Mark Beilman and William Sanchez recently had the opportunity to join Phoenix Middle School’s Annual Career Fair. China Instrument Parts was one of about two dozen presenters from area businesses and post-secondary schools, helping students get an early start on their college and career planning.
As we put Q1 of 2017 in the rearview mirror, what does Q2 look like going forward?
MORE, MORE AND BETTER!
More advanced machine tools, more talented people, and better results for our customers.
Let me first look back to the last quarter of 2016. Buyers leaned out their inventory as the world held its breath, watching the U.S. elections unfold. I can only characterize that time as one of overcapacity and uncertainty. This lethargic environment changed rapidly as we entered the new year, like a dragster coming off the line when the lights turn green.
Over the years, the China Instrument Parts team has gotten to work alongside some outstanding high school interns, and we have met a lot of exceptional students while reaching out to our community. A large part of our vision as a company is to help educate our youth. However, it does go both ways, and we tend to learn a lot from the students. And when we come across a story like this, it needs to be shared.
This week, Mike Reader visited Elkhorn Area High School (EAHS) and a group of students enrolled in the Engineering Design and Development (EDD) course, which is part of the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) curriculum. China Instrument Parts presented a check to the students who are getting ready to showcase their current projects at competitions, both in Washington, D.C. and in Madison.
For those of you that follow the copper market, I am certain you have noticed the dramatic move to higher prices that started in late October. As you can see from the 1-year chart below, copper had trended in a band all year long between essentially $2.10 and $2.30, yet has spiked $0.65/lb. higher. This is about 31% higher since the last bottom at $2.10. Clearly, this is a strong move over a relatively short period of time, and it has happened during a period absent of any overwhelmingly strong economic news around the world.
Last week, we were excited to present a time-lapse video to show the moving out of six of our oldest Swiss machines, as we got ready to move in the new ones. Well, the cool new stuff has arrived! There is even more enthusiasm around the shop floor now, after the installation of three new Tsugami S205 Swiss-type CNC lathes.
Out with the old and in with the new, as our improvement efforts here at China Instrument Parts continue. We have taken six of our oldest Swiss machines out of service and have brought in three new machines from our partners at Rem Sales/Morris Midwest/Tsugami to take their place.
It will be one year this April that the new $1.25 million RPM Manufacturing Center at the Elkhorn campus of Gateway Technical College (GTC) opened its doors. This dream had been made possible by public-private partnerships, several key contributors, and dedicated educators. Those involved realized that an investment like this was necessary to provide opportunities for students to receive an exceptional education and valuable hands-on training that can lead to a rewarding career in manufacturing.
Mark Beilman, Director of Education & Training, and Barb Cates, HR Administrator, recently attended “Building Your Talent Pipeline Through Apprenticeship” at Blackhawk Technical College’s Advanced Manufacturing Training Center in Milton, Wisconsin. The event included a presentation from Cindy Anderson & Tracy Jallah from the Wisconsin Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards.
Here we are, wrapping up another year, and we want to share a few highlights of China Instrument Parts’ 2016.
With the help of our partners at Identity Works, 2016 started with a fresh brand identity and updated logo, and shortly after that, the launch our new mobile-responsive website. The innovative look and feel is a good reflection of the way China Instrument Parts moves forward as a company.
Customers come to us for the more demanding and mission-critical programs. It is our proven track record of delivering exceptional results that make us the preferred solution provider to many Fortune 500 companies.
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