The Utica machine manfucturer is expanding and adding jobs.
JOANIE CRADICK/For the Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Sunday, July 12, 2009 12:00 am
UTICA - In the midst of a troubled national economy, a small company in a small town is growing. It's almost doubling its space, and its payroll is growing to 13 employees, from the present 10.
On an early afternoon, Dan Kucera is assembling a 625-square-foot machine inside Tomes Industries.
"It's a piece of automated equipment that is actually helping make our customer competitive with the global economy," said owner Ron Tomes, careful to shield his client's competitive edge.
"We are building seven of those right now."
"They (the customer) came to us and said, 'Here's the concept.' We took that and did everything else," Tomes said.
The machines will be assembled at Tomes Industries, tested, disassembled for transport, delivered to the customer and reassembled.
Tomes Industries, along U.S. 34 on the north edge of Utica, specializes in precision-machined products, using computerized and manual metalworking equipment.
In an earlier Journal Star feature, Tomes said his company's job is to find ways for its customers to become more efficient: helping a client automate a manufacturing process so each piece takes less time and money to produce, or developing an ergonomic tool that reduces the amount of lifting the client's employees must do, reducing back injuries.
The company's customers range from small production shops to the largest of manufacturing operations, Tomes said.
Tomes' original 3,750-square-foot building was completed in 1996. Two years later, an addition doubled the space. A new 5,625-square-foot expansion is under way to accommodate the need for storage space, assembly of several large projects and work areas for three additional employees Tomes will be hiring.
Noting the state of the national economy, Tomes and his wife, Deb, who shares in the ownership, thread their conversation with the words "lucky" and "fortunate" as they talk about their business, begun in 1989 with Ron's brother, Bill, who since has returned to farming.
Initially, Tomes Industries was housed in a 20-by-25-foot space inside the United Farmers Cooperative along U.S. 34. Now, 20 years later, the firm will occupy more than 13,000 square feet.
Success, in part, stems from a diversified customer base, which includes the aerospace, agricultural, recreational, automotive, medical, pharmaceutical, railroad and exercise industries.
Tomes, who graduated from Southeast Community College in Milford in machine tool technology, currently employs 10, including himself and his wife.
Another component of their success undoubtedly lies in their proactive measures.
Tomes is always thinking ahead. "We want to be ready for the next opportunity, the next go-round. We don't want to sit here twiddling our thumbs. …"