Kathy Looman (SME MIRM) visits SME Spokane WA Chapter 248

Kathy Looman, West Coast Membership manager for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers sat in on the Chapter 248 Executive Committee breakfast meeting on September 7. Following the meeting Kathy had the opportunity to visit several Spokane companies with long time associations with SME. (1) Reiff Injection Molding, a family owned company run by 2011 SME-Spokane chair Jim McCall. Jim had the opportunity to explain how the company recovered after having a large segment of it's business off-shored to India years ago by a major US corporation. The company has since not only replaced the business that was off-shored, but is expanding beyond its former production values by providing a level of customer service to its US customers that anticipates customer needs. (2) MacKay Manufacturing with Katie Mackay. MacKay Mfg. has a well desrved reputation as a precision machining center of excellence. It recently won a supplier of the year award over a group of 1000 vendors to a major manuafcturer of electron microscope equipment (for quality, consistency and delivery. (See KREM-TV news coverage at http://dryfinish.blogspot.com/2011/07/mackay-mfg-spokane-wa-machine-shop.html) and was a nominee candidates for the Association of Washington Business's Manufacturer of ther Year Award. Kathy was able to view company operations involving precision machining of surgical/medical tools, electronics, and infra-red optical camera housings among others. The company is a privately owned, family run business that has thrived with a very successful implementastion of lean manufacturing. SME Chapter 248 members have had the opportunity to tour the company on "Lean Benchmark" Tours on a number of occasions. (3) Hanson Worldwide: Chris Wood. At Hanson, Kathy had the opportunity to view operations of a company that specializers in the design, engineering and manufacture of extremely large equipment for the Aerospace manufacturing, agricultural, mining and oil/gas industries. (See company video at: http://www.thefactorycompany.com/capabilities.htm) SME Chapter 248 organized a plant tour of the facility in the spring of 2011

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• SME
• Spokane
• Manufacturing
• Industry
• Society
• of
• Engineers