FMA Awards Program Honors Industry Successes

ROCKFORD, Ill., Feb.18, 2013 – A&E Custom Manufacturing, a sheet metal fabricator based in Kansas City, Kan., has received The FABRICATOR’s Industry Award 2013, presented by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl. (FMA). The FMA award is bestowed upon an individual or company within the metal forming and fabricating industry that has successfully improved operations, attained business success, and contributed to both the local and industry communities.

The FABRICATOR’s Industry Award 2013 will be presented to A&E in a ceremony during The FABRICATOR’s Leadership Summit, which begins Feb. 27 at the Innisbrook Golf & Spa Resort in Palm Harbor (Tampa), Fla.

“This award recognizes those individual leaders and companies who consistently optimize business practices, promote manufacturing in their communities, and exemplify success in daily operations,” said Edward Youdell, president and CEO of FMA. “A&E isn’t waiting for someone else to solve the skilled labor shortage that is keeping many companies from growing. It has taken on the responsibility of assuring its incumbent workforce is highly skilled and that it can add new staff with the right skills by implementing an in-house training program that turns new hires into productive team members with the opportunity for advancement.”

Kansas City based A&E Custom Manufacturing began as a tool-and-die shop in 1959, developed metal stamping capabilities in the 1980’s and expanded into sheet metal fabrication in 2001. It is an established supplier to the transportation industries and manufactures construction, military, medical and food processing equipment as well.  With nearly 50,000 operational square feet and 72 employees, A&E’s success is based in its focus on skilled workforce and its implementation of automation for cost-competitiveness in a worldwide market.

Customer satisfaction is another factor in the company’s growth and profitability. They’ve been tracking customer satisfaction levels annually since 2007 with an anonymous survey and utilizing feedback to drive their service improvement initiatives.

As the winner, one company representative and one guest receive complimentary registration, travel, and hotel accommodations to The FABRICATOR’s Leadership Summit.

A&E Custom Manufacturing also will be featured on the cover and as the cover story in the February 2013 issue of The FABRICATOR, North America’s leading magazine for the metal forming and fabricating industry.

“The people at A&E Custom Manufacturing are doing the right things.  They focus on automation, they invest according to need, they lead the company with solid business metrics, and they promote people and processes such as cross-training,” said David Brambert, group publisher of FMA Communications.  “They are following a logical path toward success that is not mysterious – it’s easy to understand, but difficult to do.  Congratulations to the management and staff.”

Based in Rockford, Ill., FMA is a professional organization with nearly 2,300 members working together to improve the metal processing, forming, and fabricating industry. Founded in 1970, FMA brings metal fabricators and fabricating equipment manufacturers together through technology councils, educational programs, networking events, and the FABTECH® tradeshow. FMA also has two technology affiliates, the Tube & Pipe Association, Intl. (TPA), which focuses on the unique needs of companies engaged in tube and pipe producing and fabricating; and Green Manufacturer Network, a professional organization of individual members dedicated to working toward environmentally-friendly manufacturing.

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Contact

Patricia Lee

Public Relations Director,
Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, International (FMA)
patl@fmanet.org
+1-815-227-8286