The good news was that Meter Devices Co. Inc. had quadrupled its business in the last decade, due in part to the utility industry deregulation.
The down side was that, because the company’s manufacturing operations, offices and employees were scattered between two Canton locations, chaos was inevitable unless the company centralized.
“Our Prospect Street location manufactured one series of product, and the Third Street operation manufactured another,” says John Shincovich, group vice president. “And our engineering, operations, purchasing, accounting, marketing and other departments were separated.”
That arrangement necessitated a lot of schlepping between locations, and too much reliance on electronic communications, says Shincovich. Not an efficient arrangement when you’re the world’s premier supplier and market share leader of products for meter, relay and test switches, selling to utility companies around the world.
Along with parent company E.J. Brooks Co. in Livingston, N.J., Meter Devices serves customers in more than 60 countries.
“Because our business had expanded so much and continues to grow, we needed to take the big step to move our operations and 70 employees,” says Shincovich.
Out with the old, in with the new. The first month of 2000 saw the 82-year-old company move to its new home on Bruening Avenue S.W. in Canton. The facility — at a cost of $3.2 million — is set on 10 acres and boasts 57,980 square feet of manufacturing space, a 7,400-square-foot office area and 9,620 square feet for leased offices.
The total square footage represents a 50 percent jump in size from the former headquarters.
Such a consolidation required coordination of countless details, says Shincovich. That took months of preparation — not just in terms of the company’s needs, but in consideration of its more than 3,000 customers.
“To minimize inconvenience to the customer, the game plan was to start operations at the new facility in parallel with existing operations,” Shincovich explains. “As those simultaneous operations continued and we completed all orders required to be shipped, we eventually pulled the plug at the old facility, department by department, in an organized way to prevent product shipment delays and minimize chaos.”
Shincovich says the parallel operations plan also prevented downtime.
“It was the easiest way to keep the customers happy,” he says.
The new facility will take the company from a small business to a medium-sized manufacturing firm, says Shincovich. This year, Meter Devices will begin the ISO 9001 process to become certified as a world class quality producer, and will add about $1.5 million in new automated equipment to produce higher quality product and reduce manufacturing costs.
The company is also adding new product lines, which will lead to an expansion of its work force.
“And the new facility will enable our employees to better communicate and develop relationships with each other,” he says, noting that this month, the company is bringing in communication and relationship-building experts to facilitate that goal.
“As a result, we’ll be a stronger, team-oriented operation.”
How to reach: Meter Devices Co., (330) 455-0301