Your Partner in Quality Investment Castings

Newsletter - Summer 2008

A Message From Our President – Andrew Miller | Chairman's Corner
Expansion Update at PPCP

A Message From Our President – Andrew Miller

Progress and Change

These are words I would use to describe PPCP over the past 6 months. There have been numerous improvements made in our performance and to our facilities over the past half year. The improvements have been very welcomed by our customers and employees alike. As I look ahead to the next year and beyond, I am excited about where we are heading and what we are doing to be an outstanding supplier of investment castings.

Our first phase of expansion has been completed. We have successfully transitioned our finishing, inspection, NDE, shipping and office functions to our new facility at 618 N. Lincoln Avenue. Later in this newsletter you will see more detailed information on our completed expansion the future plans
currently being implemented or planned.

Throughout this period of expansion, we have successfully made dramatic improvements to our on-time deliveries to customers. In October we were a full two weeks behind on our injection backlog as compared to today. This has resulted in dramatic improvements for our customer base. Thank you for
all the hard work that has made this happen.

Business levels remain strong. Our customers have continually reported that they are seeing elevated business levels and that their forecast looks promising. This results in strong bookings at PPCP. While many pundits are painting a bleak economic picture, we continue to enjoy promising levels of business. We are very grateful to our customers for the continued orders that sustain our operations.

The first quarter of 2008 was very positive at PPCP. It was enjoyable to hand out bonus checks for the results of our efforts during the first 3 months of the year. Improved quality levels and a focus on lean initiatives and efficiency have been the catalyst for achieving these desired results. I sincerely
look forward to continuing to make the improvements around PPCP that will sustain higher levels of efficiency and quality. These investments will provide a valuable environment for our employees and customers that will allow us to grow stronger in our industry.

Our business was started in the summer of 1983. I was eight years old when we poured our first heat that summer. The memory is still vivid in my mind as I recall that night so many years ago. This summer marks our 25th year of operation. It is quite a feat to remain viable and competitive over this period of time. I sincerely hope that all employees and family members will be able to join us for our company picnic this July as we celebrate together.

Thanks,
Andy

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"There have been numerous improvements made in our performance and to our facilities over the past half year..."

Chairman’s Corner

As I write this article for our newsletter we are in the first of what will probably be three or four heat waves in our area.

I would like to personally thank those of our employees who work in very difficult conditions during these times of extreme heat. Your extra efforts are not unnoticed.

As Andrew has stated in his article, we are seeing some positive results from the programs we undertook in 2007. Seeing better productivity and profitability at the same time as we have increased our on-time deliveries is very gratifying. It is also great when this progress results in a bonus for our employees.

Although we have seen and enjoyed this progress, we also know there is additional room for improvement, which is exciting.

I am looking forward to seeing you at our company picnic in just a few weeks. It has been a highlight over the past 25 years to be able to spend time with our employees and meet your families at these annual events. Please make every effort to join us in Schaefferstown on the 26th of July.

Dick Miller
Chairman and CEO

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"Seeing better productivity and profitability at the same time as we have increased our on-time deliveries is very gratifying."

Expansion Update at PPCP

Our first phase of expansion at PPCP has been successfully completed. The results have quite literally exceeded the expectations we had moving into the project. Our second phase of expansion is underway. We look forward to continually updating the progress as it is completed.

PHASE 1:

We have moved our back end operations into our new facility located across the street from our building. This move provided space for additional equipment and work space. We also designed and implemented our stainless steel cell, which is showing promising results in reduced throughput time and higher efficiency. The highlights of Phase 1 are as follows:

21,000 square foot facility.
Additional 2 station grinding machine
Additional Heat Treat oven (now 4 ovens)
3 Additional blast machines
5 additional work areas and grinders at bench finishing
NDE Lab
Office complex for Order Entry, Sales, and Invoicing.
Stainless Steel Cell (work area for 6 employees) with Grinders, blasters, weld, and shipping capabilities.
Overall increase capacity of 50%

PHASE 2:

Phase 2 consists of all the changes that will be made in our original plant now that Finishing, Inspection, and Shipping have been relocated. Dates of expected completion are noted in parenthesis.
New Pillar 350KW Melting unit with 1000# and 650# furnace (April 2008).
New Tooling Storage area and shelving next to Wax Department (April 2008)
2 Additional mold ovens (June 2008)
New Environmental Control System for the Shellroom (July 2008) .
New Cutoff work area (July 2008)
Additional Square footage for Wax and Shell Departments (August 2008)
New Primary Dipping Cell and Sealed mold area (August 2008)
New layout and work area for Sprue Preparation (August 2008)
Additional Twin Model Injection Machine and work stations (2009)