Shop Talk
May
PUBLISHED FOR THE PEOPLE OF EAGLE PRECISION TECHNOLOGIES
A message from Dennis Hewko, President, Eagle PT
Update on Eagle We’re looking back over a turbulent year, looking forward to a brighter future
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It’s hard to believe that it has been a year since the acquisition closed. Clearly, it has been a year of ups and downs, but together, we’ve challenged those who would suggest that Eagle PT can’t compete. We’ve proved that we can compete, and that we can win. To get here, we have gone through instability
Above: The Eagle team
and uncertainty. We saw our bookings drop to a worryingly low level, but we turned that corner and, in the last three months, bookings are back up to a point where the full capacity of the machine shop is booked. Unfortunately, those orders are at significantly continued on page 2 > > > > >
Top right photo: Dennis addresses a Town Hall meeting of Eagle employees
(Re)Building the brand Eagle’s new Director of Marketing outlines his plans
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Creating and implementing a strategic marketing plan for Eagle is no small feat, declares Justin Warren, Eagle’s new Director of Marketing. Marketing work done in the past, he explains, was piecemeal and reactive, rather than proactive. However, in a way, that is an advantage. “We have a unique opportunity
to design a new marketing plan from the ground up. That is certainly an exciting prospect.” It was indeed that opportunity that convinced him to come to Eagle. He did not take the decision lightly. He did his homework and learned that “Eagle is a good company with a great product range and people with many years of continued on page 2
IN THIS ISSUE 2 Happy anniversary 3 New blood Something to celebrate!
Kevin Parsonsbrings fresh energy to the job
4 Veterans’ Corner
4 RIEs
A fond farewell Keeping the focus on improvement
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Shop Talk
Update
continued from page one
lower margins than we are traditionally used to. Price pressures are coming from new competitors and from customers with tight budgets. As we can’t change our selling price, we need to continue to work to get more orders out of the plant without adding to our head count. We need to continue to find ways to reduce assembly, machining and rework hours in our manufacturing. Only with continued progress in all these areas will we be able to compete long term. We plan monthly Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs) for the upcoming year as we focus on our bender product line. I’ve made some mistakes. One was to dissolve the Shop Committee. We received strong feedback on this. Employees insisted that they want to be consulted and want to have input on matters concerning them. To fill that void, we created an Employee Communication Committee. Unfortunately, we were unable to afford our previous benefit plan. So we introduced a new one, with a co-pay portion and caps, which will result in savings. The new plan is competitive for our industry and, for those employees requiring medical help over the cap limit, we are bridging the transfer to Trillium.
Brand continued from page one experience and knowledge. Many of the core fundamentals are here, providing a great basis to build the business.” Justin admits that getting Eagle’s marketing activities up to speed will be a challenge. He has lots to do, and much of it requires urgent attention. “When I first started,” he recalls, “Dennis Hewko and I drew up a lengthy list of tasks and prioritized them. Well, every one was either medium or high priority! Here are three areas where Justin sees great opportunities for Eagle.
Developing new markets While retaining its traditional focus on its core automotive and aerospace markets, there are a dozen new markets to target, including: l Fabricators l Heating, ventilation, A/C, boilers l Automotive accessories l Exercise equipment l Power generation l Ship building
After market opportunities These include: l Parts and service l Tooling l Re-build
Geographic expansion
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Opportunities outside North America and Western Europe include: l China l Russia l Eastern Europe
Justin Justin is also looking at ways Eagle can use technology to reach out to customers. He has launched a monthly e-newsletter, is building a marketing database, and will shortly be introducing a new Eagle website. “There is a real sense of urgency around our marketing program,” he emphasizes. “We need to rebuild and refresh the Eagle brand and update our image in the marketplace. Fortunately for us marketing has not traditionally been very sophisticated in our industry. That creates an opening for us to move ahead of the competition and to take Eagle to a whole new level.” E
We are investing in a marketing program to develop brand awareness in new markets and to promote our capabilities. Some of you have seen our ads for the new five-year warranty program. We have been receiving many inquiries from new customers about this, as well as a high level of interest from current customers. We have announced the details of a profit-sharing program, which will replace annual salary increases in the near future. As employees are sharing in the cost cutting, it is only fair that they share in the profits that we believe the business is capable of delivering. The good news is that the order backlog is solid until August. Our focus now is on getting these orders out on time and with the profits expected. Clearly, this is a nice position to be in, but we continue to need the commitment and flexibility of all of you to achieve this goal. Let’s keep working together to rebuild Eagle PT into a profitable company. As you can see, the process is working. E
New blood In our regular Veterans’ Corner feature (see next page), Shop Talk honours the contributions that long-serving employees make to Eagle’s success. Their experience and expertise are invaluable. At the same time, a company needs the vitality and vigour of new, younger people, eager to learn and build a career for themselves. Kevin Parsons is one of these.
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Kevin joined Eagle this October after spending several years in retail in Brantford and Hamilton. He had long wanted to get into industrial manufacturing, but firms just weren’t hiring. His father-in-law Bruce Hinds had been with Eagle for 20 years and Kevin kept an eye out for an opening there. His break finally came with an opportunity to help out Jack Nagtegaal in maintenance. Soon another opportunity presented itself: Kevin took over as a saw operator. He quickly found he enjoyed the work and camaraderie of the shop floor. “I was a little apprehensive at first,” he admits. “I’d heard of companies where the older guys weren’t really interested in helping you get up to speed. At Eagle, however, everyone has been welcoming and helpful. “I wish that I had gotten into this line of work 10 years ago as soon as I finished school.” Opportunities keep opening up for Kevin. As soon as a replacement is hired to take over at the saw, he’ll become a tool setter, a position usually reserved for machinists. He has already begun boning up by taking books and manuals home to read at night. “There is a lot to learn,” he says with a laugh. “But at least I’ll know what I am looking at!” E
Kevin
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Shop Talk
V E T E R A N S ’
c o rner
Goodbye to old friends In this issue, we’re not just celebrating service anniversaries, we’re also saying goodbye to two longserving employees as they embark upon their retirement.
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Rapid Improvement Events
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Eagle maintains its focus on continuous improvement, holding Rapid Improvement Events to examine how each and every area of production can be improved.
25
YEARS
YEARS
Machinist Graham Wilks just celebrated his 35th anniversary with Eagle, joining the company in 1971. Although he is only 59, Graham decided the time was right for him to retire. “You can’t tack any more time on the back end of your life,” he jokes. “So I might as well take it now!”
After over 25 years at Eagle, Bob Trenchard and his wife will be moving back to Nova Scotia. Bob promises to return often to catch up with old friends and for bow hunting in the fall. “Eagle has been a great place to work,” says Bob. “There have been tough times, but we’ve survived them all and had a bunch of laughs along the way.”
Here, a team led by Andrew Tsekrekos and made up of Min Jin, Steve Stubbe, Doug Harold, Tristan Carter and Dave Chirka, breaks down and studies the work flow of the bender assembly area.
Anniversaries celebrated
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Pete Christo
30
YEARS
YEARS
Gary Graham
30 YEARS
Wayne Cheney
Contact Shop Talk is published for the people of Eagle PT.
25 YEARS
Larry Patis
5
YEARS
4
Pat Mastrangelo
5
YEARS
Scott McIlquham
If you have any comments, questions or complaints, please contact Laurie Davison Human Resources Manager (519) 756-5223, ext. 4402 ldavison@eaglept.com