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The U.S. Technology & Demonstration Center – Building on Success
Chris Hacker, JLT Clamps, Jumps into the U.S. Technology & Demonstration Center
On Saturday, August 16, as woodworking machinery was being placed in the 40 x 90 feet booth in the cavernous space of the Georgia World Congress Center, Chris Hacker looked around and realized that the culmination of months of preparation was being realized. How would this pioneering project, the U.S. Technology & Demonstration Center – A WMMA Community Project, turn out at IWF, the woodworking industry’s major trade show? Months previously, Chris Hacker, vice president of JLT Clamps, was relatively new to WMMA but as a member of the Business Development Committee, he had attended the Association’s October 2007 meetings in Memphis. He learned about the proposal to build a manufacturing cell on the show of the trade show floor. “I’m a guy who likes to jump right into the action,” Hacker says. When he saw an opportunity to work on an innovative project with both new colleagues and old friends, he volunteered. “I knew Scott Brandenburg of Unique Machine Tool Company. He was a key player who got this project off the ground,” recalls Hacker. “Going forward, I got to know other WMMA members like Jamison Scott of Air Handling Systems and Tim Mueller of Timesavers who were as enthusiastic about this project as I was.” The task force spent a lot of time and energy on the project. As the months proceeded, the project evolved and became both bigger and more complex. The task force continued to plug away – planning, making key decisions and roping in more help and expertise as the winter and spring of 2008 unwound and quickly gave way to summer. The primary goal of the demonstration center was to initiate a project where U.S. manufacturers could truly show that they share the common goal of servicing customers. “During the show, it was great to see Todd Summerfeld of Kreg Tool Company, Brian Donahue of Safety Speed Cut, along with the other staff members of the companies in the booth, working on their machines, talking with the other volunteers, visitors and customers – all the while steadily churning out product.” Hacker notes volunteer standout Barry Hamilton of James L. Taylor Manufacturing Company put in extra time at the show to make the most of the solid wood panels and the guys from Komo Machine, Dan Anderson and Terry Owens (Lee Owens Electric) also spent extra time and energy. In addition, WMMA Associate Director Laura Mahone was in the thick of the action from the planning process to the trade show floor. Hacker remembers that Chris Chadek of The Original Saw, was phenomenal. “He ran his own machine plus pitched in to help with others." In fact, at the end of the show Chadek was voted the MVP of the demo center. “It was very satisfying to see how we all came together and worked. Hey, we’re machinery guys and we put together a cabinet making shop that produced cabinets for real homes!” The demonstration proved very useful in showing Hacker’s customers how JLT Clamps’ tools work with other tools and equipment machinery. Visitors were able to see how the different pieces designed either to cut, rout, clamp or perform one of the other components of the manufacturing processes fit together. In Hacker’s estimation, the demonstration center has been a huge accomplishment and he is eagerly looking forward to applying the task force’s experiences to IWF 2010. “Most of the members in the demonstration center were relatively small companies but we had the collective drive and determination to encompass an ambitious project. It’s been satisfying to see that WMMA member companies, although different in size and in what we make, have a similar dedication to coming up with ways to achieve.” A Special Salute to the Volunteers! Thanks to the employees, associates (and even family members) of the WMMA member companies who participated in the UST&DC. They include:
Participating WMMA Member Companies:
Generous Donors Who Contributed Services and Products:
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| ©2008 by Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America, Philadelphia, PA. All rights reserved. This publication or any parts of it may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. For permission to reprint articles or to send correspondence, write to: WMMA, 100 North 20th Street, 4th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103-1443 Phone: (215) 564-3484 Fax: (215) 963-9785 E-mail: info@wmma.org The opinion expressed in any articles by outside consultants are their own views and not necessarily those of the WMMA. |
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Building a kitchen cabinet shop on a trade show floor takes hard work, ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit. For the first time ever, a group of U.S. woodworking machinery, tool and supply companies came together in a manufacturing cell to produce cabinets for actual use – at the U.S. Technology & Demonstration Center – A WMMA Community Project at IWF 2008. This achievement was made possible by the cooperative spirit, operational business savvy and customer-focused skills of more than twenty-three WMMA members. As a result of their hard work at the woodworking show, six complete sets of kitchen cabinets were donated to Atlanta Habitat for Humanity. Congratulations!
