Page 31 - MetalForming April 2015

reins of Termax from their father in 1998.
“During a nine-month initiation period when we took over the compa- ny,” Smith says, “I studied the success strategies of three iconic companies— Southwest Airlines, Hewlett-Packard and 3M. I immersed myself in devel- oping a business plan, and what I learned from each company’s approach to management and structure con- tributed uniquely to the success that we’ve had at Termax.”
Streamlined and Simplified
Southwest Airlines co-founder and former CEO Herb Kelleher employed— and perfected—a simplified and streamlined business plan, and Smith emulated it when he developed his business plan for Termax. The gist of the Southwest plan, elegantly captured in a 2008 Washington Post article:
“What does Southwest have that no one else in airlines does? It keeps things simple and consistent, which drives costs down, maximizes productive assets, and helps manage customer expectations.”
At Termax, that ideal has translated into a tight focus on slideforming and punch pressing of steel fasteners and
Termax director of operations Ken Bird (right) and IT manager Mike Ossi review produc- tion operations at one of several Plex ERP terminals on the plant floor.
“limiting ourselves to one particular type of machine,” says Smith, “a #28 (28-ton) U.S. Baird, and small presses. My dad had two small Bairds, and now we have more than 60 of the machines. We sought to standardize, as did Southwest (which standardized on one type of airplane), simplify and stream- line. We worked hard to limit what we did, and be the best at it.” Termax now
also employs a sophisticated injec- tion-molding operation, along with overmolding and assembly, using the same fasteners with a value-added component.
Smith further emphasizes that a business can only succeed, regardless of the plan in place, when its employ- ees feel committed and devoted to that success.
“Above all else,” he says, “it’s the culture that matters most. That’s the Hewlett-Packard way. Termax is more than just the sum of its parts. I know that our culture is different than most— ours is fun-loving. We enjoy what we do.
Product and slideforming-process development at Termax occurs in a separate toolroom dedicated to R & D projects. Here, (left to right) director of logistics Tom Boss, tool designer Ken Rigsby and toolroom manager Rick Ducato review an ongoing development project.
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