If you have doubts about American manufacturers' ability to remain competitive in a global economy, you need to look no further than Innovative Precision. The company, based in beautiful Ogden, UT, opened for business in 1998. It was founded by Bryan Cardon at the mere age of 22, when most young men and women are more interested in fun, Facebook, and dating than building a successful business.
Bryan launched the business in a small 1200 sq. ft. shop with just an EZ Trak mill and a manual lathe. In just six months, the company grew from a one man operation to four. Innovative Precision was doing things right from its inception, and their reputation for doing high quality work with a quick turnaround and at very competitive prices quickly developed.
Today, the company owns its 13,500 square foot facility, and recently completed the addition of an additional 6500 square feet. The company specializes in tool making, prototyping, and production machining. They pride themselves on their ability to manufacture complex parts, with very competitive pricing and on-time delivery. In fact, electronic drawings (CAD) sent via e-mail result in same-day bid turnaround or within 24 hours depending upon the size of the project.
Bryan and the team at Innovative Precision have a gift for doing things the right way, and for taking all of the steps necessary to facilitate their growth.
Their 60+ customers, located throughout the United States, span the medical, automotive, defense, aerospace, oil and gas, and commercial industries. They include such industry giants as Boeing and Parker Hannifin, as well as a number of other Fortune 1000 companies. Bryan admits that this diversity helped the company to sustain itself during the latest economic downturn. "We didn't lay any of our employees off, and in fact, we used the time to improve our operations", he said. "One of the most strategic improvements we made was our certification to ISO9001/AS9100 Rev. C. With in-house expertise, we were able to prepare for the audit without the use of a consultant. Today, we are told that we are one of very few machine shops in the area that are certified to the latest Revision of AS9100, and this is clearly helping our business."
Bryan and the entire team at Innovative Precision embrace new technology. "We utilize sophisticated CAD/CAM and shop management software", Bryan said, "and every machinist is trained to program their machines. We don't have 'just operators'. In fact, the team at Innovative Precision works very closely with the Davis Applied Technology Center (DATC) to bring in talented youth who are hungry to master the craft of precision machining. "We are very involved with supporting manufacturing for our youth", Bryan says, "and key management team member Josh Halfman sits on the DATC Advisory Board."
The company's machine tools are impressive, including a number of CNC machining and turning centers, programmable mills, CNC mills, manual lathes, Wire EDM, EDM drills, Sinker EDMs, Saws, Grinders, Honing machines, heat treat ovens and a full climate controlled inspection department.
The company made a number of new capital equipment purchases this past year, including the addition of a Mazak Nexus VCN 700D/40-II Vertical Machining Center and a Mazak INTEGREX i-200S.
"Our new machines allow us to bid on business that we previously couldn't bid on at all, or that we couldn't do manufacture cost effectively", Bryan said. "With our new INTEGREX, for example, where it previously took 3 set ups on our lathe and 3 set ups on our mill, for a total of perhaps 2 hours, today we can make that same complete part in 30-40 minutes. The set up time almost goes away, and the accuracy and consistency of the parts we produce is just vastly improved."
Bryan admits that while he has been a long time Mazak purchaser, he did look at competitive machine tool builders prior to making his latest purchases. "In the end, we stayed with Mazak", Bryan said. "The INTEGREX has better travels, better ergonomics, and the options are just so much better than other machine tools. Things that are standard on the Mazak INTEGREX are options on their competitors. In the end, the choice to purchase the Mazak INTEGREX was obvious."
Bryan explained that the Mazak INTEGREX i-200S, the fifth generation Mazak multi-tasking machine, features a large machining area and high accuracy performance plus unsurpassed ease of operation thanks to the ergonomic machine design. The team at Innovative Precision values the long strokes for large work piece capacity, and the unsurpassed versatility thanks to B-Axis and C-Axis contouring.
The new Mazak Nexus VCN 700D/40-II HS VMC machine, built in Florence, KY, is designed to maximize efficiency in high speed machining operations. It achieves high productivity with a standard 40-taper, 12,000-rpm, 25-hp spindle or an optional 18,000-rpm, 50-hp spindle. The machine features a 68.5" × 27.6" table with a maximum part weight of 4,409 lbs. The machine features a standard 30-tool magazine, and tool-to-tool change time of 1.5 sec.
Bryan appreciates that Mazak manufactures a number of their machine tools right here in the United States. He also values the local machine tool dealer for Mazak in Utah, Smith Machinery. "We have local sales and support with Smith Machinery, and their knowledge and responsiveness are outstanding. Smith Machinery is one of the few dealers anywhere in the United States who are ISO certified, so they really understand a machine shop's process requirements." The Innovative Precision team also appreciates the extensive training they receive from Smith Machinery when they purchase new machine tools.
The team at Innovative Precision attributes their outstanding growth and their success to 3 primary factors:
- Training
- Technology
- ISO Certification
To learn more about the complete line of Mazak machine tools in Utah, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, contact Smith Machinery at (801) 263-6403 or visit their website at www.smithmachinetools.com.
For an innovative, superior machine shop, contact Bryan Cardon and his team at Innovative Precision LLC at (801) 334-6317 or go to www.innovativeprecision.com.