Location: 8939 N. 55th St. and 7026 N. Teutonia, Milwaukee, WI 53223
Web site: www.argonind.biz
Year founded: 2002
Product or service offered: Contract manufacturer of sheet metal components in stainless steel, aluminum, galvanized, galvannealed, high strength steel, and carbon steel using the latest technologies in laser, turret, forming, robotic welding, stamping, tube bending and engineering.
Projected 2007 revenue: 20-percent growth
Leadership team: Gregory Clement, CEO. Every employee at Argon is part of our team. Each person has a unique job and responsibilities that help keep the company moving in the right direction.
Target clientele: Argon Industries manufactures products for diverse industries such as high-end appliances, infrastructure repair and maintenance, defense contractors, power generation, point of purchase displays, pharmaceuticals, HVAC, and OEM EQUIPMENT. We also supply products for construction, material handling, off road vehicle, and agricultural companies. Target clientele are rapidly growing market segments who require their components to be manufactured complete. This process includes the value-added services of machining, welding, (robotic or manual), and sub-assembled or assembled products, which are made from stainless steel, steel, high-strength steel, aluminum, galvanized, aluminized, galvannealed, and other exotic materials. We process an entire range of low volume custom components to high volume components, shipping daily, weekly, and monthly. We offer a complete product cycle for our customers which includes prototyping to fabrications to stamping, manual welding to robotic welding, and sheet metal components to full assemblies.
Business organization memberships: Human Resource Management Association; American Welders Society; Fabricators & Manufacturers Assn (FMA); Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce; Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM); Institute for Supply Management (ISM); and Metro Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC).
What has fueled your company’s growth? Argon has been blessed. We started with three machines (laser, turret, and press brake) and four employees. In just five years, we have over 50 major machines, two facilities and just fewer than 100 employees. We are a service oriented company that adds value for our customers. We stay ahead of our customer’s demands by anticipating their needs and by responding instantaneously with solutions. If there are issues we resolve them immediately and make sure they are not repeated. We specialize in short lead times and we manage customer inventory. Combining lean manufacturing with a highly skilled workforce and technologically advanced equipment gives us the edge over our competitors. Much of our new business is based on customer referrals. We build relationships with customers, not products, because value is fundamentally determined at the point of the end-user. As a result, we relentlessly invent and implement new concepts in customer value creation. As we grow we continue to add the latest equipment that gives us the competitive edges in price, quality, and throughput. In addition, our highly skilled employees meet the challenges our customers expect of us, thus allowing Argon to successfully grow. Argon is ISO9001:2000 certified. This certification allows us to compete on a global basis, opening up more opportunities as well as differentiating us from other manufacturers who have not gone to the next level to put procedures in place to ensure quality, delivery, and service.
What is the biggest obstacle to your company’s growth? Our biggest challenges will be the lack of skilled employees in this area. Training programs need to be established to help companies build a highly skilled employee base in the Milwaukee area.
Do you plan any changes in your company in the upcoming months? In 2007 we added stamping and we are also in the process of adding cnc multi axis tube bending. This allows us to expand our customer base while offering additional capabilities for our current clientele. In addition to our new capabilities, we have expanded our manufacturing space by more than 50 percent to allow for current and future expansion.
What is the outlook for the business conditions of your industry over the next several months? While we have seen the manufacturing environment slow down and continue to be challenged by competition from China on a daily basis, we have positioned Argon Industries with companies that place a high demand on customer service, flexible manufacturing, and just-in-time deliveries. We have been successful in providing these services because we incorporate an intense and tenacious focus on customer satisfaction. Companies cannot get that level of service from China or other overseas competition.
What makes this company "cool"? Click here to find out.
Congratulations from these strategic partners:
Alec Fraser, 414.271.6560, michaelbest.com
