Waltz. Bros. Inc. specializes in quality grinding and machining services.

Premier Business Partners:

Forest City Gear

With 70 years of business experience under its belt, Waltz Bros. Inc. has amassed a diverse list of customers, including those in the agriculture, aerospace, automotive, commercial, medical and military markets. The company has found that the key to keeping this wide range of customers – many of whom have been working with Waltz. Bros. for years – is to ensure they continually benefit from its skills and experience.

Recently, U.S. Business Review spoke with President Larry Waltz about how the grinding and machining company is transforming its operation to expand in the marketplace.

U.S. Business Review: How does Waltz Bros. maintain quality in its operation and products?
Larry Waltz: We were founded in 1939 as a precision grinding shop, so quality has remained our main focus – it is the cornerstone upon which our reputation was built. Over the years we’ve evolved by adding lathes, mills, drills and other equipment. Because we are a grinding shop at our core, every part is made to exacting tolerances. We are a grinding shop with complete machining capabilities.

It is more cost effective for our customers if we manufacture complete parts, or assemblies, rather than providing only single operation services. By producing complete parts we “control our own destiny,” We understand that in order to facilitate grinding, it is imperative to control every aspect of the machined blank. Knowing how much stock to leave for finishing allows us to accurately calculate our cycle times, which translates into a more cost effective price for the customer.

We are ISO and AS 9100 certified, and QS compliant. We operate mainly to the AS certification because 50 percent of our business goes to aerospace applications. We have a quality control department, and all of our people have been trained to program, setup and run their individual operations, so they are responsible for the quality they are producing. This is important because we want everyone in our organization to be focused on quality.

USBR: How do you train for quality?
LW: All of our employees have training records, so we know their capabilities. During their performance reviews, we look at their needs for the upcoming year and discuss how they would like to improve and grow. We give them different responsibilities and offer training to help them achieve their goals.

We have 47 employees and have a really low turnover level because our people are so skilled. We invest in them and give them opportunities to advance, so they stay with us. Additionally, we are a member of the Tooling and Manufacturing Association, where employees can attend a variety of seminars designed for metalworking companies in the Chicago area.

USBR: What have you done to improve your operations?
LW: We are in transformation mode right now in an effort to switch to a lean manufacturing operation. We do small-quantity, high-precision work, and all of it is very complex. Sometimes we even outsource some of the operations to provide more services to our customers. These are complex, value-added parts that we produce.

To be leaner, we are changing our floorplan from a departmental setup to creating process flow cells. We are crosstraining our employees and creating more of a one-piece-flow operation. Lean definitely benefits our employees – they are now manufacturing a complete part instead of doing just one part of the operation.

USBR: What distinguishes the company?
LW: Our diversification of capabilities sets us apart, as well as our technical ability and our people. We are a grinding shop with machining capabilities, and we won’t take a job that’s just turning or machining because it won’t feed the other parts of the shop. We have a select but diverse customer base, and there is no lack of work right now.

We are looking at a 25 percent growth rate for the next year or two. We are expanding our operations to do more multiple component jobs that are assembled and tested, which is fueling our growth. We can provide more complete services and providing our employees with more interesting and fulfilling work. This is a win-win for us.