Page 23 - MetalForming June 2009

and other types of manufacturing oper- ations. While we still serve automotive customers, our customer base now is two-thirds nonautomotive.
“Additionally, we’re not just a stam- per,” continues Rolando, “as only half of our business is in processing of metal alloys. Our growth toward plastics and other advanced materials has been crit- ical to our success.”
A key goal for Gobar is to target an equal amount of business from auto- motive, plastics-processing customers, and a diverse selection of contract- manufacturing sectors such as telecom- munications, medical and consumer goods.
While the company has shrunk from 600 down to 250 employees, its annual sales have grown from $20 million to nearly $45 million. This dramatic increase in productivity is due not only to the firm’s ability to diversify into new markets and operations, but also to its commitment to apply automation to nearly every production operation; invest in capital-equipment improve- ments; and seek to add value-added functions throughout its manufacturing facilities.
New Press Mix Meets Future Challenges
As part of Gobar’s commitment to invest in capital equipment, Rolando describes its need to add new technol- ogy to its press stable, a move the com- pany began to make a little more than a decade ago.
“We were tooled for a lot of GM component/bracket work in the mid to late’80s,”saysRolando.“Then,aninflux of competition hit our area. We went from no competition in the area in 1986 to four local competitors by 1992, to more than a dozen area companies vying for our business today. We decid- ed to change out our lower-tonnage C- frame presses to allow us to stamp larg- er and more sophisticated parts and assemblies.
“Our older, lower-tech smaller press- es weren’t going to allow us to meet our growth goals,” continues Rolando.
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