Keats Manufacturing Co.

More Medical Devices, Less Red Tape

2012-02-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

The FDA recently announced that they have reached atentative user fee deal with the $105.8 billion U.S. medical device industry.The deal allows the FDA to collect around $500 million from the variouscompanies over the next five years. In return, for this near doubling of fees,companies - and in turn patients - will benefit from a faster and moretransparent review process.

While this might not seem like front-page news to mostpeople, it is to us. The U.S. medical device market is the world’s largest. Asa country, we spend $339 per person, per year on medical devices. America ishome to 7 out of 10 of the world’s largest manufacturers including Johnson& Johnson, General Electric, Baxter, Covidien and Medtronic. A faster andmore streamlined approval process means more medical devices getting a greenlight for production.

At Keats, wespecialize in the kind of small metal stampings, wireforms, and assemblies thatare crucial to making exacting medical devices. We recently designed and built over 3,000,000 wire links for a leading medicaldevice maker. The Florida-based medicaldevice maker came to Keats because they needed their medical device parts to bedurable, consistent, and exacting. It’s not the kind of component you want madeby just anyone. You might even say it’s a matter a life and death.

Many of these devices play critical roles in keeping peoplealive and well. Because of this, the quality control experts at Keats go toextraordinary length to make sure that nothing leaves our facilities before itis subjected to rigorous inspection and testing.

Over the next few months, we’ll do our best to keep youinformed about how the FDA’s faster review process will directly affect ourindustry and most importantly, you and your loved ones.

Keats and Autodesk: a winning and innovative team

2012-02-12T14:07:00.000-08:00

At Keats, we make some of the most intricate custom smallmetal stampings, wire forms, and assemblies around. At all three of our locations, we are proudto bring our customers high-quality services and excellent designcapabilities. Unlike some of ourcompetitors, Keats engineers all of our own dies and tools. This kind ofcustomization allows us to guarantee our clients the tightest tolerances and aconsistently high level of quality. In order to bring our clients this amountof technical expertise, we use the best tools available. In the case ofdesigning and engineering, no tool is more helpful than Autodesk’s AutoCADsoftware.

Autodesk is a proudAmerican company that makes the world’s leading 2D and 3D CAD (computer-aideddesign) software. Much like Keats, Autodesk is an industry leader in theirfield, and they are committed to innovation, customer service, and costcompetitiveness. Every year Autodeskreleases a new, more advanced, and user-friendly version of their award winningsoftware. Like Keats, they never rest ontheir past achievements. They know that you build long-term relationships bykeeping your customers happy and always being ahead of the curve. To top it all off, they were recentlyincluded in CNBC.com’s list of 15 companies with zero debt.Not many companies can say that these days. It’s a sign that like Keats, Autodesk is committed to fiscalresponsibility without sacrificing innovation and customer service.

If you want to learn more about how we utilize Autodesk’sAutoCAD software to custom engineer our tools and dies, check out our website or give one of our design experts a call today.

U.S. and European Steel Prices

2012-02-01T13:31:00.000-08:00

If your company relies on a steady supply of steel, you are probably quite aware that the price of U.S. benchmark hot-rolled coil steel recently hit a two-year high of $783 a ton. At the same time, European steel prices have fallen, leaving a $128-a-ton gap between the two regions. That’s both good and bad news. Good, because the improvement in prices on this side of the Atlantic means that manufacturers and suppliers are responding to some very welcomed, upbeat economic data, like a drop in new unemployment claims, a rise in the ISM purchasing managers’ index, and the highest steel mill production since the beginning of the financial crisis.

It’s bad news because higher prices for raw materials all too often do need to be dispersed between manufacturer and customer. Also, the slew of negative European economic factors equals lower overseas demand and sales.

Because we’re a company built on long-term relationships, we just want to let you know that we’re doing everything we can to control costs so you don’t feel the pinch. If your prices do increase, we want you to know why. As a trusted vendor of high-quality steel stampings, wire, and assemblies, we watch the trends and pricing forecasts closely to stay competitive and cost-effective for our customers.

With this in mind, Keats wants to promise everyone that we will make every effort to keep you informed about any price fluctuations that might affect your bottom line.

Prices rise and prices fall, but just know that our quality and commitment to you, the customer, will always remain high.

An EcoBoost for the Environment

2012-01-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

There has been a great deal of talk about the future ofalternative fuels. From electric to natural gas to hybrids, it often seems thatthe auto industry is only focused on moving away from fossil fuels andcombustion engines. But in fact that is not really the case. Major auto makerslike Ford know that while alternative energies heavily influence today’sautomotive landscape, the near future is going to demand traditional combustionengines with increased fuel efficiency. In fact, federally-mandated CAFE(Corperate Average Fuel Economy) standards for small passenger cars will increasefrom today’s 36 MPG to 61 MPG in 2025. Therefore, industry leaders like Fordwill need to find a way to make a 100-year-old product nearly twice asefficient in just 13 years.

To reach these goals and still make cars and trucks that peoplewant to drive – and can afford - Ford has designed a new line of engine, dubbedthe EcoBoost. These exciting new engineshelp boost fuel efficiency by shrinking the size of the internal components –while increasing performance through a combination of improved fuel injectionand turbocharger technology.

At Keats we know we are going to play a large role in thispush for greater fuel efficiency. We recently designed and built a new fuelinjection steel shield that is used in modern, fuel efficient combustion engines.We’ve used four-slide and multi-slide stamping to manufacture 3,000,000 ofthese custom cold rolled steel shields, which were created to help allcompanies at the forefront of automotive manufacturing reach their lofty fuelmanagement goals. Because we are already at the center of this burgeoningdesigning and manufacturing movement, Keats is well positioned to take fulladvantage of the next 20 years in automotive innovation and change.

Metal Stampings and Hearing Aids

2012-01-18T11:10:00.000-08:00

With great strides in recent years, hearing aids arebecoming just as technologically advanced as other electronics, like LED TVs oriPads. So maybe you can’t play Words With Friends on a hearing aid. Yet. But the newest crop of audio assistancedevices on the market do their best to achieve an unprecedented level ofintegration with those types of devices, and more. We take a look at thoseproducts, and some other interesting industry news, in this week’s blog.

Bluetooth support:As a cursory glance at this listof articles proves, this is one of the hottest trends in hear aids today.Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids combine the best of all worlds: environmentalaudio amplification, along with audio feeds from your cell phone, music player,television, and more, directly into your ear, through the device – with nowires. Fears of frequency interference and tangled connections are a thing ofthe past, and no longer do hearing aids need to be switched out for earphonesor headsets. Truly a breakthrough in convenience and assistance for all hearingaid users.

Attractive asthetics:This hearing aid combines a stylish look with an incredibly useful visual feedback feature.Bucking the trend of smaller and smaller assistance devices, this one is meantto be seen. With the appearance of anearring, the hearing aid also features a small LCD-type screen that displays agreen, yellow, red, or blue wavelength symbol to indicate whether a speaker istoo loud, too soft, too fast, or just right. In the concept stage right now,this one would certainly make a useful addition to the hearing aid market.

Solar power: Seekingto address a community which otherwise might not have access to hearing aids,the inventor and associates described in this piece developed battery-free devices, operated through solar power. As of now, 20,000people in 30 countries have benefitted from this combination of ingenuity andgenerosity, with more nations on tap.

As metal stamping experts with exactly the type offine-precision capabilities to produce hearing aid components,we look forward to the opportunity to be part of such useful and innovativetechnologies. Visit our sitefor more information.

A Mission Statement for Manufacturing’s Future

2012-01-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

Maybe some real talk is just what is needed to keep manufacturing on the right path in the near and distant future. As close observers of news throughout the industry, beyond just our core of precision metal stamping, we’re well aware of the obstacles facing manufacturers in the U.S. and abroad. Throughout these tough times, though, our optimism has been fed by the fact that the issues are being addressed head on. Too often, hindsight provides the answers when it’s already too late. In manufacturing, industry leaders are aware of these problems – and have a plan to fix them.

Nowhere, perhaps, have the sticking points been addressed more directly or cohesively than in former National Association of Manufacturers President Jerry Jasinowski’s piece on a proposed agenda for manufacturing. Beyond the familiar topics of the U.S. technical skills gap and the need for favorable trade agreements, Jasinowski takes a proactive approach to two other areas. Technology innovation has not often been seen as a weak area for the U.S., but he suggests a closer look in the rear-view mirror to maintain our dominance as research and development experts. Additionally, he calls for a unified, favorable, and common-sense tax plan to foster development and production here in the U.S. No arguments on any of his points here – at Keats, we’re committed, through our partnerships and our production, to the continued success of the industry.

Workin’ On the Railroad: Domestic Steel Production Increasing

2011-12-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

Planes, trains, and automobiles: familiar trappings of holiday travelers around this time of year. A steel plant in Pueblo, CO, is benefitting from the continuing growth of at least one of those ever-enjoyable travel methods: with the need for head-hardened steel used in laying rails expanding, the facility will be stepping up its production in 2012. This growth in investment will be accompanied by further efforts to produce higher-quality rail steel, capable of handling the heavy-duty demands of railcar coal transport in addition to travel and commuter rail.

Our work here at Keats Manufacturing is a bit removed from high-impact rail construction, but the repercussions in the industry at large are apparent. Our products do, of course, involve steel, and we’ve seen a number of commodity suppliers come and go over the past few years, in the face of waning production and a difficult economic climate. An investment of this caliber by any raw material producer is a sure sign of strength in the larger manufacturing world – and we also applaud the continued innovation in an industry as well-established as steel production.

Nucor’s Forecast Sheds Light on Manufacturing

2011-12-20T09:28:00.000-08:00

This NASDAQ report on Nucor’s 4th quarter forecast – expecting year-over-year growth from Q4 2010, but a decline from Q3 numbers – also discusses how the steel manufacturer’s strengths and weaknesses play into the manufacturing market and industry. Of course, like any commodity, pricing of Nucor’s products – sheet steel, rolled steel, and so on – and subsequent profit or loss, is tied directly to the performance of those companies that purchase these materials.

Core U.S. manufacturing sectors like automotive, energy, and heavy equipment have, according to Nucor, been stronger this year than last. Obviously, this is great news, with the only minor downside being that an especially strong early 2011 means that a downward trend was shown for the year as a whole. Especially in this still-uncertain economic climate, such ups and downs are to be expected, and we see a positive outlook in the fact that this year’s lows are higher than last year’s lows – and, in some cases, are even better than previous highs. Also something to look forward to: a renewed burst of raw material purchasing as budgets are replenished in January, promising another early-year boom for 2012. Keep in touch with Keats for more information moving forward!

New Stamping Press Has Immediate Benefits

2011-12-12T08:43:00.000-08:00

It’s one of those everyday parts of life that you never really notice – until it’s not there. Sure, this could apply to lots of things: your shoelaces, for one, or your cell phone, for another. What we’re talking about today, though, is the overhead dome light in your car. It sure can be jarring to pull open your driver’s side door at night, expecting to duck into a well-illuminated interior, only to be met with the same pitch-blackness that you’re standing in. Dome lights have been on our minds more than usual here at Keats, though, since we’ve been using a brand new piece of equipment specifically to manufacture dome light components for one of our partners.

With such a versatile range of operations here, we can assist all types of other manufacturers in getting their products completed and ready for shipment. It’s especially rewarding when one of our long-time partners is able to expand a product line that Keats has been an integral part of, which was the case with this dome light manufacturer. Landing a major contract with a domestic automotive manufacturer (our industry colleagues will understand our inability to use specific names here), our partner needed increased production from our end – and fast! Our new stamping press allowed us to step up and meet that need, keeping the dome lights rolling off the assembly line and into your car. Our numerous facilities and ample production space are ideal for this type of flexibility: obtaining new, dedicated equipment on demand to meet a specific need. Check out our website for more stories of manufacturing success.

U.S. Manufacturing Growth Strong in November

2011-12-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

Automotive, spring stampings, military parts: the U.S. manufacturing industry covers a vast amount of products and uses, and all of it is surveyed periodically by the ISM. The ISM, or Institute of Supply Management, independently surveys incoming orders, new equipment deliveries, and, of course, production, and compares it against previous months and other countries. November’s report yielded results that came as a surprise to many, according to this MarketWatch report: not only was U.S. manufacturing booming, but it was outpacing the rest of the world.

While this is certainly good news, its unexpectedness yields some questions. Or, maybe, just one: “Why?” The article proffers a couple of theories, the most plausible of which are an expiring tax credit on new equipment, and increased auto production. Also mentioned is a corresponding and equally surprising lack of production in countries like Germany and Mexico. At Keats, our El Paso facility allows us to work closely with manufacturers in Mexico, and one of our, and their, key industries is the automotive sector. This partnership has always proven beneficial, in our view of the U.S. manufacturing picture, and we’re confident that this latest report will yield to signs of increased production at those facilities, while maintaining the strong trends here.

Steel Pricing Continues Steady Trend of Unpredictabliity

2011-11-29T13:45:00.000-08:00

Keeping track of developments in steel markets can be a head-spinning endeavor, but that doesn’t mean we don’t try here at Keats Manufacturing. It’s well-known that our best advice, in the face of uncertain future cost trends, is to plan and purchase just as you always have. Accounting for cost increases and decreases is just too difficult, too frustrating, to try and do otherwise. Recent steel news illustrates this to a “T.”

Out of Indiana this week: NLMK’s flat rolled steel prices will be increasing, on the heels of Nucor’s decrease in coated steel pricing. Even more recently than either of these, South Korea’s Posco announced record stainless steel production, market expansion, and profitability. This, in one of the most tumultuous times for the industry in recent memory. Perhaps not surprisingly, Posco’s spokesperson played coy about raw material sources and costs. Magicians don’t reveal their secrets.

Unfortunately for many of us, material options are often limited, and we can’t jump from one material to another based on price alone. As this news from just the past few days shows, the only safe prediction is unpredictability.

FABTECH 2011: Metalworking in Chicago

2011-11-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

Last week, FABTECH, the largest North American metal forming and fabricating expo, returned to Chicago. The conference is always a fantastic showcase for metal manufacturers and equipment suppliers, as well as a great opportunity to learn about the best ways of managing procurement, personnel, and other business aspects of the industry. FABTECH’s site provides a full listing of exhibitors, seminars, lectures, and other events that happened at the expo. See the detailed schedule here (PDF). Here’s a recap of a few events that were most interesting to us:

Monday: Error-Proof Metalforming session. The tight tolerances of our four-slides allow us to come as close as possible to perfection – but who wouldn’t want to learn more?
Tuesday: Shipbuilding professional program. With our past experience performing metal stamping for submarine components, this session immediately appealed to us.
Wednesday: World Class Safety and How to Compete Globally session. Worker safety is always a primary concern of ours, and it’s great to see that our colleagues share this view.
Thursday: Cloud Computing Basics session. For more information on cloud computing, click here. In short, this technology can help us be more efficient in sharing the results of services like design and inspection with our customers, and can help streamline our own in-house processes as well.

Please get in touch or leave comments with your own impressions of FABTECH 2011!

Demand Issues Affect Steel Prices

2011-11-14T12:10:00.000-08:00

Worldwide production and economic issues have joined to produce some unfortunate side effects for steel manufacturers and metalworkers. As described in this article, ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, is dealing with the aftereffects of a global recession, facing lowered demand and higher raw material pricing. This convergence of events, with market competition pushing commodity pricing down even as raw material procurement costs increase, creates a very uncertain climate in the industry.

Here at Keats Manufacturing, we pride ourselves on putting our customers first and offering as much assistance in purchasing as possible. Through our long experience in metal stamping, we’ve seen a lot of market ups and downs, and we’ve found that the best way to deal with them is to proceed with business as usual. That is, it’s rarely beneficial to attempt to “play the market” with steel, and costs over the long term will reflect this principle. Please contact us at Keats with any further questions!

A Question of Industry: Are Four-Slide Machines Obsolete?

2011-11-07T15:08:00.000-08:00

Reading some LinkedIn posts recently, we came across a discussion that we couldn’t help but jump into. A fellow engineer asked whether the reliable and versatile four-slide machine had become obsolete. You can probably guess our answer! Although four-slide machines were originally invented to fabricate springs and wire forms (and continue to do so today), technicians from other industries have continually found new and innovative ways to use them, far beyond their original applications. Rather than being outdated, four-slides are contributing to cutting-edge, efficient and accurate manufacturing just as much as ever.
We were pleased to see that we were just one of a chorus of many voices answering the LinkedIn query with a resounding “No!”, whether from job shops with their own four-slides, or manufacturers that use those shops’ services. Just a few advantages mentioned throughout the discussion were:

Increased speed as compared to die presses
Superior product design applications
Ability to produce more complex pieces
Close tolerances

One of the best ways to ensure those advantages is to dedicate enough time to employee training and machine maintenance, and we cannot overestimate the importance of this to other four-slide users and customers out there. With over 100 machines at our facility, and the expertise and creativity to continue to push their boundaries, we look forward to proving their viability and usefulness for years to come.

Circuit Breakers and the Environment: Two New Products

2011-11-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

One of the many diverse uses for metal stampings is in circuit breakers, which prevent electrical circuits from blowing out or short circuiting. Two new circuit breaker products that we’ve learned about are used in cutting-edge environmental technology that provide a great look at the continually evolving nature of the industry: Siemens’ electric car charging column and Eaton’s wind farm breaker .

The Siemens charging column represents a real turning point for the electric car industry. It’s expressly designed for use in public places like parking garages and curbside parking spots, and it can recharge two vehicles at once. Siemens’ investment in this type of product – one designed to be used outside the home – illustrates the increasing popularity of electric cars as much more than niche vehicles. The Eaton wind farm breaker uses a unique vacuum interrupting technology designed specifically for wind farm energy-collection points. It also doesn’t require cooling or ventilation. It’s great to see this type of innovation made possible by products like metal stampings, and we’re excited to see what’s next.

An International Outlook: Metal Manufacturing in Mexico

2011-10-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

As discussed in this article, Mexico is now the largest supplier of metal automobile parts to the United States. In addition, 11% of cars sold in the U.S. are manufactured in Mexico. Although a large number of car manufacturing jobs are moving back to the U.S. from Mexico, it’s apparent that automotive manufacturing there is a force to be reckoned with. We consider it an exciting time to be part of the industry through our metal stampings, and look forward to partnership opportunities.

One of our biggest strengths here at Keats is our location. Our El Paso, TX facility allows us to be part of the manufacturing chain on both sides of the border. This is a great way to contribute to manufacturing in both places, increasing and improving auto parts production. We’re proud to be part of the resurgent automotive industry as it enters its next phase, here in the U.S., and worldwide. Visit our site for more info on all applications for our metal stampings.

Partners in Production

2011-10-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

At Keats Manufacturing, we’re always on the lookout for new ways to assist our manufacturing partners and clients. Our metal stamping expertise prepares us to meet just about any challenge, and we welcome the opportunity to look at problems in different and innovative ways to come up with a solution. One of our partners, Pylon Manufacturing, located in Florida, approached us with a two-pronged issue – one of production as well as logistics.

Pylon needed to expand and improve upon a line of Toyota-branded windshield wipers, for which Keats provides the metal stamped edge that allows the wipers to do their job. On the manufacturing side, we worked with one of our vendors to develop a better type of powder coating for the metal stamped edges, which provided a better texture for more durability, and was generally more attractive to Toyota. We also reallocated resources to help Pylon expand to South Bend, IN, solving the logistical issues from the production expansion. These kinds of stories keep our job interesting and rewarding – we hope to have many more in the future.

Application Spotlight: Delphi’s HD Radio Line

2011-10-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that the radio still exists. We all love our iPhones, iPads, Pandoras and Spotifys, and music is seemingly more accessible than ever. When we’re driving our cars, we still love to turn that radio dial in search of the perfect tune or program: now Delphi’s line of HD radios makes it even more enjoyable. As a customer of Keats metal stamping services, Delphi is a perfect example of the more entertaining side of our industry.

Delphi’s site explains more about HD radio, providing answers for typical questions about the technology. Unlike satellite radio, HD radio operates on the terrestrial AM and FM bands, providing digital sound quality through a traditionally analog technology. From there, features typically found in satellite radio are also offered: artist and song display, traffic and weather reports, and rewind/replay options.