Plant size, workforce of Stecker Machine growing

By Michelle Turcotte, Herald Times Reporter

Business profile: Stecker Machine Co. Inc.
Name of business: Stecker Machine Co. Inc.
Ownership: Gerald Stecker
Origins of business: President Gerald Stecker started Stecker Machine with his brother, Charles Stecker, in 1973. The company began as a tool and die shop, but with the addition of several new customers in 1977, the emphasis began shifting toward production machining.
Location: 5107 Manitowoc County C, Manitowoc
Phone number: (920) 726-4526
Web site: www.steckermachine.com
Hours and days of operation: Twenty-four hours a day with three shifts, Monday to Friday.

Services provided/products sold: "We're a job shop. Custom machining is what we provide," Stecker said.
Job shops manufacture custom-made components for small to large customer orders or batch jobs. Machining is refining raw metal castings by cutting, drilling and grinding to the desired specifications with computer numerical control (CNC) machines.

Stecker Machine can produce parts in quantities up to 500,000 annually. They primarily manufacture parts for John Deere and Caterpillar tractors, such as diesel engine components, oil tanks, exhaust manifolds, transmissions and tractor coverings.

They periodically make parts for food industry packaging machinery, the automotive industry and other various custom jobs.

Stecker Machine offers support services from concept design to final assembly.

"We design and build prototypes and all of our machining fixtures and parts," said Stecker. "If a company wants a casting purchased, plated, machined — we can complete it all for them."

How has business changed since opening: "We went from a very small tool and die shop with two employees, to right now we're getting close to 200 employees," Stecker said, which includes design engineers, machine operators, quality control personnel and office staff. "We've changed and evolved where the work was, and the work was in production machining. It's doing well for us. That's where we grew."

Stecker Machine has grown to a 150,000-square-foot plant with close to 100 CNC machines, ranging in value from $500,000 to $1 million. Stecker purchased their first CNC machine in 1979. They generally purchased one at a time as their production machining grew.

Stecker recently purchased 20 acres near the plant, which will be a 50,000-square-foot addition used for storage and assembly. Stecker Machine achieved ISO-9002 certification in 1999 and QS-9000 certification in 2001.

He never dreamed his small shop would grow so immensely. Said Stecker: "Never — it's unbelievable what has happened out here."

Who are the customers and from where: Stecker Machine's primary customers are John Deere and Caterpillar.

"They've got plants in just about every state and every country," said Stecker.

Who or what is the competition: Stecker said the competition is other job shops equivalent in size that get into the production work.

How is marketing done: Stecker Machine hires sales representatives who visit companies and make calls on their behalf in an effort to bring work to the plant.

"We also have guys here that put on a sales hat once in a while, too, and will do some calling, or I'll make a call if I get the time," Stecker said. "But 99 percent of our marketing is done by word-of-mouth. The majority of our work is brought in from our name … the quality of our work does our speaking for us."

He adds that when people they do business with move to a new company, they usually continue to do business with Stecker Machine at their new job.

What are the keys to future success: "The main thing is to stay competitive and keep the customer happy," said Stecker. He also invests in sophisticated inspection equipment to assure the accuracy and quality of their finished products.

Factors under control or not under control of ownership: Stecker says customers choosing to cut costs by taking jobs overseas to places like China is out of their control.

What is challenging or frustrating: What is out of their control also remains Stecker's greatest frustration.

"Losing work to China, that is what's frustrating," Stecker said. He adds they are up to the challenge when it comes to the quality of their products, but cheap labor overseas makes it difficult to compete.

"We can try to quote on a job and we can bring the price down," he said, "but you're not always going to be able to bring the price down far enough to compete."

What is the role of creativity: For Stecker, creativity is involved when making integral business decisions, like deciding to purchase the 20 acres to expand the plant.

"Creativity is how much money do we want to spend to build the business," said Stecker. His next creative, and strategic, endeavor will be designing the addition and how to best use its space. "Every time we buy a machine we are sticking our neck out," he said. "You're spending at least half a million dollars on a machining center … it's a big gamble."

What is enjoyable: Business has begun to pick up as the slow economy improves, and Stecker Machine is currently in the process of adding 20 employees to the plant. They recently added two new machines. They will require, at least, one person on each shift to run them.

"What's enjoyable is hiring people and seeing a bunch of happy faces out there (in the plant)," Stecker said.

"Happy that they've got a job nowadays … and having people thanking you for giving them a job. That's nice to hear."

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