by Joe Romanowski
Chairman & CEO
Machinery Systems, Inc.

How’s this for a company legacy?  The first product the company sold and installed in 1912 is still operating.  Albert Kingsbury, an expert in fluids, invented an oil bearing that rested on a film of oil instead of traditional balls or rollers.  He installed the first one at the Holtwood Power Generation Station in Pennsylvania. His famous and award winning products in power generation and marine propulsion led to world leadership in heavy bearing applications in any environment requiring fail safe operation.   This is the inheritance of every Kingsbury, Inc. employee.

Kingsbury, Inc. (www.kingsbury.com) headquartered in Philadelphia, operates a 60,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Oshkosh, WI.  This is the plant I visited.  Jerry Powers, Sr. Vice President, has been running the Kingsbury Oshkosh business unit for twenty years. As soon as I arrived for my meeting with Jerry and his staff, he put me through a crash course in the virtual non-compressibility of liquids — and how its physics contribute to the design and manufacture of the oil bearing.  

Over fifty percent of the Kingsbury Oshkosh, WI plant products are exported.  This, of course, leads one to quickly conclude that Kingsbury bearings are competitive anywhere in the world. Thirty percent of the Oshkosh plant product is considered standard while seventy percent is custom designed and manufactured.  I asked Jerry, how do you maintain your global, competitive edge?  “We do a lot of things right,” Jerry explained, “quality, of course, is a given.  Every one of our staff members is an experienced professional.  We’re all students of fluid physics, bearing technology and manufacturing.  Our plant consistently and reliably maintains the closest tolerances for all our products.  We maintain the same tolerances for a bearing the size of quarter as we do for a 10 foot diameter bearing.  We consistently work .0003" - .0005” in perpendicularity and parallelism.  Perhaps the one thing that truly differentiates us is that all our processes are extremely well documented.  We have the flexibility to dependably and accurately duplicate any of our products no matter how many or few parts we run or how frequently or infrequently we run the part.”  Actually, Jerry was modest when he said they do a lot of things right.  I concluded that they do everything right.  The really good companies usually take their strengths for granted and think everybody is doing what they’re doing.  I believe this is the case at Kingsbury.

Jerry took me to their Mazak Multiplex two machine cell that was installed in the early 1990s.  These machines are pristine.  They looked two or three years old at most.  Terry Conger, Manager of Manufacturing, told me that they believe in a strong Preventive Maintenance (PM) program.  Terry said, “We rebuild, repair and periodically clean and replace all fluids and perishable machine parts.  We track machine repairs and if we see a problem that occurs with a particular part in six months, we immediately start to replace that part every five months.  We work hard to reduce unscheduled down time and maintain the machine accuracies originally designed into it.”  Jerry is confident that this Mazak Multiplex cell has run over one million cycles since it was installed.  Jerry summed up their Mazak experience, “These are some of the best machines we have ever purchased.”

Kingsbury is currently awaiting delivery of four new Mazak machine tools — three vertical machining centers and one large turning center.  I asked where they would fit in their operation.  Terry confirmed that they would replace older technology machine tools and add capacity by being more efficient and productive.  This move is truly aligned with their strategy to maintain their manufacturing operation with as little unscheduled down time as possible and producing parts to the tightest tolerances.

Fred Rosenmeier, Purchasing Agent, explained their almost unlimited access to tooling and fixturing.  “If we need something to improve accuracy or delivery, we get it!” I saw huge machining center tool changers loaded with tools and tool racks next to machines staged and ready to set-up and run.

Jerry had me meet many of his staff.  I noted a common thread linking them all.  They are all proud to be “long timers” and to have all started at Kingsbury on the shop floor.  I could feel a high level of mutual respect and high regard for each other.  Jerry quickly added. "These are great people.  I am proud to work with all of them.  They are committed to doing what it takes to manufacture the best bearings in the world."

Continuous improvement is imbedded deep in this manufacturing culture, perhaps deeper than any other place I have ever been. For example, every fixture they have ever used is documented and stored in a highly organized central area for easy access and reference.  There is a three year review process to assess fixture viability. Jerry pointed out, “We have a 100,000 parts that we have manufactured and could possibly manufacture again.  So we make sure that everything is well documented and organized for fast and easy access.” 

Bernie Dvorachek, Supervisor, Order Process Engineering, also explained, “As soon as a new set-up is complete, there is someone immediately there to document the fixture with photographs and to write down exactly what was done in the set up. All this information is quickly available on our plant wide network.” 

My biggest surprise, however, was in their Shipping Department.  That’s right, their Shipping Department!  I’ve seen many plants that document processes and set-ups, but I’ve never seen a company document their shipping containers and instructions to the level at Kingsbury.  Every box or container has a sketch in their computer network along with photographic documentation of every container with notes and arrows to where labels, straps or tape is to be placed.  The Kingsbury containers are as impressive as their bearings.

There is one other thing I would like to share with you.  I just happened to be there on the day they celebrated their best shipment month ever (May 2007) with a BBQ.  Jerry told me to come hungry and I did, expecting great Wisconsin beer brats and hamburgers.  No way!  This was the menu… squid, salmon, halibut, chicken, beef tongue, T-bone and rib eye steak, mashed potatoes, okra, corn, various salads and cookies.  I thought this might be a really, really special celebration and Jerry said, “Well, not really.  We have these BBQs from time to time and I like to serve different things.  We’ve served lobster, buffalo, lox and capers and rattlesnake at some of our other BBQs. Every once in a while somebody will ask, 'Can we have hamburgers sometime?'”  They had a row of about ten heavy duty charcoal grills, all made by employees.  Employees also prepared all the food. 

I asked Jerry if there’s anything he would like to say to sum up the Kingsbury culture.  He said, “The most important thing we do here is make money and everything you saw here today contributes to that end.  The second most important thing we do is have fun everyday.”

What I saw during my Kingsbury visit confirms for me once again that a manufacturing company should never be afraid to spend money to make money, always making sure the money is spent to continuously improve their operation to satisfy their customers.  Part of the expenditure is to treat employees with respect and give them an opportunity to earn a good living.

My congratulations and admiration goes to Jerry and his staff.  They make me feel good about the strength and vitality of American ingenuity and manufacturing.  I am proud to know you and to have Kingsbury as our customer.

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