forgot login? Or login using: close [x] Welcome | Log Out
Reengineering the Small Factory      An alphabet soup of new
manufacturing technologies can give small companies the
automation edge. But know what you're getting into before you
upgrade      Cook Specialty Co., a $10-million manufacturer of
precision metal parts, used to take customers' blueprints and
knock out a finished product. No more. Global competition in the
early 1980s changed all that. Cook's customers, some of them
Fortune 100 companies, began consolidating their supplier base
into a handful of companies with the best prices, quality, and
delivery record. Tom Panzarella, Cook's president, knew that if
he wanted even a chance of maintaining a competitive edge he'd
have to overhaul the company's entire manufacturing strategy.
So Panzarella transformed Cook from a job shop to a custom
manufacturer. Now instead of just making products, Cook actually
designs them with customers. What made the change possible was a
technology turnaround