Taking Full Advantage Of CNC Technology

This month, Randy Jezowski talks about how he started and grew his company, Ramco Machine, Inc. Ramco has experienced outstanding growth since its inception. In fact, at the time of this interview, Ramco was located in Beverly, Massachusetts, but the company was building a new 24,000-square-foot facility in nearby Rowley and expected to relocate sometime during 2001.

“Ramco has been in business for 17 years,” Mr. Jezowski says. “We employ 35 people producing machined parts, assemblies and tooling, from most metals, composites and many plastics. Our customers are from the semiconductor, medical, automotive, aircraft and aerospace industries. We specialize in machining complex precision components, ranging in size from 1/32-inch cubes to over 12 feet in length. We utilize CNC milling, CNC turning, wire EDM and manual machines to produce our parts. I feel our greatest strength is using three- and four-axis machining to produce our parts in an affordable way.”

Mr. Jezowski began his business in 1983 when he took over a small, unprofitable machining operation within a metal fabrication facility. “I brought in CNC technology and began to build a business,” he says.

“We did most of the machining for the metal fabrication company, plus cold canvassed for new work. After the first year, we associated with a manufacturers’ rep, who introduced us to many new customers and has represented us ever since. It has been a long-term, rewarding relationship for both of us.”

The primary factor that has led to growth for the company has been the use of CNC technology, Mr. Jezowski says. “That at the time was considered to be a tool for large production quantities only, to machine small quantities of complicated parts. I think the benefits offered by CNC have allowed us to be competitive in a lot of areas.”

What separates Ramco from its competition is that, Mr. Jezowski says, “We offer fast turnaround on the parts we produce. We can do this because we train almost everyone to program our CNC machines, eliminating bottlenecks and allowing fast response to any quantity and type of jobs.” This allows the company to keep its customers from buying from the competition.

When asked how the Internet has effected the business, Mr. Jezowski says, “So far, sales have been affected only marginally. Most inquiries we receive (at www.ramcomachine.com) are for very difficult processes that people are just shopping around. However, for exchange of information (DXF and IGES files), it has been a huge improvement over past methods. I expect we will realize more benefits as we continue to use the Internet.”

CAD, CAM, DNC, wire EDM and the Internet are all technologies Mr. Jezowski has implemented into Ramco’s operations, and all have all played a role in the company’s business growth. “I don’t believe any single technology is dominant,” he says, “but each is simply an additional tool to help you do your job more effectively. However, if you don’t stay up with technology, you run the risk of falling behind and losing out to the competition.

“Things change so fast, it’s hard to know what the next great technology will be. I’m sure many advances will come along that will help my company, and we will take advantage of any that do. But as I said before, new technologies are like tools in your toolbox, and acquiring good tools allows you to do good work faster.”

Mr. Jezowski attributes several factors to making his business a success, the first of which is, “enjoying what I do.” Also, he says, “Having two sons and a wife helps me drive the business. Having good sales people, good employees and great customers are the final pieces that make everything click.”

Projections for the business during the next year are “very good,” Mr. Jezowski says. “The semiconductor industry drives this whole area, and it probably will remain very volatile over the next few years. Five years out, who knows, but I’ve been machining parts since 1957 and have never had a day off that I didn’t want to have off. I expect this also won’t change. We live in a country with unlimited potential.”

Recognizing and using the full benefits of today’s technologies has helped Ramco Machine offer fast turnaround times to its customers, enabling it to grow and prosper. Continuing to service customers better than the competition will help Ramco Machine grow even more, and this may require an even larger facility in the future.