Bullard Abrasives, Inc.
Over the last 10 years the bonded abrasives industry has witnessed a significant shift in production in favor of low-cost producing nations such as China and others that subsidize exports such that a significant cost advantage is gained. These events have impacted prices to such an extent that many U.S. producers have ceased to exist. Bullard Abrasives, Inc., refuses to be a casualty of this market shift.
Located in Lincoln, Bullard is an 80-year old manufacturing company operating in the highly competitive industry of general purpose grinding and cutting abrasives for use on portable power tools. Their abrasives are designed to cut and profile a variety of materials used in welding, fabricating and construction markets.
Seventy-five percent of Bullard’s production is supplied under private labels for major power tool companies; the balance is supplied under the Bullard brand name to industrial and construction distributors throughout the country.
Bullard’s competitive advantage stems from its product engineering and service excellence. The company knew that to meet competitive challenges, three core advantages needed to be developed: engineering excellence resulting in product performance leadership; managing manufacturing and service to the strictest quality standards; and continuously developing and implementing innovative processes to optimize efficiency.
In order to achieve these advantages, management recognized the need to reach beyond its own resources. This led to a partnership with the Rhode Island Manufacturers Extension Service (RIMES). That outreach, in December of 2007, set the company on journey to become ISO9001:2008 certified. With dedicated consultation from RIMES, Bullard achieved certification in May 2009.
“Our ISO certification was instrumental in the company’s quest to secure a global sourcing contract with a large international construction company and solidified relationships with several major OEM accounts,” says company president, Craig A. Pickell. “In addition, we enjoyed a new level of employee enthusiasm for ‘total quality,’ and recorded improvements in operating efficiency and scrap reduction.”
And that enthusiasm has led Bullard to their next journey with RIMES 5-S/Lean Manufacturing. “Our management team was so impressed with the results of our partnership with RIMES,” says Pickell “We expect results from this new endeavor to be no less significant throughout the organization. And we won’t stop there; we’ll continue to explore new opportunities with RIMES in order to acquire the tools necessary to be globally competitive.”