Mathison Manufacturing
W246 S3245 Industrial Lane, Waukesha
Industry: Contract metal fabrication
Employees: 30
www.mathisonmfg.com
For Waukesha-based Mathison Manufacturing, the competitive landscape of contract metal fabrication in southeastern Wisconsin means it is critical to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Al Leidinger, Mike Arntz and Ken Welsh, who bought the business just more than three years ago, have sought to do that by offering superior service.
“We truly go out of our way to make sure that you get your parts when you need them,” said Leidinger, Mathison’s president. “We don’t say, ‘We’re busy so it’s going to be eight weeks out.’ We say, ‘OK, you need it in five days. What do we need to do internally to get you your parts on time?’”
The company produces pieces for industries that include high-tech electronics, medical systems, lighting and signage, green energy, food service, aerospace and agriculture. Most of the items come from sheet metal, but Mathison also handles other materials. Besides fabrication, the company also offers services in design for manufacturing and contract assembly.
“We’re finding out more and more, the competition is getting a lot fiercer,” said Arntz, whose father-in-law founded the company in 1959.
More than one in five Wisconsin manufacturing firms are in metal fabrication, the most of any sub-sector in the state. About 13 percent of Waukesha County manufacturers are in metal fabricating.
Arntz, Mathison’s vice president of sales and marketing, said the result of the competition is that a lot of time and money is spent on finding new customers.
“We’ve had a lot of success when we can get the customer in the door and give them a plant tour, but that’s extremely hard to do,” Leidinger said.
Mathison has a 22,000-square-foot facility located just south of Sunset Drive. The company’s 30 employees work on up to 300 jobs at any given time, with orders running from one piece to hundreds or even thousands.
The company prides itself on the longevity of its employees, but like many manufacturers, maintaining a skilled workforce is a challenge.
“Some have left thinking the grass was greener and have asked to come back, because the grass wasn’t so green,” Arntz said.
The company has turned to Waukesha County Technical College and local high schools to find talent. Sometimes that means being flexible and allowing a student to work part-time during the school year. Leidinger also shares data on the company’s sales and profitability with employees on a quarterly basis so they can see the results of their efforts.
“We think we finally have a good mixture of old and new (employees), but that took us a number of years to get that,” Leidinger said.
He noted the company has had to invest in certain positions, like brake press setup operators, to find and keep the talent it needs. Internal training and automation have also helped Mathison address skills issues. Leidinger said the company has put roughly $1 million into infrastructure and equipment updates since the ownership change.
The company has also turned to outside resources, including value-stream mapping with WMEP and market research on other metals with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Wisconsin Innovation Service Center.
Leidinger has a background in plastics and Welsh, the vice president of operations, has a background in controls. While the company’s strength lies in sheet metal, Leidinger said the company is looking to possibly take its expertise in serving customers into other markets and industries.
“The core competencies are not just sheet metal, but just the way we approach things,” Leidinger said.
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