Discover how Standby Screw Machine Products prepares for the future of manufacturing
Founded in 1939 by William F. Marcell and Fred Baumer, Standby Screw Machine Products (Standby Screw) still remains owned and operated by the Marcell family to this day. Privately held with active ownership, Standby Screw operates out of three facilities in Berea, Ohio; Foshan, China; and Samut Prakan, Thailand. As a multinational manufacturing company, its mission has been, and always will be, to provide uncompromising quality and service for every part and order. Standby Screw offers a wide range of custom-designed parts made to exact customer specifications, using technically advanced equipment and processes. With this flexible, in-house capability, the company is empowered to deliver finished parts in any required quantity, prioritizing precision, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness. Drew Rabkewych, Sales Manager, tells us more about the many services provided by Standby Screw as well as the sectors it covers.
Extensive facilities 
“The services we offer are centered around precision machining for high or low volume. Our broad spectrum of machinery equips us to handle custom orders from start to finish, providing a seamless, quick, and cost-effective solution. Some of our most utilized services include Swiss type CNC machining, multi spindle screw machining, hydromat rotary transfer machining, spline rolling and thread rolling, broaching, turning, centerless grinding, and straightening.
“Regarding the industries we cover, we are prolific in outdoor power equipment, especially in America, where we specialize in parts for zero-turn transmissions in riding lawn mowers, serving golf courses and other off-highway applications. Additionally, we create components for the automotive sector, which can be found in Ford and General Motors vehicles, as well as plumbing and electrical parts available at big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s in the US. Nonetheless, our customers are all over the world,” he adds.
To cater to such a vast and international client base, Standby Screw operates from three facilities. “Located in Berea, Ohio, our headquarters span about 90,000 square feet and accommodate 100 staff members. In southern China, we wholly own a 67,000 square-foot facility with about 175 employees. While our Berea facility serves as the hub for making around 1000 different parts, acting as a catch-all for various operations, our China plant primarily focuses on high-volume families of shafts. In the early 2000s, everybody in America demanded more affordable parts, leading us to open a facility offshore in China to prevent losing too much work. Recently, we have expanded with a facility in Thailand as we thought it would be safer to have a footprint elsewhere in Asia, considering current geopolitical issues with China. The Thailand plant is dedicated to producing high-volume parts, mostly running the same parts daily to minimize changeovers. Across these three facilities, we employ about 300 people and benefit from almost 200,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Moreover, last year, we opened a facility with black oxide capabilities, a conversion coating process altering the color of the steel’s surface. This service allows us to cosmetically transform the surface of the machine into a sleek, shiny black color instead of silver, making the product look sleeker on our customers’ showroom floors,” Drew informs.
Embracing automation
Alongside investments in black oxide capabilities, Standby Screw has implemented a high level of automation within its manufacturing facilities in Asia. “Originally, we were a screw machine company boasting multiple spindle screw machines. Today, our name can be a little misleading because we have transitioned from screw machines to more CNC and automated equipment over the years. From having approximately 35 Acme screw machines 20 years ago, we now only have eight of them, which we will be replacing with CNC equipment and automation as new projects arise. We have significantly embraced automation since opening our plant in China, as it is mostly automated and efficiently produces large part families. Likewise, our Thailand plant is nearly fully automated, allowing our operators to simply monitor machine operations and dedicate their skills and time to perform tasks requiring human intervention.
“By evolving, we remain globally competitive, addressing the challenges of finding skilled personnel for cam and gear type machines as the previous generation retires. In automation, it is much easier to find young people who are familiar with CNC technology, as the next generation of engineers will clearly be proficient with computers rather than cam and gear systems. We focus on hiring younger engineers skilled in operating robotics and collaborative robots, for which we have numerous applications, from loading machines and running cells to packing parts. For example, we automated a process that previously required one person to pack 800,000 parts per year. By assigning a robot to perform this task, we allowed the employee to engage in more interesting and meaningful tasks than packing the same part all day,” Drew enlightens.
New opportunities
As Standby Screw celebrated its 85th anniversary, Drew reflects on the journey that has led the company to achieve such longevity. “Being a family owned business, we are able to seize new opportunities swiftly, unlike larger companies with many layers of bureaucracy. Our active ownership allows us to invest in new equipment and automation as soon as we can justify an investment and secure a commitment from our customers. Although we have been automating for approximately 15 years, our efforts have significantly increased in recent years. Opening a new facility in Thailand with automation and maintaining a low headcount is also part of our strategy to ensure our longevity. The same can be said of our eagerness to take on new projects, as well as improving and bringing some processes in-house, such as black oxide. In fact, to boost efficiency, we are considering insourcing other services that are currently outsourced. This reduces our reliance on external services and improves our factory’s throughput,” Drew concludes.
By embracing automation, expanding its global footprint, and investing in strategic capabilities, Standby Screw is poised for continued growth and success well into the future.