Tuesday, April 24, 2012

ISO 9001



Midland has been working toward ISO 9001 certification and we’re now in the final stretch.  We have our Stage One audit scheduled for April 30th and our Stage Two audit May 30th – June 1st 2012.  Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we expect to receive certification shortly.

It’s been a very interesting process for us and we’ve learned quite a bit. For instance, we’ve learned that the idea that ISO is a cumbersome bureaucratic nightmare is a myth.  It really boiled down to fourteen pages of standards, a great training consultant, a lot of work in documenting all the things we were already doing well, and implementing the opportunities for improvement that we found along the way.  It’s a dichotomy how the preparation can seem, at times, as if it’s adding complexity but the end result is a streamlined system with increased efficiency across the board. 

We’ve also learned that nothing facilitates company wide transparency like internal audits!  The auditing process is a window into every part of the process from Sales and Design to Shipping and every step in between – we’ve all learned a lot about how everyone here at Midland plays a vital role in meeting our shared goal:  satisfying our customers.
     
The subject of customer satisfaction is a perfect segue to share our Quality Policy:
“Midland Metal Products is committed to satisfying our customers.  We accomplish this by deeply understanding our customer needs and by maintaining a rigorous system utilizing advances in engineering and process technology. This enables us to deliver high quality products, at the right time, at the lowest possible cost.  We pursue excellence through continuous improvement.”

This sentiment has been embodied in every project Midland has manufactured since 1929…our Quality Manual for ISO 9001 just gave us a place to put it in writing.

*Our Quality Manual and procedures available to customers upon request. 

CNC Mesh Welder


In the POP industry, there is a plethora of standard wire grid work.  We utilize in-house fixturing designed in SolidWorks and fabricated in plastic composite to ensure that our wire products meet the exacting standards of our customer.  Our automated equipment welds the cut to length wires into the finished wire grid work.  This video demonstrates one of our machines in action.



Monday, April 23, 2012

Automated Wire Forming


Our family of automated CNC wire formers satisfies the majority of the wire forming needs of the factory. Our machines draw material from our extensive inventory of wire, straighten the wire in-line, form the wire to shape, and then cut the wire to finish. Typical gauges fabricated on this machines range from 12 gauge to 5/16" wire.  This short video demonstrates one of our machines in action. 


Silk-Screening


In addition to satisfying the metal fabrication needs of our customers, our customers depend on us to assemble and pack our metal components with a vast array of other supplied components, such as vacuum form, graphics, plastics, and wood.

A large portion of our facility is devoted to this critical activity. This saves our customers a significant amount of freight cost and time by allowing them to ship finished goods directly to their end users.  Our customers are constantly asking us to broaden the services we provide in this area.

A consistent request over the years has been silk-screening. At the end of 2011, we introduced this capability.  The results speak for themselves. In the first 4 months of 2012, we have already silkscreened over 75,000 parts. The short video demonstrates the semi-automated process in action.  The photo is an example of a great looking finished item.


Monday, April 2, 2012

Cabela's

Roger Threatt spotted one of his masterpieces in a Cabela’s store in Hammond, Indiana.

Dollar General


Midland's Brian Chrzanowski spotted one of our masterpieces in a Dollar General in Macomb, IL.