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No Slowdown Worries For A Small Edinburgh Company With A Plan
When some companies hear about the possibility of an economic slowdown they begin to cut back and take a wait and see approach to see what may happen. The only plan of
action for some is to take no action until things improve.
This is not the case at a company in Edinburgh, Indiana. The plan at M A Metal Company Inc. is to focus on the business that is still there and to get a better than
average share. Owner, Fred Stadler has taken steps to ensure that work continues to come into his metal forming and machining operations and thus reduce the risk of
layoffs, and cutbacks on his plans to grow the business. Fred's management philosophies are a bit different from most. Stadler can be found out on the floor working
one-on-one with an employee to solve a problem one hour and the next hour may find him going over production schedules with management staff. To keep pace with daily
changes requires a great deal of person-to-person communications and lots of plan changing. Being flexible is part of the business plan and marketing strategy.
Anyone that knows Fred Stadler knows that he is a man driven by making things happen. To accomplish this Stadler leads by example and is willing to roll-up his sleeves
and become part of the solution, not part of the problem. His style of management is a balance between old and new. Fred is not the type to jump headfirst into something
before he knows all the facts and details. If there are opportunities to make something happen, Fred dives in and comes up with ideas and a plan for action. This was the
case when he made the decision to buy Midwest Art Metal in Edinburgh in 1992. The company had been in business since 1946 and by all accounts it was a successful small
metal stamping company. The first major change was to reduce confusion as to what the company did. The word "Art" led some people to think that the company supplied
metal for art projects. The company had other problems too, but first the name had to be changed before a new marketing strategy could be developed. Soon after taking
ownership and control the name was changed to M A Metal Company. The name change necessitated the need for new marketing and promotional materials. Until this time the
company was localized in its marketing efforts. The new concepts were designed and developed to reach a more expanded range of targeted customers. Having more customers
meant M A Metal had to invest in more equipment and more modern stamping technology to keep pace with growing demands. It also meant that to serve a wider-range of
customers the company would have to receive ISO 9000 and ISO 9002 and QS 9000 certification. These certifications have now been awarded. With Plan "A" now in action it
was time for the next plan.
Driven by his desires to keep production cost as low as possible while increasing quality and still make a profit, Fred put Plan "B"into action. He would create a group
of metalworking and forming specialist companies that could interact when needed to ensure that the customer received the best quality on time and within budget.
Expanding the in-house production capabilities and offering on site CAD capabilities was the next smart move he would have to make. Turning a small-localized metal
stamping business into a thriving modern enterprise that would have the ability to meet the demands and challenges of small and large businesses throughout the Midwest
would require guts, vision, and lots of planning. The results? M A Metal Design, M A Metal Fabricators, and CL Tech (CLT) now share the Edinburgh
facility that houses M A Metal Company. Midwest Tube Mills located in Madison, Indiana also became part of the M A Metal Technologies group of metal specialist
companies. All these companies are stand-alone enterprises that are linked together when needed to help customers develop effective solutions to their metal parts
production and assembly requirements.
Internal and external partnerships have given M A Metal Technologies allied companies the competitive edge in all targeted markets. Quality conscious customers with an
appreciation for value now have a single-site provider to call. If the need is for contract metal stamping they call the core company, M A Metal Company, Incorporated.
For the services of an advanced high-tech tool and die shop with manufacturing capabilities they can contact CL Tech. CLT has earned the reputation for
quick turn around times for metal stamping dies, prototype parts, special tooling, CNC machining, jigs, fixtures, gages, weldments and small lot production runs. If the
need is to outsource part or all of the fabrication, M A Metal Fabricators is on site to fabricate metal stamping elements into finished components. When the need is for
light weld steel tubing ranging from 3/8 to 2 inch diameter the customer makes the call to Midwest Tube Mills in Madison or to M A Metal Company in Edinburgh. If the
need is for design support or CAD services at any stage of the design or engineering process or for production-flow concepts of metal parts and components to fit budget
and delivery needs, M A Metal Design is on call.
Since 1992, Fred Stadler, his management team and employees have been successful in building a one-stop metalworking and machining business that is the envy of most
other similar operations in Indiana and the Midwest. By having the foresight to plan and redirect resources to meet customer expectations, Fred and his team have raised
the bar on customer satisfaction and expectations in the precision metals business. To prove this point, Lt. Governor Joseph E. Kernan awarded Mr. Stadler's organization
a " 2000 State of Indiana Quality Improvement Award" in a special ceremony last Fall. The award was in recognition of outstanding leadership and achievement in all
efforts to improve production and quality of finished products and customer service.
In an economic slowdown companies look for two things in order to survive. The first is, can we cut cost? The second thing is, how do we cut cost without cutting
quality? By plan and design, M A Metal Technologies and its associated companies now offer more value for dollar invested than any other competitors in the Midwest. The
fact that more requests for quotes are coming in daily means that the plans are working for Mr. Stadler and his metal specialist companies. The only worries that the
Edinburgh based M A Metal Company has today is when to we have time to take a lunch break?
The competition has more to worry about; now that their customers are finding out about the full-service capabilities of this single-source supplier in the metal
forming industry. The vision of Fred Stadler and his team is to grow the current business base and to seek out other opportunities to be of service to customers in need
of high precision contract metal stamping, tooling, dies, special machines, prototype parts, jigs, tubing and CAD support.
Internal and external partnerships have given M A Metal Company and its M A Metal Technologies group of allied companies the competitive edge in today's markets.
Partnering with other companies internally and externally is the most cost- effective way to operate a business. Fred Stadler knows this and has built a successful
group of businesses that prove it. Offering full-service capabilities and on-time delivery from a single-source is one way to cut cost while maintaining quality. The
systems now in place at M A Metal Company and the M A Metal Technologies group of companies gives employees and customers reasons not to worry during times of economic
slowdowns. The manufactures that depend on outside suppliers to provide metal components or tool and die shop services with added value have come to rely on one single
resource. The new standards have been set by a small company in Edinburgh, Indiana for all to follow. According to Mr. Stadler, a well-focused plan of action that goes
beyond customer expectations and is backed by dedicated trained employees using the latest technologies, anything is possible.
What began as a vision to own a small contract metal stamping company in 1992 has evolved into one of the most successful cost effective operations in the precision
metal forming industry. Currently the allied companies that form M A Metal Technologies ships finished work to customers that produce engine components, home and office
products, lawn and garden equipment, automotive parts, electrical devices and more. While most work comes from the Midwest, some work is shipped to customers in Canada
and Mexico. As more companies seek to expand globally so will the companies of A M Metal Technologies. According to Fred Stadler, plans are already in the making to keep
pace with the growing global economy. This attitude is what sets winners apart from those that just sit around and wait until things get better.
If you would like additional information on the capabilities of M A Metal Company or any of the allied companies in the M A Technologies group of companies, please call
toll free: 1-888-507-8324 or go to: http://www.mametal.com on the web.
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