Yesterday’s guest speaker in Midwest Entrepreneurs class both continued and added to our recent emphasis on business-to-business (B2B) heavy industrial firms. As class blogger Ben Schweitzer discusses below, also continued was a focus on quality, customer satisfaction, and the importance of highly satisfied, well-trained employees.

Prof. Gabel

—————————————————————————————————-

On Thursday, our class had the honor of hearing from Michael Vipond, a 2003 Monmouth College graduate who is presently the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at General Grind and Machine (http://www.generalgrind.com/). The company has grown from a tiny three-person operation in 1976 to its present size of up to 450 employees and nearly $80 million in annual sales (using about 4 million pounds of raw materials every month).

Michael described the company as an American-made “one stop shop” for all its customers’ machining needs. He discussed many factors that set the company apart but they all relate to three main interrelated goals: to strive for product quality delivered on-time and at a competitive price.

The corporation is located in Aledo, Illinois, placing it near its three largest customers; Caterpillar, John Deere and Case New Holland. Being close to three of the biggest agricultural equipment manufacturing companies has allowed the business to thrive as orders continuously come in throughout the day and night. The company is running machines 24 hours hour a day, seven days a week because the size of orders is so large.

General Grind uses an MRP (Material Requirements Planning) based computer application that not only takes orders but automatically figures how much material to buy for upcoming jobs. The company also buys directly from the steel mill in great volume, which allows it both cut its costs and sell to customers at a more competitive price.

To find the right workers to do the growing volume of needed work, General Grind “hires attitude.” What they are looking for in an employee is a good work ethic and the willingness to learn. The company has implemented an on-sight training facility for employees. By hiring the right people that they know will care about their work and training them properly, there is a sense of care that flows from each employee to each customer, resulting in products that satisfy customer requirements and fulfill all promises made. On top of this, Mr. Vipond also told us that deliveries of parts are made by engineers and managers to help grow a personal connection with customers.

Machinery is another big competitive advantage for the business. Having one of only two heat treatment machines in Illinois and four $500,000 Mazak lathes along with offering robotic welding, the company can do everything customers need right in their Aledo-based shop without having to outsource any jobs.

Another factor that that makes General Grind stand out is ISO (International Organization of Standardization) certifications. The ISO certifications show that everything is being run properly and efficiently to ensure that a quality product will be made every time. By having top of the line machinery and certifications, it makes it seem as if there is no better place to go in the world than General Grind and Machine for any and all machining needs.

Something that Michael repeatedly talked about was the people that run the company and how they work together to constantly improve the company in many ways. The owner, Mark Bieri, is always trying to better every aspect of the business for everyone who is involved.

A company that started with 3 employees in 1976 has grown to employ over 400 people, having gone through numerous expansions. This company does everything so well that they have no real competition on this side of the world. General Grind and Machine’s products tend to speak for themselves but the services provided by its employees and the owner have made this business everything that it is today.

Ben Schweitzer