Independence Day 2016

July 1, 2016

Independence Day 2016

Precision Plus

This July 4^th our nation celebrates 240 years of our independence from foreign rule. Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, and others, were courageous patriots who put country above all else, and they saw a nation with potential for greatness. They imagined an America where the people had a deep sense of individualism and personal responsibility. Our founders set a standard, and if here today, they would find a kindred spirit in the visionaries and modern-day patriots who believe in hard work and perseverance.

Company Updates

June 17, 2016

A Father’s Day Message from Michael P. Reader

Precision Plus

Michael Patrick Reader has the unique blessing of being able to come to work every day, not only with his father, but his grandfather, too. Mike’s grandfather, Phil Reader, bought Precision Plus in 1988, and Mike’s father, Michael J. Reader, joined him in 1995. A third generation of the Reader family, Mike is now following in their footsteps. Mike feels very fortunate for all he has learned from these men that have been so important in his life, and he would like to take this Father’s Day to send them a very special message of gratitude.

Company Updates

June 14, 2016

Fabian’s Farewell

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Over the past three months, Fabian Stampfli of Lüsslingen, Switzerland, has taken part in our exchange program with the company Aeschlimann AG Décolletages. Besides working with us at Precision Plus, Fabian has also taken advantage of this chance to immerse himself in our culture outside of work – trying new foods, cheering alongside fellow sports fans, and even participating in the all-American family road trip. Here is Fabian’s farewell to his host family and Precision Plus, written in his native German. It’s a great way for us to understand that on a daily basis, he was formulating his thoughts in one language, then translating to another before speaking them. For those of us who do not speak German, feel free to click translate below and read his thoughtful goodbye.

Company Updates

April 5, 2016

Precision Plus continues to implement lean manufacturing initiatives

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Paul McDonough reviews a Finishing Department reconfiguration plan with Jake Ruemmele.

“Business as usual” is not a phrase that typically resonates at Precision Plus (PPI) of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, as the company continuously looks to improve on processes that contribute to making PPI a leaner working organization.

Company Updates

March 4, 2016

Wisconsin Technology Education Association Conference

Michael Reader

On February 25^th, I had the privilege of being the keynote speaker at the 47th annual Wisconsin Technology Education Association’s (WTEA) Conference held at the Chula Vista Resort. The conference promotes CTE programs and provides workshops to improve programming for both educators and students, while also encouraging networking and best practices. The focus of my presentation was to showcase what can be done with education and industry partnerships to raise awareness of career opportunities in technical trades.

Company Updates

November 12, 2015

Updates from Precision Plus’ Quality Assurance Department: Zeiss DuraMax CMM Added to The Production Floor; ISO 9001:2008 Certification

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Michael Reader

Zeiss DuraMax CMM

Dale Wittlieff, Director of Quality and Continuous Improvement at Precision Plus (PPI) in Elkhorn, Wisconsin has recently announced the addition of a second Carl Zeiss DuraMax Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM).

The Zeiss DuraMax CMM is a compact 3-D measuring machine designed for shop floor and production applications, replacing traditional measuring gages with automated CMM programs. The DuraMax is equipped with a “VAST XXT” scanning sensor, which quickly and accurately delivers dimensional information on parts (such as size, form and position) that can be easily reproduced on CNC machines.

Precision Plus placed its first Zeiss DuraMax in the Quality Assurance (QA) Department, and was made available to both the QA staff for inspection purposes, as well as to machine operators, as it is perfect for quick in-between inspections of components.

The accuracy and popularity of the CMM prompted PPI to purchase a second one, to be located on the production floor, near the Miyano CNC machines, increasing operator efficiency, as the operators would not have to walk across the plant to use the CMM in the Quality Assurance Department.

The CMM also comes with the Calypso software, which calculates the ideal measuring run and travel paths. Additionally, it can be loaded from three sides, which contributes to its flexibility.

Along with the new CMM, Precision Plus received an offline seat where CMM programs can be created offline and tested before being released to inspect parts. It also opens up time to perform capability studies for new and existing parts on the CMM in the Quality Assurance Department.

ISO 9001:2008 Recertification

Following an intense recertification process, Precision Plus has formally received its ISO 9001:2008 recertification certificate, valid until September 14, 2018.

The surveillance audit process checked for the company’s ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, as well as enhancing customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

For more information about Precision Plus’ Zeiss DuraMax CMM and/or the company’s ISO recertification, please contact Dale Wittlieff via email or by phone at 262.743.1700.

Company Updates

October 24, 2015

Precision Plus Conducts Customer Survey, Gets Interesting Results

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Michael Reader

Precision Plus (PPI) of Elkhorn, Wisconsin recently conducted its first formal customer survey to gauge overall performance, while measuring various aspects of the company’s services. The survey was initiated this past August, resulting in fifty-four responses, primarily from customers serviced within the last fifteen months.

There were six primary questions asked:

Q1 Compared to your other business partners, how does Precision Plus rate when considering responsiveness to your needs?
Q2 Compared to your other business partners, how does Precision Plus rate when considering the quality of the items produced?
Q3 Compared to your other business partners, how does Precision Plus rate when considering the delivery?
Q4 Compared to your other business partners, how does Precision Plus rate when it comes to customer service?
Q5 What is your overall view of Precision Plus?
Q6 What is your primary role at your company?

When asked to compare Precision Plus to other business partners in the area of customer service, 72% rated PPI as “Among the Best,” followed by a 22% rating the company as “Above Average,” which totaled to 94% of customers expressing receiving exceptional customer service. Many commented further, pointing out the extra actions that earned the high grading: “Precision Plus understands what good customer service is. We feel like our business is highly valued. They have very high credibility. Precision Plus does not over-promote themselves; they deliver. Good corporate citizens.”

When asked questions about quality, responsiveness, and product delivery, the results were equally as glowing. Not one respondent rated Precision Plus as “Below Average” or “Among the Worst.” Looking at component quality, 94% of the responses were “Among the Best” (61%) or “Above Average” (33%). When asked to give a simple favorable or unfavorable rating on their overall view of Precision Plus, all 54 participants selected the “favorable” response.

“We were extremely proud of the ratings our employees earned,” noted Jeff Lemmermann, Chief Information and Financial Officer. “There were sixteen individuals who took the time to add additional comments, and those comments really praised the extra efforts the PPI team made to help them succeed.”

Precision Plus is looking to surveys like this to gain feedback from the marketplace on what keeps customers coming back. On the flip side, PPI is also looking for suggestions on how their products and services can be improved.

Lemmermann adds, “Even the comments with improvement suggestions, had a compliment. Furthermore, it was a pleasure to share these results with our employees to let them know how our customers notice their efforts.”

The survey also gave the respondents an option to be contacted for more feedback at a later day. Mike Reader, President of Precision Plus followed up on those calls.

Click here for a PDF of the survey results.

Company Updates

October 22, 2015

Precision Plus’ President Mike Reader Speaks at The Economic Forum Presented by the La Crosse Area Development Corporation

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Michael Reader

Mike Reader, President of Precision Plus of Elkhorn Wisconsin was invited to speak at The Economic Forum presented by the La Crosse Area Development Corporation (LADCO) on Thursday, October 8, 2015. The presentation was entitled “Workforce Development Challenges & Strategies,” addressing tangible steps for manufacturers to take to help tackle workforce challenges.

The October 8^th event also featured Ann Franz from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, and Mark Kaiser from Lindquist Machine Corporation, both representing the NEW Manufacturing Alliance (NMA) of Northeast Wisconsin. James Hill of LADCO moderated the forum.

All three presenters addressed two common threads: how to raise industry and career awareness, and how to promote collaboration between sectors.

The NMA represents a group of manufacturers who work with educators, workforce developers, chambers of commerce and state organizations to promote manufacturing in Northeast Wisconsin. Franz and Kaiser explained how the organization makes available valuable resources through their outreach program, listing manufacturers who regularly offer plant tours, have representatives who can speak about the industry and career opportunities, offer college internships, job shadowing, mentoring, and youth apprenticeships. In addition, the organization makes available to educators a number of tools to deploy in the classroom, and prospective employees a model pathway for shaping their careers.

Reader recounted his own personal journey to turn the skills gap tables, when he “stopped complaining” and began reaching out to educators, legislators, associations and fellow manufacturers, while organizing career panels, plant tours for students and parents, participating in career fairs, and hiring a dedicated individual to undertake the outreach efforts on a full-time basis. He also established internships and apprenticeships, created scholarships, crafted tuition reimbursement programs, joined career and technical education (CTE) committees, and invested in local education—efforts which, along the way, have nurtured individuals who now make Precision Plus their employer.

LADCO businesses attending the forum, walked away with a wealth of executable ideas. La Crosse, WI is a key city in Western Wisconsin located along the Mississippi River, in what is called the “Coulee Region Business Center,” ideally located to serve the tri-state area of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. LADCO is an organization that strives to promote and retain business in the area, offering an array of business related programs throughout the year.

Company Updates

October 16, 2015

Precision Plus Participates at MSOE’s 2015 Career Fair, and Shares Intern Success Stories

Michael Reader

Once a year, Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) holds a career fair, which provides businesses a chance to meet qualified students face-to-face. In 2015, the fair took place on Friday, October 9^th, at MSOE’s Kern Center. According to the organizers, the fair is “the perfect venue to gain exposure” for any company. MSOE is regarded as the fifth most innovative university in the Midwest, offering the twelfth best undergraduate engineering program in the U.S.

There is no wonder why more than 200 companies participate in the fair, looking to attract qualified individuals for internships or jobs. This is the second consecutive year for Precision Plus (PPI) to participate in the fair. Mark Beilman, Director of Education and Training for the company was at hand to talk to students about the company’s summer internship program, which provides practical experience and brings to life theories and processes learned in the classroom.

Four of Precision Plus’ 2015 summer interns (Britt Campbell, Carson Filko, Jessica Flock, and Amanda Mudlaff) are currently enrolled at MSOE. Some of PPI’s 2015 summer interns were featured in a video produced to celebrate Manufacturing Month by Wisconsin Manufacturing & Commerce. Precision Plus has also pledged two scholarships for incoming mechanical engineering freshman students who attend the school and participate in PPI’s summer internship program.

Mike Reader, Jr.’s Internship Story at Scot Forge

Last year’s MSOE Career Fair also presented an opportunity for Mike Reader, Jr., pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering at MSOE, who after a four-year summer intern at Precision Plus looked for a chance to gain broader industry experience with a different company. In the summer of 2014, he and other PPI interns had taken a tour of Spring Grove, IL based Scot Forge, a company that is regarded as the industry leader in open die forging and rolled ring forging. Their products, quite the opposite of what he had experienced at PPI, are parts that could weigh as little as 100 pounds, or as much as 150,000 pounds—a considerable departure from Swiss precision machining.

Mike applied for a summer internship with Scot Forge as well as for a scholarship/internship opportunity. After several interviews, he was awarded one of eight 2015-2016 Peter I. Georgeson scholarships, and a 2015 summer internship.

At Scot Forge, Mike interned with a self-sufficient team consisting of a project group, an engineering group, a maintenance department, and a machine repair department where he spent most of his time. There, he worked with several different team members on a variety of assignments: from learning how to MIG weld, to welding new structures, working on big gearboxes, large servo motors, and transmissions, to realigning heads on turrets, working on the electrical cabinets of different machines, as well as on cooling systems with pumps, and much more.

Mike’s goal was to get hands-on floor experience, to observe successes and failures, but especially how failures can be reversed. Mike credits the ingenuity of his team members, typically with a farming or construction background, who always found a way to get things done.

Mike enjoyed interning at Scot Forge, an employee-owned company, where employees look to each other for solutions and take ownership of their work. He returned to MSOE in the fall.

In his spare time, Mike loves learning about cars and engines, and is currently fascinated with his 2004 VW Passat W8 motor—the way it’s configured, how the cylinders are arranged, and what makes it perform the way it does.

Mike will be graduating from MSOE in the spring of 2016, and his goals and aspirations are to enjoy what he is doing, while applying schooling and skills, and having fun along the way.

Company Updates

October 15, 2015

Mike Reader Joins Chuck Jester, Dominic Cariello and Bryan Albrecht on The Morning Show Radio Program with Gregory Berg to Discuss Manufacturing Month

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Michael Reader

On October 2, 2015, Gregory Berg, Host of 91.1 WGTD HD’s Morning Show, welcomed monthly guest Bryan Albrecht, President of Gateway Technical College, and special guests Mike Reader, President of Precision Plus, Chuck Jester, Production Manager for Ocean Spray, and Dominic Cariello, Director of Manufacturing and Flow Instrumentation for Badger Meter to talk about National Manufacturing Month.

The month of October has been designated to celebrate and bring awareness to manufacturing, with events taking place throughout the United States and Canada. All guests agreed that for them, every day is Manufacturing Day, but concurred that the month-long publicity gives the industry a boost, and helps dispel outdated ideas about manufacturing while showing how the industry has “moved and changed in some spectacular ways.”

Reader, Jester and Cariello emphasized the importance of collaboration between schools and industry, as well as community involvement, and praised the curriculums and initiatives, which have been developed over the years by Gateway Technical College addressing the needs of local manufacturers, even taking into consideration the rapid pace in which the industry moves. Responsiveness has been of the essence.

The host and the guests also discussed that the development of programs of study do not just end with technical-type curriculums, but that extend to supporting disciplines, such as front office, back office, accounting, management, etc. Albrecht pointed out that the latest trend is “collaborative training,” giving students pursuing different areas of study the opportunity to work as a team, which is what is expected today in the real business world.

To amplify the communication between academia and industry, Jester, Cariello and Reader were recently invited to present before the Wisconsin State Board for Technical Colleges. Typically, the State Board hears from college faculty or college administrators, but Albrecht suggested to reverse the scenario in order to hear the viewpoints of the customers—the employers themselves—stating that, ”technical colleges need to be reflective of the needs of the community.”

The 50-minute WGTD Morning Show program, also touched on several other points relating to manufacturing and Manufacturing Month, and can be heard HERE in its entirety.

For a transcript PDF of the program, please click HERE.

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