Aerospace Components Manufacturers, Inc.

P.O. Box 736, 1090 Elm Street Rocky Hill, CT 06067 (860) 513-3205 FAX (860) 529-5001

www.aerospacecomponents.org E-mail: alsamuel@acm-ct.org

The ACM Update & Calendar (and previous issues) are also available for viewing on the ACM website.

Welcome New ACM Member

Firth Rixson Limited 111 Founders Plaza, Suite 1802

East Hartford, CT 06108 www.firthrixson.com

Mike Sweeney, Field Sales Manager

Business Development ● The Business Development Team met on September 23rd with Bruce Fiedorowicz (Volvo Aero CT), Business Development Team Leader, opening the meeting and welcoming the members.

Joe Harpie, Chief Lending Officer, of the Connecticut Development Authority (CDA) attended this meeting along with other senior CDA managers to brief the Team on the financial services available from this agency. CDA is a quasi-public business whose main source of income is from their loan proceeds and investments. They offer a variety of financial services including re-capitalization and loans for expansion and purchase of new equipment. Mr. Harpie noted that in all cases, CDA works in works in conjunction with a firm‘s current lender and does not look to replace that lender, yet can do direct loans if the current lender doesn‘t look to carry added debt. For more information, please see www.ctcda.com; Joseph Harpie may be reached at 860-258-7832 or joseph.harpie@ctda.com.

The Team next updated recent and upcoming Industry Meetings / Tradeshows. -AUVSI (Assoc. for Unmanned Vehicle Systems Intl) held their ―Unmanned Systems North America 2010‖ conference in Denver in late August. This conference was reported as very well attended, offering many component manufacturing opportunities. -Rolls-Royce has scheduled a series of supplier meetings in Indianapolis. The ―Small Business Fair‖ on October 1st is intended for suppliers not currently having R-R vendor codes; four ACM members indicated their plan to participate and display at this event. Also on October 1st, R-R is also conducting a ‗matchmaker’ for current suppliers, offering increased access to their commodity buyers. Attendees will provide feedback on these events at the next Team meeting. -Pratt & Whitney Canada conducts a Supplier Symposium on October 13th.

The combined ―Future WorkForce Opportunities‖ Fair and ACM TradeShow will be held on October 13, 2010 and Team members discussed the events planning.

-Al Samuel announced the keynote speaker at the Tradeshow will be Ed Simsic, Director of Supply Chain at Goodrich Landing Gear (Cleveland) who will present an ―Overview of Goodrich and Best Practices in Supplier Management‖. Ed plans to be in attendance early to meet our members. Special thanks to Tom Couture of EDAC Aero who was instrumental in arranging for Mr. Simsic‘ s visit. Al also advised that 47 member firms have registered! -Members were again urged to contact their customers to encourage their attendance. -Invitations have been sent to the Governor, CT DECD and the candidates running for Governor. Members discussed inviting CT Legislators, to offer them the opportunity to learn more about our industry and our specific businesses; members are requested to make contact with their local Senators and Representatives to offer an invitation. -Al Samuel and Cliff Lawton reviewed the morning event, the ―Future WorkForce Opportunities‖ Fair, being planned by the ACM WorkForce Development Team. Response indicates the likelihood of 200 students, teachers and advisors in attendance. Members were reminded their displays must be set up and be properly staffed in time for the 8:30am opening. It was suggested firms bring their younger workers to speak with the students regarding their personal aerospace career experiences. Al also requested members bring ‗give-away‘ materials that might include company souvenirs, shopping bags and/or candy.

AGENDA

7:30am - 8:30am Display Setup 8:30am - 12:00noon “Future WorkForce Opportunities” Fair 1:00pm Trade Show Opens 4:30pm - 5:30pm Hors d‘oeuvres and Cash Bar 5:30pm Comments by ACM President Paul Murphy 5:45pm Guest Speaker: Ed Simsic, Director of Supply Chain, Goodrich Landing Gear ~7:00pm Display Disassembly

Members openly discussed their sense of local aerospace manufacturing levels and programmatic news during the ‗roundtable‘ portion of the meeting; as these discussions are always candid and highly informative, the following is an abbreviated summary:

-business is good and in virtually all reported strong improvement over the past year -select work has been returning from overseas, particularly from China and Eastern Europe -international firms are showing continued interest in our local manufacturing capability

All members are encouraged to attend to participate in the entire discussion. ● The next Business Development Team meeting will be held on Thursday, November 18th at 8:15am at CERC, Rocky Hill.

Progressive Manufacturing ● The Progressive Manufacturing Team met on September 15th at Trumpf, Inc. The topic of this meeting, “Final Assembly Line - Just-in-Time Material Handling‖, was presented by Florian Maier, a German student interning at Trumpf and using their TruLaser 1030 manufacturing program as the key element of his graduate thesis. The TruLaser 1030 was designed entirely in the U.S. and from its inception, has been a cost driven system. Significant goals were established in design to achieve 50% reductions in cost, number of parts, assembly hours and customer on-site installation time. While designing for these lowered costs, production volumes were planned at levels 100% higher than any other major machine tool produced at Trumpf‘ s Farmington, CT manufacturing facility. Manufacturing is supported by an extensive global supply chain that provides 70% of the part numbers, yet Trumpf internally manufactures details (including the high value laser) and assemblies that represent 80% of the total value of the finished system. Florian briefed the Team on the system‘s assembly planning and the various features put in place prior to commencing rate production to assure cost targets can be achieved. A ―flowline stress test‖ was created to understand all issues and risks in achieving the requirement for a one-day takt time at rate production. Target times for each assembly step were established prior to conducting the ‗stress test‘ and quality personnel collected actual assembly time data. Shop workers supported the ‗stress test‘ by providing written feedback regarding potentials problems and suggested improvements. Many of the principles addressed in Trumpf‘s process can directly relate to other ACM firms in their approach to significantly reducing manufacturing costs. Following his briefing, Florian hosted Team members on a tour of the TruLaser 1030 assembly line to display the implemented process. Team members thanked Florian for his outstanding presentation which is available for viewing in the ACM website library; go to Member Login, Progressive Manufacturing and download Trumpf_Present_to_Lean_Team_-TAKTFLOW_9-15-10.pdf.

● The next Progressive Manufacturing Team meeting is still being planned; members will be advised of its date, topic and location in a subsequent email notice.

Over the years, Jim Womack has provided many thoughtful and, in my opinion, inspiring essays; this is his last as CEO of the Lean Enterprise Institute….Allen Samuel

Workforce Development ● The WorkForce Development Team met on September 21st at Stowe Machine, Windsor.

The Team reviewed the status of the current courses:

Seats remain available for “Intro to Lean 101”. Lean 101, a new ACM course offering, provides the student with the fundamental knowledge of current continuous process improvement methodologies in use within competitive manufacturing environments. It exposes the student to the basic concepts of Lean Manufacturing theory and the various tools and techniques involved with lean implementation. Students attending this course may request CT Community College credits. In looking toward courses that will begin in January, 2011, Team members agreed “Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T)”, as well as “Use of Measurement Tools” will be included in the schedule.

Planning for the ―Future Workforce Opportunities‖ Fair continued. Members are contacting schools to reconfirm attendance; as of today, more than 185 students are expected along with teachers, counselors and parents. Please see comments regarding the Fair in the Business Development section (above). ● The WorkForce Development Team will next meet on Tuesday, November 9th at 8:00am at Aerex Manufacturing in South Windsor.

Course Date

(Start)

No. of

Days

Date

(End)

Host Company or

Location

Participants

BluePrint Reading 9/21/2010 10 11/23/2010 CT Tool CT Tool

Aerocision

Heico

Stowe Machine

Intro to Lean (101) 10/6/2010 11 12/15/2010 Asnuntuck CC Kaman Precision Prod.

Sterling Machine

Delta Industries

Aerocision

Barnes Airmotive

CT Tool

Volvo Aero CT

First Line Supervisor's 10/6/2010 12 12/22/2010 Kaman Precision Products Kaman Precision Prod.

Aerex Manufacturing

Aerospace Techniques

Forrest Machine

GKN Structures

Volvo Aero CT

A Message from Jim Womack of the Lean Enterprise Institute commenting on

“Passing the Baton” Jim: Thirteen years ago, when I opened the doors at the Lean Enterprise Institute, I thought there was an important need for a nonprofit organization to provide practical advice as well as thought leadership for managers trying to apply lean thinking around the world. My idea was to package the needed tools in clearly written formats, develop ways to teach them in workshops and seminars, hold periodic conferences to share ideas and instill courage, and continually push ahead with new thinking for new conditions. Since its founding, I believe that LEI has played a significant role in the advancement of lean thinking.

--continued on Page 6--

Consolidated Purchasing

● The Purchasing Team met at Delta Industries, East Granby, on September 8th and were briefed by Mark Hagopian, Director, Corporate Accounts of MESCA Freight Services on cost saving opportunities in freight shipments. MESCA (Moving Every Shipment Coast to Coast Affordably) is a full service freight management company that acts to negotiate a reduced rate on your behalf. It began in Maine following the deregulation of trucking rates in 1979 when LL Bean became the first member of their group; today, MESCA negotiates rates for 8000 customers in the U.S. and Canada. Once a firm registers with MESCA, they have access to the rates which, according to Hagopian, are discounted based on the shipping volume of 8100 firms. MESCA‘s clients choose the trucking firm for each of their shipments from an Internet display of rates from a variety of carriers. The firm remains the client of the trucking firm and are billed directly by the trucking firm. One ACM firm, who has been using MESCA, reported a 28% saving from previous shipping costs. MESCA also provides support for tracing of shipments (on their website), electronic Bill of Lading generation and support in the event a claim against the shipper. In summary, Hagopian advised MESCA‘s services ‗allow the purchasing professional to do what they do best, and not have to also become the traffic manager!‖ Team members showed significant interest and accepted Mr. Hagopian‘s offer to conduct a no-cost training program, ―Freight 101‖; additional details follow. For additional information on MESCA Freight Services, please see their website, www.mesca.com, or contact Mark Hagopian at 603-672-1275 or mark@mesca.com. In other Team business, the cost of raw materials was discussed as prices continue to fluctuate. Nickel was reported as over $9/lb, up from the low $8/lb range in May and June; lead times are also becoming longer. Mills are again busy, driving the prices up, and surcharges will likely increase. PIE (Price in Effect) rates are also returning! ● The ACM Purchasing Team will hold its next meeting on Thursday, September October 21st at 8:15am at CERC, Rocky Hill. Please RSVP the ACM Office of your plan to attend. MESCA‘s Mark Hagopian will present a one hour FREIGHT 101 training course and will provide the course materials and certificate of class completion (to those who RSVP) at NO cost. Freight 101 will address: -Bill of Lading Preparation -Common Shipping Definitions and Terms -Components of LTL, T/L &Small Package Rate Structure -Freight Claims Management -Terms of Sale -There is NO Such Thing as FREE Freight Purchasing Team members are requested to bring their company managers, freight traffic „managers‟ and shipping receiving department personnel to this training session. ● Suppliers having Agreements with ACM are:

Supplier: Key Contact: Telephone: Shop Supplies, Abrasives, Cutting Tools, etc.

Turtle & Hughes Dave Howard 203-497-1555

Raw Materials: Nickel, Cobalt, Titanium – Sheet, Plate & Bar Stock

Aerodyne Alloys Kirk Smallidge 860-508-1271

Compensation & Benefits Practices Survey ACM has again contracted with the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) to conduct a survey of our member‘s compensation and benefits practices. This will be our fifth year of providing this service. This survey is being offered by ACM as a NO COST benefit to our members and is intended to collect accurate and timely compensation and benefits data to assist in managing and planning your compensation practices. Neither the Executive Director, Board members nor any ACM firms have access to individual responses nor will the data provided, in any manner, be identified with any individual company. CBIA‘s final report will reflect only summarized information and will ONLY be distributed to ACM members who have provided inputs to the survey. The survey will include comparisons of this year‘s data with that collected in each of the past years. ACM members firms were mailed their package on September 20th (from CBIA). Please respond promptly within the time frame set forth in the mailing. CBIA will prepare a summary report and send it directly to each responding firm in November.

News from ACM Members

Please forward significant company news and announcements to Allen Samuel at

alsamuel@acm-ct.org for posting on the ACM website and publication in the UPDATE

“Passing the Baton”

--continued from Page 4—

I knew at its founding that LEI wasn‘t the work of one person for a few years, and we needed collaborators who could someday carry on. So one of my first acts in the summer of 1997 was to ask John Shook, then director of the Japan Technology Management Program at the University of Michigan, to join me at LEI as my deputy. With experience as the first American manager at Toyota in Japan, helping manage the transfer of the Toyota management system across the Pacific, John had the ideal combination of deep knowledge and practical experience to someday succeed me.

John, as you can guess, said no. He had other ventures to pursue. But he did suggest that he help LEI introduce central lean concepts and helpful tools to the burgeoning Lean Community. So John joined with Mike Rother to introduce value-stream mapping as a simple, practical tool that soon became the LEI workbook, Learning to See, our first best seller. As the years went by I repeated my requests to John to join me. And he always suggested a project instead, of which the most notable was his remarkably lucid explanation of lean management and the A3 process in Managing to Learn. Over the years John also participated frequently in our courses and conferences, including supporting many of the members of the Lean Global Network around the world.

About a year ago, after beginning to shift LEI beyond lean tools into lean management, I realized that it was time to "repurpose" LEI for the next phase of its life. I set out to do this myself, remembering our LEI mantra that purpose comes first, then the processes to achieve the purpose, then engaged people to conduct the processes needed to achieve the purpose. But I soon stopped short, asking the simple question: "Why should I lead a strategic thought process about the future direction of LEI when I am nearly at retirement age?" The obvious answer was that I shouldn't. Instead I needed to turn this task and the next phase in the life of LEI over to a new leader.

--continued on Page 14--

ACM GOLF OUTING

The weather was again spectacular for ACM‘s Golf Outing held at the Suffield Country Club on September 13th…..and again, everyone had a great time. Thanks for the effort of our ‗golf committee‘, Kirk Smallidge, Bruce Fiedorowicz and John McCarroll, all those who supported our door prize raffle and the outstanding staff at Suffield. Food was exceptional as was the hospitality of Suffield‘s pro, Stan McLennan.

Please mark your calendars for next year‟s outing scheduled for Monday, September 12, 2011

for which Kirk Smallidge has again guaranteed perfect weather!

Stan McLennan, Suffield Country Club‘s pro, welcomes the ACM‘s players at the start of our Outing

The Winners!

FIRST PLACE – GROSS SCORE (l to r)

Randy Plis, Jack Lukasik, Tony Bruno & Tim Collins

After another great Outing, Kirk Smallidge (left) and Bruce Fiedorowicz (above) welcome

ACM members to awards and dinner!

The Winners!

FIRST PLACE – NET SCORE (l to r)

Stan McLennan (pro), Bob Leary, Bill Brown, Rick Francoeur &

Doug Ogrean

SECOND PLACE – NET SCORE

(l to r)

Stan McLennan (pro), Howie Orr, Rhody Triblets, Mike Arslan &

David Plis

THIRD PLACE – NET SCORE

(l to r)

Stan McLennan (pro), Tim Regan, Mike Shea &

Greg Morris (not shown)

The Winners!

Putting Contest Ken Couture,

Alpha Q

Closest to Pin Don Dastoli, Aero Gear

Longest Drive Ed Strickland,

Alpha Q

(l to r), Larry Wilson, Bruce Fiedorowicz, Lars Ljungstrom & Joakim Anderson,

Volvo Aero CT

(l to r), Augie Arndt, Phil Milidantri & Levi Citarella,

Technical Metal Finishing

(l to r), Chris Simmons, Kaman Precision Products, John McCarroll, Connstep, Scott Summers, SPX

Precision Components & John Kornegay, Kaman PP

(l to r), Kent Backus, Har-Conn Chrome, Chip Emerson & Bill Pardo, Sterling Engr, John Menchetti, Barnes Windsor

(l to r), David Plis & Mike Arslan, Habco, Rhody Triblets & Howie Orr, KTI

(l to r), Mike Shea, Tim Regan & Greg Morris, Yarde Metals

(l to r), Mike Scotto, Tim Duggan, Ed Strickland & Ken Couture,

Alpha Q

(l to r), Doug Ogrean, Rick Francoeur, Bill Brown & Bob Leary, Aerex Manufacturing

(l to r), Tim Collins, Satellite Tool, Randy Plis, Metals Testing, Jack Lukasik, Satellite Tool, Tony Bruno, Metals Testing

(l to r), Kim Jackson, David Freeman, Brett Greene, John Favre & Steve Medwid, AMK Welding

(l to r), Rick Babyak, WGI, Paul Foley, B&E, Frank Bullis & Kirk Smallidge, Aerodyne Alloys

(l to r), Greg West, National Sintered, Roger Fabian, Bodycote, Dan Blair, Barnes Windsor,

& Gary Carle, Delta Industries

(l to r), David Clapp, Bill Greenmore, Jim Wassell & John Fedytnyk, HEICO

(l to r), Chris Cartland, Greg Townsend, Ed Smith & John Martin, Kamatics

(l to r), Mike French, Doug Rose, Don Dastoli & Lee Welch, Aero Gear

(l to r), Bill Evans III, Jill Jones, Tom Berozsky & Tom Nessing, Delta Industries

(l to r), Craig Sullivan, Jon Hidle, Joe Lubenstein & Ron Felix,

SPX Precision Products