Mill work Shop
You're a major networking company that needs a home interior built inside your sales offices to dramatically display how the Internet will be used in homes of the future. Who do you call?
Your firm, to save a substantial amount of money in rent must quickly complete the build out of new offices. What do you do?
The solution to both these actual situations, as well as many other unique, high-quality woodworking construction projects, is Wood Tech Industries of San Jose, Calif.
This 17-year-old business has gained a reputation in California as the company of choice when commercial properties require top quality design and architectural woodworking expertise. Reinforcing its position as one of the top millwork shops on the West Coast, Wood Tech Industries recently received the Woodwork Institute of California highest craftsmanship award two years in a row.
"Our work comes from word-of-mouth comments and referrals more than any other way," explained Joe Becher, president and founder of Wood Tech Industries.
"This is a tough and demanding business that requires careful supervision," Joe said. "The amount of work we accomplish, its high level of quality and the need for exacting installation, keep us extremely busy. This was the reason for having the George S. May International Company assist in a number of areas that, frankly, we were too busy and did not have the expertise to accomplish."
INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
Joe Becher is not new to the woodworking business. In fact, he's spent more than 28 years in the craft.
"I learned this business literally from the ground floor up," he explained. "I'd always been good with my hands. Woodworking interested me and I had done some of it around the house. With that basic drive, I got a job sweeping floors in a millwork shop."
Through the years, Joe remained with the same company and advanced to vice president. When the business relocated to another part of the country, Joe stayed and started his own millwork operation with five people.
"Some years were slow, other years were really booming," Joe started. "But each year our business became better known. And I'm very happy to say that I can not remember ever having a dissatisfied customer."
For the past three years, the market for architectural millwork that is Wood Tech Industries' specialty has been nonstop.
Joe noted that in the San Francisco area, a lot of the demand for his company's work comes from high-tech companies that are expanding. While the demand has lessened a bit, Wood Tech Industry is still booked solid with work into 2002. "The reputation that my company has is very strong," Joe noted.
That reputation placed Wood Tech Industries in a position to assist in designing and possibly fabricating home interior mockups in the sales offices for a major international networking company. These models of functional interiors will be installed in marketing centers around the world to dramatically show customers how the Internet will be used in appliances and throughout homes in the future.
In addition to the design and woodwork crafting that Wood Tech Industries accomplishes, Joe also likes to include surprises in his jobs.
"The initial showpiece of the residential room features a hidden doorway. It takes customers and sales people from the home environment with its examples of future networking to the lab where the networks and products are being designed today."
EFFICIENT FACILITIES
Wood Tech Industries is housed in a complex of three buildings. A 10,000-square-foot building houses the custom manufacturing and assembly operation, as well as administrative offices.
Building #2 covers 5,000 square feet and houses the machining department, which consists of the computerized panel saw used in paneling processing. Also in this building is other major associated equipment for processing solid stock materials.
Building #3 is 10,000 square feet. In it is the CNC router shop (Router Tech) that provides all of Wood Tech Industries' required machined parts. Router Tech also provides special machining for other cabinet shops. This operation is the heart and workhorse department of Wood Tech Industries. The building also is used for material staging and warehousing of completed goods.
INNOVATIVE SERVICES
The "Econoline Division" is a recent addition to Wood Tech Industries' operation. It is a modular cabinet department comprising state-of-the-art computerized equipment and conveyor lines for maximum efficient product flow.
Another innovation for the company is the implementation of a bar coding tracking and electronic time collection system to help increase production flow. It will also provide accurate tracking of projects and enable Joe Becher and Wood Tech Industries' Plant Manager Mark Brenizer to obtain more timely job cost reporting and to monitor efficiency of the manufacturing process.
The company, with more than $7 million in volume per year, typically employs about 50 workers. But this number swells to close to 100 when major projects are ready for installation.
"We build as much as we are able to in the controlled environment of the shops," Joe explained. "This work is based on the plans and careful measurements we've taken of the building site," Joe said. "Installation, however, is always a pressure time."
Typical issues faced on site include clients anxious for their work to be completed, the need to precisely fit the woodwork into the space, last minute changes or adaptations that need to be made. In addition, there's supervising part-time workers helping with the installation. All these factors combine for some pressure-packed weeks.
Due to the heavy work schedule, Wood Tech Industries utilized the services of the George S. May International Company to accomplish several business-related issues that kept getting pushed into the background because of the day to day business demands.
"The quality of our work and reputation of the company is based largely on the people I have working with me," explained Joe. "I want them to focus on the job at hand, feel secure and produce high quality workmanship. I don't want them worrying about other issues, to the extent that I can help them."
The work accomplished by the consulting company included the development of an employee-ownership program and other incentives and employee benefits.
To enhance the value of these benefits, the consultants also improved production flow for better efficiency and to keep pace with Wood Tech's growth. Also introduced were team meetings, standardized procedures and job descriptions.
In today's computerized world, woodworking may seem to be a craft out of tune with the times. However, Wood Tech Industries has proven that its high-touch products continue to be valuable and integral elements for many high-tech companies and other customers.
