DACO Inc

Source: Manufacturing Digital

Date :11/04/2008 02:04:44

Exec speaks to Bruce Lindgren, president of flywheel manufacturer DACO Inc, about the resilience and determination that drives a successful business

Written by Sam Wright and Produced by Kristin Hurley

On the day we speak to Bruce Lindgren, it’s his 51st birthday. Having worked at DACO for 24 years and been president since 2006, it’s not the first milestone he’s passed, and with his strong ties to the family-run firm, it’s unlikely to be his last. Unsurprisingly given both the date and DACO’s recent performance - the company currently has a sales turnover in excess of $38 million - Lindgren is in an upbeat mood.

This may be somewhat at odds with the current state of the industry, but the firm, which provides manufacturing solutions to OEMs to the automotive, on-highway truck, and off-highway construction equipment market, isn’t one to be worried by events out of their control.

Working to the company’s core values of ‘Trust, Quality, Respect, Integrity and Teamwork,’ the real challenge is, says Lindgren, having both the ability and strength of character to make a solid commitment to customers.

“We do that time and time again, year in, year out and I think that that’s possibly the biggest bond that you can create between us and our customers,” he explains.

Supplying the best

This is perhaps more important with DACO than most, taking in to account their small but exclusive list of customers. Most of the company’s business is with industrial equipment giants John Deere and Caterpillar, with which Lindgren, coincidentally, began his career as a sales representative.

More recently however, the company has looked to diversify from its core business of manufacturing for the industrial equipment sector, signing a long term contract with ZF Industries, a first tier supplier to Mercedes Benz, to build components for the US SUV market.

Formed in 1930 as Dewey and Company, DACO has seen change sweep through the industry on more than one occasion. The company was bought by Lindgren’s father, R. F. Lindgren, in the 1950’s, and has so far lived through a World War, numerous technological advancements and more than one recession.

In fact, right from the outset DACO has faced and overcome difficulties. The story behind the company’s windmill logo sums up neatly the tenacity on which it prides itself:

Meeting the challenge

When Howard Dewey founded the company in 1931, the country was at the depths of the depression. The company’s core business at that time was automobile sales and servicing.

When someone was considering a purchase, word traveled fast, so much so that successful salesmen often traveled to the customer to try to make a sale.

One day, Mr. Dewey went to meet a potential customer, a farmer, when a competitor arrived. Both salesmen desperately tried to sell the farmer their cars yet neither was gaining ground over the other.

While the farmer was equally impressed with both sales pitches and liked both the products, he had bigger worries on his mind. His windmill that provided vital water to the farm was failing and he was desperately trying to fix the device.

He said, “Seems to me there is no difference in the cars I see. Tell you what … my real problem today is that that windmill needs fix’n so I can feed my animals. First one up to the top of that windmill to oil that bearing gets the order!”

Needless to say, Mr. Dewey got there first. And while this is a neat story in itself, there are obvious parallels to draw with the state of the industry now, not in least the extra mile that businesses need to go to meet their customers’ demands.

Six Sigma success

However, the techniques DACO used to meet these demand are of an altogether more modern type. “The reason that we’re still here is that we’ve done an awful lot with Six Sigma, lean techniques and automation,” points out Lindgren.

Having worked with Six Sigma for over four years, DACO has embraced the continuous improvement manifesto with some zeal. The implementation of these practises, in particular automation, has allowed the company to increase its business while keeping the size of its workforce roughly the same.

While this, however, has remained constant, Lindgren has noticed significant changes to the makeup of his workforce.“I think the person we’re employing today is a different kind of worker from what we’ve employed in the past,” he explains.

“Before, we were looking for good machinists. Today, what we’re looking for is people that can run automated systems, people that are problem solvers and can looking for statistical trends and operate in a 24 hour environment robotic environment.”

Looking forward

While there are clear pressures throughout the industry, Lindgren remains positive about his company’s ability to not only survive, but thrive. That is, of course, only if they can maintain and improve on their ability to meet their customers’ requirements.

“I think the marketplace will correct itself,” he explains. “If you’re destined to be a manufacturer and you are competitive and world class, you’ll be okay. If you’re not, you should look for something else to do. The marketplace will dictate who should be in business and who shouldn’t. “I think the market has responded to this and the jobs that have gone to China probably deserved to go to China.”

It’s a blunt message, but it I’m sure that Mr. Dewey would have agreed. And while DACO remains willing to climb the windmill, it’s seems fair to say that they’ll resist everything that gets thrown at them.

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