Global Precision Parts Inc.

Global Precision Parts’ products may be small, but they play a big role in securing the critical components of cars, agricultural equipment and other large pieces of equipment. Because of this, the company’s customers expect its products to be of a high quality and ready to use from the moment they are received.

“Our customers expect zero defective parts per million and 100 percent on-time delivery,” according to Randy Mueller, president of the Van Wert, Ohio-headquartered company.

“Our products go right to stock from the moment they hit the dock, with no need for our customers to inspect them,” he adds.

The company uses sorting machines manufactured by Mectron to visually inspect most of the parts that leave its three manufacturing facilities. Statistical process control software manufactured by Altegra also allows Global Precision Parts to measure and verify quality at each of its production machines. “We can catch a variation in a part before it happens,” Mueller says. A quality laboratory with gauges and other equipment also helps assure the quality of the company’s parts.

Global Precision Parts’ quality processes have earned it an ISO 9001 certification, with a TS 16949 certification anticipated before the end of the year. The company produces custom and standard machine parts such as quick-disconnect couplers, steering shafts and plugs used by manufacturers serving the automotive, fluid power, HVAC, industrial equipment and other markets.

The company operates three manufacturing facilities. Plants in Ottoville, Ohio, and East Liberty, Ohio, manufacture parts to specific customer blueprints. A plant in Wabash, Ind., manufactures standard products used in the tube fabricating industry such as standard cap nuts, tube nuts and tube sleeves. Global Precision Parts also has joint venture facilities in Asia where parts are made based on the same policies and procedures that the company uses in its domestic facilities.

Manufacturing Capabilities

Quality has long been a focus for the company, which dates its origins back to the early 1980s. The Ottoville facility – which was formerly a machining company, Acme Machine Automatics – was purchased in 1993. The Wabash facility was acquired in 2000. The company used the Acme Machine Automatics name until 2006, when it acquired the East Liberty facility and began serving the global marketplace.

The company uses a variety of CNC and other machines to manufacture parts. The manufacturing process begins with Global Precision Parts’ Advanced Quality Product Planning team, which conducts a comprehensive planning and design process upon receipt of each new part order.

Global Precision Parts designs the majority of the tooling used for its parts, and uses high-speed tooling in manufacturing. “We make 70 percent of our own tooling rather than purchasing it from the outside,” Mueller says.

The company is capable of manufacturing 2,500 different SKUs, making quick changeovers a necessity. Roughly 70 different manufacturing line set-ups are performed each week in Global Precision Parts’ facilities.

Global Precision Parts works closely with its customers as well as its suppliers to ensure rapid turnaround of inventory. Some parts are inventoried based on demand, while others are produced on a daily basis for certain customers based on forecasts. The company also receives raw materials on a just-in-time basis based on need. Inventory is turned over between nine to 10 times annually.

All of the company’s manufacturing, inventory and procurement processes are heavily influenced by lean methodologies. A lean coordinator regularly leads lean-related projects and initiatives.

Global Precision Parts’ focus on lean manufacturing and overall manufacturing efficiency allow it to quickly respond to customers’ needs. The company is often called upon to provide additional parts to customers who have delivery difficulties with offshore or other suppliers. “We’ve tooled up quickly, brought in materials and worked around the clock and helped our customers’ lines not go down when that’s happened,” Mueller adds. “We will burn the midnight oil to help our customers meet their customer requirements.”

Aggressive Expansion

The company remains family owned and managed. “Being a family owned business is very important to us, and we really promote a family culture across the organization,” Mueller says.

Expansion is a high priority for the family and company. Global Precision Parts employs an aggressive sales strategy that has seen the company take on 150 to 300 new parts per year for the past several years. The company’s sales strategy will bring it to the FABTECH conference in Chicago in November. “We go out there looking for customers,” he adds, noting the munitions market as one target industry.

Growth through acquisition also remains a goal for the company. In addition to the Wabash and East Liberty facility acquisitions, the company has made roughly five acquisitions within the past 10 years that have increased its market and product reach.

“We are not afraid to invest and grow that way,” Mueller notes.