Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | M | Metal Center News

''Dead-on'' sawing keeps distributor alive: this small niche player in aluminum sawing has invested heavily now to capitalize on a better economy later.

Article Excerpt
Howard Precision Metals Inc. has positioned itself for renewed success with a revamped inventory strategy, a warehouse addition, five new saws, and a reputation for precision that differentiates it from the competition.

The Milwaukee company posted its highest revenues in 2000, but saw them dip 23 percent in 2001 as the economy began its tailspin. In 2002, with an aggressive sales effort, it regained 17 percent, and expects further recovery in 2003, says sales manager Kim Anderson. "This year, we're on track to beat 2000. We've turned it around."

Founded in 1928 as Howard Brass and Copper on Milwaukee's west side by Al Howard, whose metalworker father helped him run the business, Howard Precision Metals Inc. is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

The company ships to eight Midwestern states--Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota and South Dakota--and employs 53 people. Fifteen are in sales and administration, the rest are warehouse workers and machinery operators. Howard Precision has been operating two shifts a day, six days a week, throughout 2003 to serve its 1,600 active customers, a significant improvement over the past couple years.

The family held company's current leadership believes its 2003 capital investment program, which exceeds $1 million, will pay off quickly by attracting solid new customers to replace the many that have closed shop.

"In the Milwaukee area, very few large OEMs are left. The Briggs & Strattons have moved operations out of here,' Anderson says. "Many customers that were servicing OEMs around the Midwest have felt a lot of pain...