S.S. White Turns to NJMEP for Increased
Success
S.S. White Technologies Inc. is a Piscataway, New Jersey manufacturer
of flexible shaft assemblies, bulk shafts and abrasive units for the
aircraft, industrial, medical and automotive markets. Dr. Samuel
Stockton White, a practicing dentist who helped pioneer his field with
the introduction of a high-speed flexible shaft dental drill, founded
the company in 1844. S.S. White soon developed the flexible shaft for
use in automobile speedometers, power tools, instrumentation, motor
controls and consumer products.
During World War II, the company designed various drive assemblies for
the aircraft industry, furthering the company’s expertise in the
development of complex flexible shaft assemblies of exacting quality.
In 1968, Pennwalt Corporation acquired S.S. White, and in 1972, S.S.
White Industrial Division relocated to its current Piscataway location.
A young engineer named Rahul Shukla joined the company in 1973 and
focused his energy during the next two decades on performing extensive
research and documentation. His efforts were bolstered by a senior
research engineer named Adam Black III. In 1988, Shukla was named
President/CEO when S.S. White was acquired from Pennwalt.
Today, the company has 210 employees and generates annual sales of $22
million. It comprises four divisions specializing in abrasive jet
machining, transportation market instrumentation, flexible shafts, and
surgical instruments. The latter division is the result of the
company’s recent acquisition of S.S. White Medical Products Inc.
(formerly Snap-On Medical Products Inc.).
NJMEP Field Agent Lorna Runkle placed a cold call to Mr. Shukla in
April 2001 and followed up with a QuickView assessment and training
recommendations to address concerns regarding plan execution, employee
retention, lack of documentation, and standardization of computer
system information. The project was initiated in August 2001 and
concluded in April 2004. During that period, NJMEP and Wayne Chanseski
of the Center for Manufacturing Systems conducted a one-day
Introduction to Lean Workshop with Simulation for 25 employees; Field
Agent Runkle facilitated a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
and Threats) discussion involving 10 sales and marketing employees; and
representatives from CCR (Cost Recovery Services LLC) helped to
maximize principal stockholders’ R&D tax credit through interaction
with S.S. White engineers and accountants.
NJMEP Agent Runkle maintained the business relationship for the
duration of the project, keeping the client informed and ensuring
access to various public and private resources. S.S. White reported the
following quantifiable impact based on a client satisfaction/cost
benefit impact survey: a $201,500 increase in sales; $120,000 in
retained sales; $211,500 cost savings; a $185,000 investment in plant
and equipment; an $87,500 investment in information systems; a $230,000
investment in other areas; $93,500 savings on investments; 19 employees
retained; 35 jobs created; and at least $170,000 in increased available
cash.
Future plans call for further implementation of Lean Manufacturing,
including Cell Manufacturing and Kanbans.
“NJMEP is a valuable resource for us to tap into as we execute on our
growth strategy in 2005 and beyond,” assessed President Shukla. “NJMEP
has helped us identify some of the issues we didn’t even know existed,”
he continued. In summary, Shukla added, “NJMEP was the catalyst in
translation of ideas to concrete action plans.”
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