customer demand with lead times of less than two days, an on-time delivery rate of over 98 percent and a first-pass quality yield of 99 percent. In an industry where entropy is the norm, RMF relies on stringent and formal documented procedures for control of lab and chemical processes, equip-ment maintenance and water treatment.

RMF President John Pazdan says growth has come through a continued willingness to change.

“Our industry continues to evolve as our customers look for better, more environmentally friendly solutions to corrosion issues. Add to this the fact that the U.S. manufacturers are continuously looking to reduce cost and eliminate non-value-added steps in the supply chain. Our company will be well positioned to assist, and this is the framework of our strategic plan.” Pazdan adds. “It also helps that we operate in a state with an excellent business climate and skilled talent to meet our customer’s needs.”

Roy Metal Finishing Co. Inc.P.O. Box 38Conestee, SC 29636800-610-7822

Roymetalfinishing.com

No. 1: Roy Metal Finishing Is 'Top Of The Class'

Top Shops Have More Than Double the Customers, Yet Keep Them Year to YearWhen it comes to the Products Finishing Top Shops, the group had almost double the median average of customers, but also kept nearly 100% of its clients in a year-over-year comparison.

The survey also showed that the best shops run their lines about 20 hours per day, and have around 13 lines, or more than double the median of the survey.

TOP SHOPS

Nobert Plating Co. knows that each of the employees at the shop in Chicago sees the business from a different and impor-tant vantage point, which is why it is even more important to get feedback from them that eventually yields results in better servicing customers.

For example, the facility uses “Visual Shop” software that has allowed it to track all orders in-house and then have orders in its system before parts arrive so that a night shift can hit the floor running. That means when a rush order comes through the door, the paperwork is waiting for the job, and not the job sitting around waiting for the paperwork.

“Communication initiatives such as putting together a “discovery team” of employees to find ways to improve our business model through business mapping has helped us in attacking the low hanging fruit from that map, or list,” says Diann Sickles, president of the company and granddaughter of the company founder.

The result is evident, and Nobert produced some of the best finishing practices of all the shops listed in the Products Finishing Top Shops Benchmarking Survey.

Order lead time is down to five days, and less than one percent of the work is scrap or rework.

Top Shop: Finishing Practices/Performances

“We have the shifts available to meet our customer demands,” says Rob Sickles, Nobert’s vice president. “Many times we will receive an order at 3 to 5 p.m. and a customer may pick it up at 10 p.m. or the next morning at 5:00 a.m. The shop software is critical to this goal.”

With a customer retention rate of about 90 percent, they are definitely doing something right. Quality Manager Jamie Sickles—Diann’s daughter and Rob’s sister—says everyone at Nobert knows the true path to success.

“Service, service and service,” she says. “Price and quality need to be there, but our key to retention has been the ability to service customers in most any situation to meet their demands.”

Jamie Sickles says the company will service a customer demand made on a Saturday morning, but not gouge them, and then hope it is paid forward. Recently, a customer had a part to be finished for a nuclear plant that was partially down waiting for a refurbished part. This customer e-mailed Nobert the situation on a Saturday morning about 8 a.m., and the plant manager responded and was able to have personnel available to finish the part upon arrival at 8 p.m. that night.

“It shipped at 11 p.m. that same day,” Rob Sickles says. “Dedication to meeting customer demand is what we do.”

The shop has about 100 customers, but only 15 percent represent the major bulk of their work. Diann Sickles says that staff communication regarding their customer needs is extremely important when they are dealing with many different customers.

“Our staff is in constant customer communication via e-mail and cell phone,” she says. “Therefore, our customers can make contact at any time and get answers regarding lead times and anything else right away.”

Nobert Plating Co.340 North Ashland Ave.

Chicago, IL 60607800-EST-1903

nobertplating.com

Employee Development/ Top Shops OthersAnnual review and raise program 84.0% 66.7%

Apprenticeship program 32.0% 29.6%

Bonus plan 76.0% 51.9%

Education reimbursement 64.0% 44.4%

Employee ownership options 8.0% 7.4%

Formal employee training program 84.0% 59.3%

Formal safety/health program 84.0% 81.5%

Leader/supervisor development 48.0% 51.9%

Paid medical benefits 68.0% 59.3%

Profit- or revenue-sharing plan 48.0% 25.9%

Teaming/team-building practices 44.0% 40.7%

0

50

100

150

Top Shops

Empl

oyee

s

Other Shops

Median

66

114

152

HR Profile Shows Efforts to Keep EmployeesPlating shops are moving to more HR-friendly incentives to keep and maintain employees

TOP SHOPS BENCHMARKING SURVEY

Top Shop: Finishing Technologies

Reinfro in Brownsville, Texas, was started as part of a larger industrial group more than 25 years ago, primarily to serve its corporate counterparts in the automotive manufacturing industry.

Now an independent operation, Reinfro has established itself as one of the top metal finishing operations, with two plants in Sendero, Mexico and another in Ciudad Industrial, also in Mexico.

In fact, Reinfro was recently ranked on the list of Inc. Magazine’s fastest growing companies among 5,000 listed.

The company provides acid zinc rack and barrel (clear, blue, yellow and black), alkaline zinc rack (clear, blue, yellow and black), zinc iron rack and barrel (clear and black), zinc nickel rack and barrel (iridescent, silver and black), tin (bright and matte) rack and barrel, nickel (Watts, sulfamate and elec-troless) rack and barrel, copper rack and barrel and copper nickel rack and barrel, in addition to electrocoating, zinc flake coatings (dip/spin, dip/drain, spray) and liquid paint.

Much of that success is attributable to the purchase and success of new equipment and technology and its plants, says Raul Gonzalez, Reinfro’s Vice President.

“This new equipment helps us be more efficient by having better repeatability in our process,” Gonzalez says. “Before automating our processes. We invested heavily in our process control systems and in software that can help us to manage the large number of data generated by our lab.”

In just the last three years, Reinfro has purchased and installed:• Automatic 2 hoist Barrel Heavy Zinc and Ca/Mod Zinc

Phosphate plating line • Automatic 2 hoist Barrel Alkaline Zinc/Nickel plating line• Automatic 4 hoist Rack Alkaline Zinc - Alkaline Zinc/

Nickel plating line• Automatic 3 hoist Rack Acid Zinc Plating Line• 3 spray coating liquid paint booths• Dip/Spin coating line with belt oven• New rectifiers• New ovens• Pilot Plating line for laboratory• 2 XRF measurement devices• 1 carbonate removal system

• 1 Atomic Absorption Spectrometer• New 250 GPM Waste WaterTreatment Plant• Software package for chemical process control.• New ERP/MRP software package (ongoing

implementation)“We transitioned from adding chemicals by agenda—or

because it worked—to adding by an analytical method,” Gonzalez says. “This decreased the variation as well as allowed us to increase the frequency of our tests. Once we got to this point we started investing heavily in process automa-tion and the result has been amazing.”

Reinfro’s internal reject rate is down, their productivity is up and their costs are down.

“These three factors help us to be very competitive in the market and back it up with great quality and excellent turn-around times,” he says.

Reinfro maintains a preventive maintenance plan at each plant, as well as having an in-house equipment design team that is constantly updating existing equipment. Gonzalez says that company management is always looking to get better, whether it is a new automation system or adapting new technologies available in the marketplace to assure that they are always using and implementing the newest technology available.

Reinfro has just 24 customers that it coats for, but yet it coats over 150 million parts each year, or roughly 30,000 parts per hour.

The main challenge to running such a high volume finish-ing operation, Gonzalez says, is first and foremost that the production process and equipment design is done correctly.

“If the engineering is right, then having a great preven-tive maintenance program coupled with a very good process control system is key,” he says.

Reinfro firmly believes that its main strength is its employees, and the company has set up an internal surface finishing academy where all Reinfro employees take a manda-tory in-house course on the basics of finishing technologies. “Coupled with having the right equipment to do the neces-sary tests, it helps us stay up to date in the way we control our process or react to any condition we detect in the process,” Gonzales says.

Reinfro3320 East 14th St.

Brownsville, TX 78521956-267-9700

Coatplate.com

Top Shop: Finishing Technologies

TOP SHOPS

Top Shops: Business Strategies

Microfinish11048 Gravois Industrial Ct.Sunset Hills, MO 63128

314-849-8181Microfinishco.com

Top Shop: Business Strategies

If you are a customer of Microfinish in St. Louis, chances are you have just about all of the finisher’s department head’s direct lines on speed dial.

Bill Stock, president of Microfinish, says that when new customers come on board, they are immediately introduced to the key people who will be taking care of their parts.

“After the initial relationship and the requirements are established, the customers are turned over to the operation and production managers, as well as shipping supervisors at each of our four locations,” Stock says. “Each of our customers has easy access to key personnel, and deals firsthand with the people who can best address their particular needs in a timely manner.”

That’s one of the reasons that Microfinish was named one of our Top Shops, especially in the area of customer services and business strategies.

The company provides coatings to five different automotive companies, as well as leaders in the heavy equipment, elec-trical, lawn care, appliance, and communication industries.

“Our managers are accessible to our customers, through their cell phones, e-mails and texts,” Stock says. “The customer doesn’t have to go through all kinds of hoops to reach an individual to know the status of their parts, discuss any special packaging or learn when their parts will be ready for pick up. They talk to the person who will make whatever they need, happen.”

Microfinish department heads and employees get to know

their customers by first name, and to understand the chal-lenge of each person’s business.

“I try to remind them, that when a customer has an unrea-sonable request, think of it as John or Jane just trying to do their job,” he says. “It’s not Acme Mfg., which is pushy, demanding and overbearing. Remembering that it’s a person that needs your help, that’s what keeps it personal.”

Stock and his management team survey their customers once a year. Before they are compiled into an ‘official’ report, the surveys are passed to every manager to review.

“Our people get to see the smudged, personal handwriting, comments and signatures of each response” he says. “This keeps it from being a sterilized report, and much more personal. When a concern is listed, it is handed off to the appropriate individual to address. A follow up contact is then made to be sure the issue has been fully resolved.”

That’s one of the reasons Stock often hears his customer bragging on the “Microfinish Experience.”

“I hear about the way our entire staff works hard to be accommodating, and to produce high quality finishes, on-time,” he says. “We also continue to expand the finishes we offer, to make ‘new customers’ from our existing customer base with the new processes.”

Established in 1959, Microfinish continues to grow through expansion and acquisition. Their services include zinc, nickel/chrome plating, electroless nickel plating, electrocoating and powder coating.

Reinfro3320 East 14th St.

Brownsville, TX 78521956-267-9700

Coatplate.com

Quote-To-Book RatioTop Shops 81%

Other Shops 50%

Median 40%

Customers > 80% of SalesTop Shops 30%

Other Shops 23%

Median 15%

Top Shops See Higher Quote-To-Book RatioWhen it comes to nailing down an order than has been quoted to a customer, the Top Shops closure average was more than

Gross Sales/No. of LinesTop Shops $2,706,443

Other Shops $1,514,938

Median $841,072

Gross Sales/No. of EmployeesTop Shops $134,000

Other Shops $77,973

Median $92,857

double the median average. Top Shops received 81 percent of the orders they quoted, compared to 40 percent median response.

TOP SHOPS BENCHMARKING SURVEY

Top Shop: Human Resources

KC Jones Plating Co.2845 East Ten Mile RoadWarren, MI 48091

586-755-4900kcjplating.com

The most significant reason for the success that KC Jones Plating Co. in Hazel Park, Michigan, has enjoyed over the past 60 years doesn’t have as much to do with the baths and tanks at their sprawling plant as it does with the people who maintain those fixtures.

Leadership is key at KC Jones Plating Co., and its management team works hard to develop good leaders and keep them.

“This is the key to our success in employee retention and advancement,” says Robert Burger, company owner and CEO. “All levels in management are engaged in developing the work force and allowing growth and development.”

KC Jones uses various programs and educational resources from the NASF Education and Training program and university leadership programs, some of which span several months and others as simple as one-hour in-house sessions with small groups.

“Many of our supervisors and administration have attended Lean Manufacturing and Lean Office Champion Training,” says Brian Harrick, company vice president. “We continuously seek new and effective means to assist our supervisors and line leaders to successfully develop our employees. They are also fully engaged on the employee review process to indicate areas for improve-ment or areas where employees excel and should further develop their talents.”

The shop has a well-developed apprenticeship program that it uses to hire and maintain its quality staff. In addition, KC Jones has sent employees to both Harvard and Notre Dame for management training, and the company is sending a third employee to Notre Dame’s Certificate in Executive Education course this spring.

“We hire new team members that have a willingness to learn and promote from within, and we start each employee running our processes and cross train them to learn all processes in the plant,” says Mark Burger,

KC Jones Plating’s business development and marketing manager.

The program consists of chemical handling training, process training with a mentor (supervisor or leader), advanced plating education (classroom, webinars, etc.).

“Each employee selected for training or advancement is based upon their interests, skills or performance reviews,” Mark Burger says. “We have a team that is eager to learn and willing to accept new challenges.”

Jeff Stone, vice president of operations, says that KC Jones often coaches its employees with daily plant floor interaction, monthly plant status meetings, smaller group meetings to address issues and improvements, and annual reviews and goals for employees.

“Effectively communicating goals and objectives allows team members to achieve positive results,” he says. “We also coach the team on finishing techniques, problem solving, and time management, which helps remove barriers that may affect their progress.”

KC Jones also has Kaizen events in the plant, 5S projects, lunch meetings and weekend or off-shift enrichment programs to communicate with employees. Every 8-10 years, they also do a complex employee satisfaction survey and interviews through an outside consulting group.

“This assures us that we are on track with making sure that our employees feel they are getting the proper training, leadership, and benefits,” Robert Burger says. “The results guide us in which areas we need to make improvements or changes.

Stone says his management team encourages comments, suggestions and ideas from all levels of the organization.

“We report suggestions to all employees through our newsletter and respond to their ideas,” he says. “We want employees from upper management to basic level entry positions to know they have a voice and their input is important.”

Reprinted from the APRIL 2015, PRODUCTS FINISHING Magazine and Copyright © 2015 by Gardner Business Media, Inc., 6915 Valley Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45244-3029.

TOP SHOPS

How to Become a Top ShopThe Products Finishing Top Shop

Benchmarking Survey will be offered every year starting in October/November.

We will make the survey available online for electroplaters to fill out and then we’ll

report on the survey’s results once they are tabulated.

So in the meantime, how can your shop prepare to earn

the distinction of Top Shop status?

One first step would be to compare your shop’s performance with the best in the business using this

year’s Top Shop Executive Summary, and then formu-

late a plan for improvement in areas such as finishing tech-

nology, performance and prac-tices, business strategy and human

resources.The best place to get additional help and training

is through trade organizations such as the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF) and the Aluminum

Anodizers Council (AAC). The NASF (nasf.org) and the AAC (anodizing.org) can help captive and job shops that want to increase efficiency, improve their bottom line and work their way to becoming a Top Shop.

Both organizations offer a variety of training and educa-tional programs designed to help personnel improve their shop’s performance. Working with the AESF Foundation, the NASF holds in-person and online electroplating courses to help shops train their staffs in the latest and most effective processes.

The NASF also provides technical training and educational opportunities at the annual Sur/Fin conference each June. The AAC holds an annual technical and training conference as well.

And by joining a local NASF chapter, your shop will be able to attend monthly training and information gathering sessions designed to help your shop run smoother and more productively.

Look for the Products Finishing Top Shop Benchmarking Survey in the fall and plan to spend at least 30 minutes filling it out. Having completed it, you will receive a series of benchmarking reports that will enable you to see how your shop compares to the rest of the industry.

Get started on streamlining now, and you may end up among next year’s Top Shops in the industry.