How Revolutionary Technology for the Minimally Invasive Spinal Tool Market Made Its Transition to the Aerospace Industry

August 14, 2015

How Revolutionary Technology for the Minimally Invasive Spinal Tool Market Made Its Transition to the Aerospace Industry

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Michael Reader

While attending the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)’s July’s AirVenture Convention in Oshkosh, WI, Mike Reader, President of Precision Plus met with Harold Hess, M.D., a neurosurgeon, also CEO and Co-Founder of Enduralock, an exhibitor at the convention.

Mike Reader was impressed of how Enduralock transitioned to this industry. Here is a recap:

Enduralock is a leader in vibration resistant technology for the aerospace industry, featuring a portfolio of innovative fastener technologies: Radial Lock Fastener, Axial Ratcheting Fastener and Radial Ratcheting Fastener, fasteners that are permanently locking, fully reversible, and reusable.

This technology, however, was not originally designed for the aerospace industry, but for lateral MIS lumbar fusion, allowing for minimally invasive tools to treat cervical conditions of the spine, as well as fractures, fusion and osteotomies of the extremities. Dr. Harold Hess co-founded Spinal Simplicity, LLC in 2008, along with Todd Moseley, an entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in orthopedics.

Spinal Simplicity has a sophisticated intellectual property portfolio covering the unique devices and instrumentation designed by our team. The extensive pathway that protects the innovative designs created by Spinal Simplicity is forging new territory in the spinal and orthopedic markets.

The company has successfully been awarded over 20 patents in the U.S. and on a global basis, with more than 35 patent applications pending.

“Out of the box thinking” led Dr. Hess and his children to consider the application of their innovation to other industries, where vibration could be detrimental if fasteners loosened up. The aerospace industry was a logical choice, and so Enduralock was launched in 2013 to serve that industry.

Precision Plus gives a shout out to Dr. Hess and his associates for innovative thinking and subsequent repurposing of a proven solution.

To learn more about both companies, visit Enduralock and Spinal Simplicity.

Community Involvement Industry News

August 12, 2015

Mike Reader and Other Members of the Wisconsin Aerospace Partners Join Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015 to Promote Wisconsin’s Aerospace Supply Chain

Michael Reader

Every July, Oshkosh, Wisconsin turns into the “busiest airport in the world.” Over half a million attendees flood the city of nearly 70,000 inhabitants, located off the shore of Lake Winnebago for the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)’s AirVenture Convention. This year, the convention took place from July 20th through the 26th.

According to data recently published by the organizers, more than 10,000 aircraft arrived at Wittman Regional Airport and other nearby airports for the event, including 2,668 showplanes. In addition, there were state, national and foreign exhibitors, as well as visitors from a record 80 nations around the world.

Over 1000 workshop sessions were attended by more than 75,000 people, featuring drone to spacecraft technology, metal to wood construction techniques, and anything imaginable having to do with aviation and aerospace.

One of the groups exhibiting at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015, was the Wisconsin Aerospace Partners (Booth #3039, Hangar C), whose mission is “to promote, stimulate and facilitate aerospace related education, and economic opportunities, capabilities and activities in Wisconsin.”

Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, present at the EAA AirVenture Convention, singled out the group as a supply chain resource, as she encouraged job creators to expand their business into the State of Wisconsin. In the short video below, Lt. Governor Kleefisch talks about the infrastructure already in place in the state that makes Wisconsin the right place in which to do aerospace business.

Two hundred aviation and aerospace companies already make their home in the state. Additionally, in 2013 alone, 3600 academic degrees related to aerospace were awarded from Wisconsin colleges and universities to support the industry’s initiatives.

“The Wisconsin Aerospace Partners supports organizations engaged with the aerospace industry in the State of Wisconsin by establishing a strong network and support system designed to grow the economic vitality of the State and the aerospace industry.” These organizations represent over 14,000 qualified, capable, and experienced manufacturing individuals who can to serve this industry.

Partner companies are committed to:

Communicate the importance of aerospace and technology as a priority for business, economy and community in Wisconsin;
Foster education and growth of science, technology and engineering in Wisconsin;
Educate positions and develop proposals that support Wisconsin’s aerospace industry;
Provide support, infrastructure, and special activities to grow Wisconsin aviation and aerospace business activities; and,
Create a focused pipeline to create and grow entrepreneurship in Wisconsin’s aerospace industry.

Precision Plus is proud to be a Wisconsin Aerospace Partner. For more information about the Wisconsin Aerospace Partners, click HERE.

Educational Development

November 7, 2014

To Celebrate Manufacturing Month, Precision Plus in Elkhorn, Wisconsin Welcomed Five Area High Schools for Plant Tours

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Michael Reader

One hundred and forty-one students and eleven chaperones from five area high schools visited Precision Plus of Elkhorn, Wisconsin during the month of October 2014, to celebrate Manufacturing Month and learn about the industry and the company. MFG DAY 2014 held earlier in October, had kicked off the month-long event. The schools in attendance were Delavan Darien High School and East Troy High School on October 16^th, Elkhorn Area High School and Lake Geneva Badger High School on October 23^rd, and Tenor High School on October 27^th.

The tour began at Precision Plus’ classroom with personnel introduction, a PowerPoint presentation about the history of the company and the role of a contract manufacturer, followed by a demonstration of the software used at Precision Plus, and a video showcasing the trajectory of a part from concept to completion. After a question and answer session, the students took a plant tour. Upon returning to the classroom, students had another opportunity for Q&As and received a PMPA pen/flash drive with information about CNC training and career statistics.

Precision Plus received several notes from the schools, reiterating the importance of such opportunities for students who are evaluating their future career possibilities.

Industry News

January 28, 2014

PMPA’s 2014 Management Update Conference to Take Place February 21-23, 2014 in Las Vegas

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Michael Reader

For three intense days, members and industry colleagues of the PMPA (Precision Machined Products Association) will convene in Las Vegas, Nevada to attend their annual Management Update Conference, which begins on February 21, 2014 and will be held at the new Cosmopolitan Hotel.

This conference is not limited to PMPA members only, but it is open to the entire North American precision machined products industry. In an open letter to the industry, Conference Chairman Brad Smith, wrote: “Management Update, which is widely considered the premiere management conference for our industry, has much to offer this year as you’ll see when you review the conference program. The education sessions offer wonderful learning experiences, combined with daily networking opportunities where you’ll have time to pick the brains of leaders from the industry’s top companies.”

Some of the topics to be covered during this conference will be lifestyle motivation, customer service, marketing and sales, business development strategies, social media applications for manufacturers, improved communication with employees, accountability, laws affecting the industry, and the economic outlook for 2014.

Click here for more information.

Industry News

February 19, 2013

Wisconsin Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch to Tour Precision Plus on Friday, February 22, 2013

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Michael Reader

February 19, 2013, Elkhorn, WI – In a continued effort to increase Wisconsin’s in-state manufacturing, particularly in the aerospace and aviation sector, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch will tour the facilities of Precision Plus of Elkhorn, Wisconsin. She will be joined by Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s (WEDC) Executive Director Reed Hall and Communications Manager Tom Thieding.

The purpose of this tour and discussion is to present Lt. Governor Kleefisch with a clear picture of Wisconsin’s manufacturing supply chain, showing how the State can benefit from developing additional manufacturing opportunities. By engaging State agencies in promoting advanced manufacturing targeting the aerospace and aviation industries, the State of Wisconsin can also benefit from the growth potential offered through this type of business development.

“We are excited to have the Lt. Governor and WEDC Executive Director tour our manufacturing facility,” said Precision Plus President Michael Reader. “It is critical to the State’s economy for us to work together in promoting advanced manufacturing as we offer great career opportunities and compensation packages for highly-skilled machinists and support personnel.”

Precision Plus is a high-precision machining and solution provider to numerous OEMs around the world. With over 8 million dollars spent on state-of-the-art machining equipment over the past 5 years, and a staff of highly-skilled machinists, Precision Plus has been recognized as a leading supplier of Swiss-type and CNC-turned components. The company was recommended to WEDC by a large aerospace group as a supplier well-positioned to help grow Wisconsin’s aerospace and aviation industries. Mr. Reader added, “Let’s put hard working Wisconsinites back to work in rewarding careers and grow our way out of this economic slump”.

The event will take place on Friday, February 22 from 3:45pm until 5:00pm (originally scheduled from 9:30am until 10:45am ) and Precision Plus cordially invites the news media and press to partake in the tour and discussion. Precision Plus is located at 840 Koopman Ln., Elkhorn, Wisconsin 53121. Should this tour need to be rescheduled due to anticipated weather conditions in our area, it will be announced on our social media channels and on this blog.

Precision Plus is devoted to bringing manufacturing back the United States through awareness and education and actively promotes its vision within the State of Wisconsin and the country.

For more information on this event, please contact Michael Reader at (262) 743-1700 x105 or via electronic mail.

A Note from Mike Reader

June 28, 2012

A Note From Mike Reader, President of Precision Plus

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Michael Reader

As we enter the second half of the year I am happy to report we have many good things happening here at Precision Plus All and all, it was a successful first half with sales surpassing those of last year, and the addition of our 4th Miyano ABX lathe. Our customers remain optimistic and continue to ask us to take on more work from them. It is a testament to the hard work of all our staff when I hear a long-standing customer ask me “we need to resource a package of parts, how much more can you take on?”. Especially with existing customers, we have developed a trust that ensures them that we know what we are doing and that we will produce what they ask for. As the degree of difficulty in developing and manufacturing new components continues to increase, we understand that the complexity of the part will make a difference in our customers’ profitability and efficiency.

We are continually improving “embedding” ourselves with our customers’ product engineering teams, so as to add more value and be in the best position to transition from prototype to production. Our customers love this because they can understand cost and manufacturing challenges early on in a design project. We love this because we want to make the entire process seamless. Bill Wells, our Sales and Engineering Manager, devotes much of his time working with these engineers. It’s a time-consuming proposition, but an investment in both our futures.

Since the beginning of the year, we have taken on over 100 new jobs, not only from new customer-partners, but from our existing customer-partners from a variety of industries, including pneumatic and hydraulic, aerospace, industrial, automotive, medical and dental and movie and still motion product manufacturers.

This organic growth, coupled with new opportunities developed through our website and media efforts have us plenty busy. As I mentioned earlier, we continue to reinvest in capital equipment and technology to support our customer’s needs, and remain committed to ongoing improvements.

However, while we can put all the new equipment we want on the floor, it is the difficulty in finding/developing skilled machinists that will constrain our growth moving forward. This is a real problem for us, our industry and our country that requires a true Manufacturing Training Plan. We are addressing this issue on many levels. Locally, we are participating in trade school and college programs designed to instruct young and/or unemployed individuals in the crucial trade of manufacturing. On a national level, with the PMPA, we are talking to Congress and Senate leaders in order to create a mind shift with respect to training younger people in the trades, so they can fill in the open spots that retiring Baby Boomers are leaving at a rapid pace. The goal is to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.

Reach out to me with any questions, suggestions or comments you may have! My door is always open.

Mike Reader
President

Community Involvement Industry News

May 1, 2012

Midwest’s Rockford, Illinois: A Shining Star In The Aerospace Industry

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Michael Reader

The Rockford, Illinois region is located in the middle of North America, equidistant between Milwaukee and Chicago and part of the third largest economic corridor in the U.S. According to the Rockford Area Economic Development Council, “The region offers abundant land for development at a low cost per acre, much of it within Foreign Trade Zone #176. This strategic location provides excellent direct access to markets via four interstates (I-90, I-88, I-39 and I-43); Global III, Union Pacific Railroad’s intermodal hub; and Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD), the 18th largest air cargo airport in the United States and home to the second largest UPS hub in the nation (parcel and heavy freight).”

The Greater Rockford Area is also a hub for the U.S. aerospace industry, hosting over 170 aerospace suppliers and employing over 6,000 people. The Rockford region is home to five major tier one aerospace supply companies: Hamilton Sundstrand, Woodward, B/E Aerospace, Mag Aerospace Industries, Inc. and Supplycore. Additionally, local universities strive to bring science to the area. Rockford’s nearby Northern Illinois University (NIU) awards over 400 engineering degrees each year and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University – a world leader in aviation and aerospace education – which established a campus at the Chicago/Rockford International Airport in 2008 and offers a number of aeronautical degrees, including masters in aeronautical science.

Jeff Kaney, an entrepreneur who has founded two aerospace companies in Rockford, and who is chairman of RAAN (The Rockford Area Aerospace Network) says companies in the Rockford cluster constitute all elements of the aerospace supply chain, including assembly, inspection, testing, repair and software.

Kerry Frank, president of Comply 365 Solutions, a software firm that develops software for the Kindle Fire, iPads and other portable devices used by pilots and flight attendants, says the cluster has brought a great awareness regarding aerospace to the Midwest.

Local news reported that the Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) reported a strong start to 2012 with a 14 percent increase in first quarter passenger traffic year-over-year. Each month in the quarter saw strong passenger growth with March being the busiest month in RFD’s history. During its record-breaking month of March, 32,473 passengers came through RFD. March also had the largest increase in year-over-year traffic for the quarter, posting a nearly 18 percent jump. The previous busiest month at RFD was in March 2008 with 29,361 passengers. Punta Cana and Denver destinations have really helped drive passenger growth with their strong bookings,” said Mike Dunn, RFD Director of Economic Development and Government Relations.

Precision Plus is a proud supplier to the aerospace industry, supplying mission-crucial components that are used from single-engine aircraft to the Space Shuttle.

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