the advanta ge€¦ · dle fabricating, machining, assem - bling and testing services for nuclear...

The

Advantage

Major Tool & Machine

80 manufacturing-today.com SUMMER 2012

major tool & machine hasprovided manufacturingservices since 1946.


Major Tool & Machine’s cus-tomers look to the company to fill avariety of needs. “What we thinkwe’re known for is our ability to take alarge, complex design and manufac-ture it to exacting standards,” saysRick Wiegand, president of theIndianapolis-based company. “Welike to take other people’s dreams andmake them a reality.”The company is capable of produc-

ing a wide range of custom compo-nents from rocket engine compo-nents to heavy equipment and off-road truck parts, radar structures andcanisters used to store nuclear mate-rial. “We cover a very broad and widerange, but what all of the componentsand assemblies we produce have incommon is that they require manu-facturing, engineering, program man-agement, machining, welding, assem-bly and testing – which are our corecompetencies,” he adds.Major Tool & Machine’s capabili-

ties have greatly expanded since itsfounding in 1946 as a custom job shopproducing tooling and aircraft sup-port equipment. “We’ve grown through identifying

new opportunities and bringing in theright people,” Wiegand says. “Whenthe company started it was a 10- to20-man shop in a 10,000-square-footfacility – it’s a different businesstoday by far.”

Vital ComponentsMajor Tool & Machine serves OEMsand others in the energy, aerospaceand defense, nuclear and national lab-

oratory and industrial markets. “Weconsider ourselves more of a servicecompany than a product company,”Wiegand says. “We’re an agile, fast andresponsive company that offers cus-tomers a component and/or assemblythat is vital to their product.” Clients include Caterpillar, Boeing,

Oak Ridge National Laboratory,Alstom, ATK, Lockheed Martin andRaytheon. “Our vision is to be ourcustomers’ premier supplier,”Chairman Steve Weyreter says. “Wewant customers to come to us firstwhen they have needs that we can sat-isfy by providing world-class engi-neering, machining and fabricationservices.”Major Tool is also able to help cus-

tomers design products for manufac-turability. “We add value to customersearly in the manufacturing process,”Vice Chairman Jim Flanagan notes.“Our engineers can help influence thedesign of custom parts so they’re pro-ducible at the lowest cost and with theshortest lead-time.”The company’s energy sector expe-

rience includes fabricating andmachining “super alloy” compo-nents, hot gas path casings, combus-tor liners, transitions, exhaustframes, end covers, nozzlesand diaphragms. For the aerospace and defense

markets, Major Tool & Machineoffers state-of-the-art machin-ing and welding as wellas project manage-ment, testing andprocess engineeringcapabilities. A number of

American Society ofMechanical Engineers cer-tificates and the ability tomeet other rigorous qualityspecifications give Major Tool& Machine qualifications to han-dle fabricating, machining, assem-bling and testing services for nuclearhardware.

Industrial applications for thecompany’s products include compo-nents for mining equipment, earthmovers and gas well fracturingmachines as well as amusement parkride components, such as for Disney’sTower of Terror, and large bearingand gear housings, the company says.“We believe we can compete with

anyone in the world in our marketniches,” Wiegand says. “We are ahigh-end manufacturer – we’re not inthe business of competing with peo-ple who make widgets, but when itcomes to large, complex componentswe can compete with anyone.”The company’s diversification across

multiple industries gives it the ability tomaintain its bottom line despite thedecline in a few of its sectors. “One of our financial strategies is

to always have an extremely strongbalance sheet and be lightly lever-aged,” he adds. “When one of ourmarkets is down, we pursue equip-ment and investments in that area.We’re in very good financial shapeand are able to make investmentsduring times when we can get the bestvalue from manufacturers.”

lean manufacturingphilosophies and anexperienced team helpmajor tool & machinegrow its capabilities asa manufacturer servingseveral major markets.by jim harris

www.majortool.com / Revenues: $100 million / HQ: Indianapolis / Employees: 310 / Specialty:Contract manufacturing / Rick Wiegand, president: “We’re an agile, fast and responsive company.”

SUMMER 2012 manufacturing-today.com 81


Varied CapabilitiesMajor Tool & Machine’s five divi-sions operate from a 20-acre campusin Indianapolis boasting more than450,000 total square feet of environ-mentally controlled manufacturingspace in four plants. This organiza-tional structure allows the companyto provide diversified offeringswhile maintaining operational unity,the company says.The company’s five divisions are:> Custom Manufacturing – MajorTool & Machine’s oldest divisiontraces its origins to 1946 when itwas founded as a job shop special-izing in tooling and aircraftground support equipment. Thedivision specializes in producinglow-volume, complex parts tocustomer specifications. Piecesproduced by the division can beup to 90 feet long, 21 feet wideand 18 feet in height.

> Production Manufacturing – Thisarm offers medium-volumemachining and welding servicescapable of producing betweenfive and 1,000 pieces a month ofvarious sizes, up to a 5-foot cube.The division also includes twoflexible manufacturing cells.

> Dedicated Production provideshigh-volume turnkey manufactur-ing services based on customerrequirements. Major Tool &Machine operates purpose-builtlines producing heavy equipmentfor Caterpillar machines as well asfor gas turbine transition pieces andsmall nuclear waste containers.

> Material Conversion –This divisionconverts raw material from suppli-ers into semi-finished to finishedconsumer products. Its processesinclude brake press forming, lasercutting, plate and bar rolling, pressforming, oxy-fuel cutting and sawing.

> Nuclear – Major Tool & Machineserves the energy, commercialnuclear and naval sectors. The divi-sion is integrated with the compa-ny’s custom manufacturing divi-sion, but also has a dedicated build-ing on its campus for producingcasings for uranium enrichment aswell as other functions.

Manufacturing equipment andfacility investment is a high priorityfor the company across all its divi-sions. “We’ve recently invested heavi-ly in new control technology for ourmachines,” Weyreter says, noting thecompany is implementing Siemens840 controls as its standard. “Thiscontrol is the most sophisticated,flexible and complete relative to five-axis machining and this standardiza-tion across our machines allows ourprogrammers the ability to under-stand just one control and provides


the company’s five divisionsoperate from a 20-acre campus in indianapolis.

Driving PrinciplesMajor Tool & Machine’s vision is “to be ourcustomer’s premier supplier,” and its missionis “to provide world-class engineering, fabri-cation, machining, and assembly services,”Chairman Steve Weyreter says.

“For us to provide extraordinary manu-facturing services to our customers,” thecompany states. “We must demonstrate:> “Realistic and time-bound commitmentsand capabilities;

> “A willingness to understand our cus-tomers’ requirements and expectationsand a drive to meet them at all times;

> “A sense of urgency toward fulfillingcustomers’ needs;

> “A commitment to quality and continu-ous process improvement throughoutthe organization; and

> “Our ability to attract, develop, and retainemployees who have a passion for learning,personal growth, and dedication.”

Major Tool & Machine’s values are:> Mutual respectand trust

> Hard work> Dedication> Integrity

> Dependability> Responsiveness> Quality> Safety


a common interface for ourmachinists, offering flexibility formachinists and programmers movingfrom one machine to the next.”Major Tool & Machine also recently

added a new Mazak INTEGREXE670II machine to its dedicated pro-duction line for Caterpillar compo-nents. The machine provides the abil-ity for turning, boring and five-axismilling in a single set-up, allowing forincreased productivity and efficiency.The Mazak machine also is

equipped with a 120-tool magazinerack for storage as well as a heavy-duty, programmable tailstock. This year represents the fifth year

of a five-year machine and facilityupgrade program on Major Tool &Machine’s campus. “Our goal is thatwe’ll have every machine re-built,our facility like new and add newmachines, as needed, by the end of2012,” Wiegand says.Major Tool & Machine prides itself

on its varied manufacturing capabili-ties as well as its longstanding suppli-er relationships. The company's phi-

losophy is that its suppliers are anextension of Major Tool itself, andthere is no difference between a sup-plier and an internal work center. Thecompany shares customer forecastinformation with vendors and regu-larly collaborates with them on prod-uct improvements, he adds.

Cutting-edge SystemsMajor Tool & Machine integrates theCATIA V5, TDM Systems and VERI-CUT software programs into its man-ufacturing planning and supportprocesses. “We maintain cutting-edge software in order to provideworld-class support services to ourmanufacturing facilities,” it says. CATIA V5 is used to manage digital

mock-ups and simulations. TDM V4software, used in tooling and tool cribmanagement, allows users to accesstooling information from a singledatabase. This information is thenpulled into CATIA, which increasesefficiency by eliminating the need toenter redundant data. The VERICUT software simulates

CNC machining to detect errors, pos-sible collisions and other inefficien-cies. All of Major Tool & Machine’smachine tools are modeled and simu-lated within the software. The company’s business manage-

ment software functions are integrat-ed within an ERP system the companyhas used and customized since 1996.Employees can access informationsuch as drawings, inspection docu-ments, welding procedures and otherdocumentation electronically. The company has the ability to

write its own software source coding.“We have customized the ERP sys-tem to meet our needs and fit thebusiness that we’re in. No off-the-shelf software package would be ableto handle the variety of what we dodaily,” Wiegand says.

Operational ExcellenceMajor Tool & Machine strives forcontinuous improvement and qualitycontrol throughout its operations.Led by their director of quality andcontinual improvement, MTM’s


major tool & machineemphasizes the use of high-tech equipment in its plants.

Marks of QualityMajor Tool & Machine’s presence in sever-al markets has led the company to pursuea number of industry certifications. “Weoffer extremely high-quality products – inthe industries we work in, quality and safe-ty are taken very seriously and are thefoundation of our success,” President RickWiegand says.

Quality certifications include:> ISO 9001> AS9100> Nadcap for nondestructive testing> Nadcap for welding> U-Stamp and U2-Stamp certifications> R-Stamp > NB-Stamp Certification N, N3, NSand NPT

> NB-Stamp Certification U and U2> NPT Stamp> N Stamp> N3 Stamp> NS Stamp

team is always looking at ways tomake our processes better, lessexpensive and faster.Quality and continuous improve-

ment are emphasized throughout thecompany through its application oflean manufacturing principles.“We’ve been openly engaged in con-tinuous improvement and opera-tional excellence initiatives for thelast six years,” Wiegand says.These initiatives include kaizen

events, Six Sigma projects and rapidimprovement projects. “Doing littlethings better every day is the corner-stone philosophy of Major Tool’s leanand Six Sigma efforts,” the companysays. “These little things focus onmaking incremental improvementsto minimize non-value-added effortsby eliminating various types of wastewithin the organization.”Manufacturing floor improve-

ments include the establishment ofdedicated production cells for similartypes of parts and other organization-al methods.Continuous improvment projects

are broken down into a number of stepsthat follow the company’s Six Sigmaand lean methodology of “define, meas-ure, analyze, improve and control” withthe emphasis on reducing variation andwaste. Projects are led by one of thecompany’s five Six Sigma Black Belts; 24employees also have earned their GreenBelts, and all employees are trained toYellow Belt status, the company notes. The company has a goal of increas-

ing plant throughput, which helps itrespond to customers on a timelybasis, improves profitability andearns it the recognition of its cus-tomers and peers as a preferred sup-plier, he adds.Throughput is maintained and


the company’s campus features more than 450,000square feet of space.


Forging StrongEmployeesMajor Tool is aggressive in its manufactur-ing employee training procedures, with agoal of every employee receiving an aver-age of 40 hours a year of training.

Training includes yearly refreshercourses in Six Sigma and lean methodolo-gies as well as safety policies and qualityassurance training.

One notable training program is the com-pany’s welding school, taught by a full-timeinstructor. Major Tool’s manufacturing facil-ity includes a 2,900-square-foot weldingdevelopment area with eight weldingbooths, a welding positioner, plasma cuttingunits, manual oxy-fuel cutting equipmentand a mechanized oxy-fuel cutting table.

After graduation from the weldingschool, the students are paired with expe-rienced welders and shadow/intern beforethey earn certifications and are allowed toweld independently, Vice Chairman JimFlanagan notes.

SUMMER 2012 manufacturing-today.com 87


eling software and techniques andreducing the amount of raw material weuse is more efficient and sustainablethan just cutting a piece of material andrecycling the waste.”Major Tool & Machine also practices

inventory control by maintaining stock

to be able to respond quickly to cus-tomer needs while regularly analyzingits needs to prevent waste. “Just-in-timeinventory management doesn’t neces-sarily work in a service-oriented, high-variety manufacturing operation; weprefer to call it right-time inventory

improved through a set of operational met-rics established by the company at thebeginning of each year. Manufacturing per-sonnel have daily, weekly and monthly goalsto reach. In the last few years, Major Tool &

Machine has expanded its lean manufactur-ing philosophies to include sustainabilitypractices. The company uses electronicmodeling and informational transmittal inplace of paper in many parts of its opera-tion, recycles reusable products and isreducing its energy consumption throughthe use of efficient lighting. It has also justcompleted a centralized recycling and sus-tainability center that consolidates andoptimizes handling of all materials andmachining fluids. “For us, sustainability and lean manufac-

turing go hand in hand,” Wiegand says.“Why would we use more metal than weneed? Determining the amount of materialwe need up front through nesting and mod-


management to balance customerservice and inventory costs,” thecompany says.The company is experienced in

many nondestructive testing tech-niques including the use of radiogra-phy, magnetic particle, liquid pene-trant, visual, ultrasonic and heliumleak testing.Major Tool & Machine also uses

advanced measurement equipmentsuch as four fixed-base coordinatemeasuring machines (CMMs), twoportable laser tracking CMMs andtwo 12-foot broken arm CMMs. Thefixed-based machines offer a largemeasuring volume, while the lasertracking CMM give inspectors theability to accurately measure large,tightly toleranced products anywherein the company’s facilities. All CMM machines feature model-

based inspection software that allowstechnicians to verify results using CAD

software. Inspection results, nonde-structive testing certifications andsupplier documentation are integrat-ed into the company’s ERP system.

‘Empowered and Engaged’The common thread in all of MajorTool & Machine’s operations and suc-cesses is a staff of experienced andhighly qualified engineers and manu-facturing personnel.“We have an empowered and

engaged culture here – we want peopleto make important decisions, beengaged with their jobs and do the bestjobs they can every day,” Wiegand says.Major Tool & Machine uses a team-

based structure, which the companyexplains gives it a distinctive organi-zational advantage. Teams followcommon processes and use integrat-ed team concepts. “We measure the performance of

our teams through feedback channels

that allow for continual improvement– this element is essential to theteam’s ability to meet and exceedtheir objectives,” the company says.“Through the team process, with afocus on our vision of being our cus-tomer’s premier supplier, we can pro-vide the highest level of customer sat-isfaction possible.”


the company says it strivesto empower its employees tomake decisions.

Quality RecognizedMajor Tool & Machine's peers and cus-tomers have noted its commitment toservice, quality and innovation through-out its history.

Notable awards include:> A five-star supplier award fromRaytheon Integrated Defense Systems in2009 recognized Major Tool & Machineas a 100 percent on-time delivery andquality supplier. It was the only companyof its kind to receive the award.Raytheon, located in Andover, Mass.,also awarded the company supplierawards in 2007 and 2008.

> The National Tooling and MachiningAssociation's 6S Excellence Award, rec-ognized the company as a shop that“employs higher standards of organiza-tion, cleanliness and atmosphere.”

> The National Nuclear SecurityAdministration recognized it for its workon sensitive nuclear container projects.

> Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne recognizedthe company’s work supporting thedevelopment of the J-2X rocket enginefor the NASA Constellation Program.

“our structureallows people tomake decisions at the lowest possiblelevels, with the idea that the people closest to the action will makethe best decisions.” -Rick Wiegand


The company’s teams include:>Customer-focused teams such asprogram management, processengineering, regional and mar-ket-based sales;

>Manufacturing teams includingCNC programming, productioncontrol, tooling and operations; and

> Support teams such as quality,accounting, maintenance, humanresources and information systems.

Cross-functional support teamsare also in place for performanceimprovements, Six Sigma projectsand other short-term initiatives.“Whether an employee is part of ashort-term or permanent functionalteam, the goal is to achieve successthrough performance and utilize the

classical components of teamwork tomeet each objective in a timely andefficient manner,” the company says.The company’s manufacturing, cus-

tomer-focused and support teams meetmonthly to develop and share continu-ous improvement projects. As part of thecompany’s on-going reward system forimprovements made, each team pres-ents to managers and customers at leastannually and is judged against its peers.Teams are required to demonstrate spe-cific, measurable, attainable, realistic andtime-bound (SMART) goals during thecourse of each project.

A Positive ShiftA team-based structure has been inplace at Major Tool & Machine foryears but optimizing cooperation andcollaboration among the variousteams was a top priority of Wiegand’swhen he joined the company afterworking in various management rolesfor several Fortune 500 companies. “One of the things I think we’ve been

successful in since 2006 is movingfrom a centralized management struc-ture to a more engaged and empoweredteam structure,” he says, noting thistransition was made because of and as aresult of the company’s growth. “Our structure allows people to

make decisions at the lowest possiblelevels, with the idea that the peopleclosest to the action will make thebest-possible decisions,” he adds. “Webelieve that not all decisions need to bemade at the executive and leadershipranks – we set expectations andempower people to make decisionswithin their scope of responsibility.”Wiegand sees his personal manage-

ment style as being a combination ofseveral philosophies acquired duringhis more than 25-year career. “Ibelieve in leading by example, with aservice orientation,” he says. “We setthe expectations and goals and pro-vide the people who work with us thetools they need to get their jobs donein the most effective way.” mt


major tool & machine credits its team structurewith most of its success.

Community EngagementMajor Tool & Machine’s belief in anempowered and engaged workforceextends to its participation in communityevents and service. “We believe ouremployees should not only be involvedand engaged in their professional life, theyshould give back to the community,”President Rick Wiegand says. “When yousupport the community it pays dividendsin different ways. We support majororganizations as well as those organiza-tions that our employees are active in.”

These organizations include Habitat forHumanity, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, TheOaks Academy and Indiana Blood Center,as well as community groups includinglocal schools and community centers. “Webelieve in making the communities inwhich our employees reside and work bet-ter places to live,” Wiegand adds.

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