MRH:
I’ve been impressed with your fabrication facility. Tell the
readers why you are so committed to in-house manufacturing.
ST:
We believe that we can and should do it in the U.S.A. It is
all about quality and service. We can completely control the
manufacturing process, which is key to our quality control.
We also control our delivery – pretty much guaranteeing that
we will have product available when our customers need it.
We have seen what happens to companies that manufacture
overseas – product is late shipping, pricing is not within their
control, and quality is average at best.
With the closing of so many factories over the past twenty
years, the subject of how we are able to successfully
manufacture our products in the U.S.A. is frequently
broached. We invest regularly in quality capital equipment.
Our SMT (Surface Mount Technology) machines are fast and
efficient, and continually upgraded and improved. In the past
six months, we have added two new pieces of production
equipment. This is just part of our commitment to continually
improving our processes while keeping a stable workforce.
Adding some automation does not take away jobs! In fact, it
offers opportunities for some of our employees to ‘specialize’
in the operation and maintenance of these unique pieces of
equipment, keeping what could otherwise become a routine job
a tad more interesting.
Making our electronics in the U.S.A. allows us to completely
control our production – time to delivery, cost and quality.
Automating some of the manufacturing allows us to offer
competitive wages to
our employees. Parts
procurement and pricing is
more controlled. We don’t
DCC Impulses Column - 4
suffer the delays and expense of having our product shipped
from outside the country. It is our intent to continue the design
and manufacture of our electronic products in the U.S.A.
Of course, the subject of Blackstone Models comes up as well.
We design them here but, at present, can only economically
produce them in China. Nobody would be happier than we to
manufacture these products here. Watching wages overseas
rising, customers are often under the impression that we could
now successfully bring this manufacturing on shore. The labor
rate in China has increased from $0.90 per hour to $2.00 per
hour. It is still a fraction of the domestic minimum wage of
$7.50/hr. There are so many manual assembly processes in the
making of a model that we can’t assemble it here and deliver it
at a cost that the market wants.
4: SoundTraxx’ personnel recording a diesel loco on site
4
MRH-Oct 2013
