Sun Invests In System Improvements


What's New at Sun Microstamping 



The first quarter of 2015 has the year off to a busy start at both our Clearwater and Mexico facilities. 



In February Sun hosted our annual field sales representative sales meeting. The meeting was a great "meeting of the minds" and this year we welcomed some new members to our sales team. We have several new programs launching or ramping up which is keeping our engineering and manufacturing team busy.



Our Accounting team is also staying busy as they are heading up the huge project of improving our internal computer system. We are currently in the testing and training stage with implementation scheduled for later in the year.



A Letter from the CEO



2015 is on "the move" the first quarter is already in the books!!! Sun's forecasted expectations and budget for 2015 was a 10% growth in sales over 2014 and a commensurate growth in profits.



Q1 results show us beating both by about 5%. With several new programs either launching or ramping up we are experiencing heavier startup costs than expected. Sun's "safe launch" process has many extra precautionary steps that inevitably increase the labor content. The length of time a new component is in the "safe launch" program depends on the complexity of the component. Typically in the stamping side of the business it can be 100,000 to 1,000,000 parts produced with zero defects and shipped to the customer.



Sun has several new programs that go onto the new F150 Pick-up truck; these are ramping up faster than was forecasted, this is a good thing!!!



There are several other exciting projectsat Sun. Here are a couple of examples; we are upgrading our Enterprise software, training courses are on-going and we hope to launch a full scale pilot trail in September. Also, due to increased business we are increasing the electrical power coming into the Molding department, to accommodate 5 to 7 new mold presses that will be installed in the coming months.



So far 2015 has set off with a "bang" and we expect it to continue through the year.



Annual Sales Representative Meeting



Sun hosted our annual Sales Meeting at our Clearwater Facility in February. This two day event was a great success. Every year Sun gets it's outside and inside sales force together to discuss new programs, technologies, internal processes, sales and marketing platforms and ideas. This meeting is very interactive and allows for knowledge to be shared by Sun employees and outside sales team.



This is also a chance for our representatives to collaborate with each other on sales ideas, tactics for using marketing platforms and a reference point on existing and potential customers. At this meeting we also dedicate time for each representative to lead the discussion about the programs they are working on, current customers and hot RFQ's, which is very informative for Sun staff and the other sales representatives.



This year's sales meeting was our largest sales team yet as Sun welcomed the Walton  Company to the team. Also, this was Glenn Shaw's first sales meeting with Sun as our new Director of Sales and Marketing. It was great to have so many new faces at the meeting and also great catching up with the sales representatives that have worked together with Sun.



Sun Welcomes New Sales Representative Company



This year at our annual sales meeting we welcomed a new field sales representative company to the team, the Walton Company. They are Sun's largest field sales representative team and they collectively bring a large amount of knowledge, talent and manufacturing contacts to our business. Here is some more information about their company in their words;



"The Walton Company is a Manufacturer's Representative firm specializing in the sale and design support of engineered components. We currently have 9 sales consultants, 6 outside and 3 inside, that cover the states of Tennessee,Southern Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Florida. Our customers include companies such as John Deere, Honda, ZF Industries and Invacare.



The Walton Company was founded in 1986 initially specializing in the sale of Metal Raw Materials. As the OEM base of the south grew, The Walton Company developed into the engineering oriented sales organization that we are today.



Our sales in 2012 were in excess of $57 million with more than 200 active customers, including 35 new customers. The companies we represent are the recognized leaders in their industries.



Sales Philosophy



All of our sales representatives are technically knowledgeable in the processes they sell. This technical ability, in combination with our years of experience, enhances our ability to work with engineering, purchasing and manufacturing groups within our OEM market base. Through our knowledge of various methods of manufacturing, we are adept at converting existing components to alternate manufacturing processes, thus reducing cost to our customer and improving part quality. Our strong customer relationshipsdeveloped since 1986 allows us to be involved from the early design stages of a project to the delivery of first piece samples and the eventual production of the component.



We have as an integral part ofour organization, an inside sales staff that is our link to our customer base as well as our principals. Our staff provides sales support to our field engineers with immediate access to sales files, quotations, and currentorder status. We are committed to this level of communication within our organization as well as our customers and principals."



Sun Invests In System Improvements



Sun Microstamping always strives to provide the best possible products at the lowest possible price. An important part of obtaining that goal comes by providing the best systems available to help the Sun staff operate as efficiently as possible. During 2015 their ability to do that will be greatly enhanced.



In 2014, representatives from each department of Sun evaluated our current systems (i.e. – MAPICs) against the capabilities of systems on the market. The topics evaluated included automation, data collection/processing, production capabilities, monitoring and reporting. After reviewing the results, the team unanimously voted to invest in a total software solution named "Visibility."



Visibility will be used by all departments within Sun. It will be used to process sales orders, purchase raw materials, plan and produce inventory, and monitor/report the results. The functionality and automation within Visibility far surpasses MAPICs and will significantly improve our operating effectiveness.



The implementation is being broken down into two phases. The first phase is the transfer of all the current functions from MAPICs to Visibility. While Visibility in the first phase will mostly be tracking the same process flows, it's expected to increase efficiencies tremendously through software automation. Better tools produce better results.



The second phase will allow Sun to improve its operating processes to take advantage of some of the more advanced features of Visibility. Those advanced features allow improvements without excessive costs or maintenance. Aschanges are implemented, additional opportunities for process improvements are expected to be discovered as the staff has more time to fully explore the system's capabilities.



Frankly, it is a challenge to keep these two phases separate because as employees receive Visibility training there is a real tendency to want to do everything at once. However, except for a couple of "no-brainers," the management team is determined to maintain a disciplined approach to the installation to ensure that our customers and vendors experience as seamless a transition as possible.



While the investment in Visibility is substantial, there is no doubt by those involved that visibility will significantly improve the effectiveness of Sun. Itis with a real sense of excitement that we are working through the rest of the training, testing and implementation process so we can all start to see the benefits before the end of 2015.



If you have any questions regarding how this system upgrade will impact you or your company please contact your Sun Microstamping Technologies' representative and they will be happy to help you. 



Stamping Employee of the Month



Every month in the stamping department an "Employee of the Month" is chosen for their hard work and excepional performance for the month. The following employees have been recognized the first few months of 2015 for their outstanding performance. Congratulations to each of you!!! 



Jan. 2015 = Mike Herring



Feb. 2015 = Greg Fish



Mar. 2015 = Fatima



April 2015 = Matt Ford



Sun's Future is Bright



With the new and exciting system improvements, a great staff and dedicated sales team, 2015 will be a great year at Sun!! Sun is continually looking for ways to improve their internal processes, quality of products, engineering and manufacturing capabilities, and their sales and employee team. These constant improvements help Sun to better serve our customers that are the cornerstone of our business.


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