Expansion Gives Machining Business a Perfect Finish ...
"I just thought, 'Really?' We have 22 years in this. Do we really want to start another business now?" Christine recalls.
But the hesitation didn't last long. In October of last year, the Benders opened KW Anodizing Ltd., located next door to their RJB Machining business in Waterloo.
They realized the anodizing facility was the best way to protect the viability of their machining business, which makes parts for cameras, lasers and other electronics products for high-tech companies in the area.
The new facility has the capacity to do medium-sized anodizing jobs for RJB's customers, as well subcontracted work from other machine shops in the area. It can do black and clear anodizing, as well as yellow and clear chromate coatings on metal.
Anodizing is a process that involves putting aluminum parts into a bath of electrolyte solution and passing an electrical current through it in order to penetrate the metal with a tough, resistant film.
Unlike paint, the film seeps into the metal and gives it a finished look. It's the sleek black metal look you see around the lens of a camera or on smartphones and music players, for example. Parts for the aircraft industry also are anodized because the process gives the metal more durability under stress.
Of course, anodizing is an entirely different kind of business from machining precision parts. It involves chemical solutions, detergents and dyes and big tanks of boiling water. "It was a bit scary because this was a whole different world for us," Ron says.
It was also risky from a business point of view because setting up an anodizing line required an investment of nearly $1 million. And anodizing represents only a fraction, perhaps a tenth, of what the Benders get for a part, which explains why it made sense for them to contract out that work for so many years.
But the stringent requirements of their customers forced them to act. Small anodizing subcontractors might not have the latest technology to satisfy high-tech customers who are extremely picky about the final look and function of their parts.
"This is our niche," says Ron. "Our attention to detail is so high." If even a little bit of oil gets stuck in a tiny hole or corner because a metal part wasn't cleaned properly, the anodized coating might not be uniform, which could mean scrapping a very expensive part, he says.
"A lot of the parts we make, like the camera parts, have very high cosmetic specifications," Christine says.
There are big specialized anodizing plants with the newer equipment in Ontario, but those facilities want high volume, fast production jobs, she says. "They didn't want to have to baby our parts in the way that our parts needed to be babied." The Benders, who employ 66 people at RJB, added almost 8,000 square foot to their main plant on Colby Drive to move some machining equipment from the building they leased next door. The anodizing equipment, including 18 tanks for the water and electrolyte solutions and racks and filtration equipment, were then installed next door.
The anodizing facility was built with the latest in clean air and water filtration equipment. "We were able to take advantage of the latest technologies," Ron says.
One of RJB's employees, Emil Spatar, was promoted as general manager of KW Anodizing. Originally from Romania, Spatar had already proven himself as a hard working employee, with a sharp eye for detail.
Although anodizing was a big learning curve for him, "he knew more about it than most people here and understands the quality behind it and what it has to look like," Ron says. Three people run the anodizing facility.
It took until March to get everything working to the satisfaction of the Benders. "But now we are getting quality that is actually a little better than expected," Ron says. "We are getting the nice, rich colours." The Benders hope to fill the capacity of the 3,300-square-foot facility by getting contracts from other machine shops. "We think there is enough of a market here," Ron says.
Christine, who handles the books for RJB, says the scrap ratio in the machining business is going down because the company does anodizing in-house, "and that helps in saving costs all along the line." Their machines are not making as many parts over again, which frees them up do more. "We have a faster throughput," Ron says.
Manufacturing was in a deep recession in 2009 when the Benders began making the investment in anodizing. "But sometimes, a recession is the best time to start a business," Ron says.
"We really couldn't afford not to do it," Christine now says. "Even after 22 years in business, we are obviously not done, and to keep a business viable, you have to keep moving forward.
