MiMfg Magazine
INDUSTRY
18
February 2020
Member
Spotlight
Mike Pacitti
Director of Corporate Quality
The Schaller Group
Member since March 1999 • Employs 300 Michigan workers • Learn more at schallergroup.com
Manufacturing can be fun
and exciting but it’s the challenge
that drives so many industry
leaders. The ability to use your
skills, your technology and your
cutting-edge ideas to do something
everyone else says is impossible —
even your closest competitors — can
make all the sacrifices worth it.
“Having a customer present
our engineering and tooling
group with a part that they think
‘can’t be manufactured’ and then
present them with a part within
budget, on-time and within
specification...it energizes us and
it just pushes us to look at that
next impossible challenge and say
‘we can do that, too,’” said Mike
Pacitti, director of corporate quality
for The Schaller Group, a family
owned manufacturer servicing
the automotive, aerospace and
commercial industries from a
half-dozen in-state locations.
Beginning in 1945 as a tool &
die supplier, the Schaller Group
has advanced to become a full-
service manufacturer proficient
with “cradle-to-grave” projects
including design, prototype,
metal stampings, roll forming,
welded assemblies, machining,
laser cutting and waterjet.
“We are continually researching
new technologies that will enhance
our current manufacturing
capabilities,” explained Pacitti.
“Your reputation is dependent on
cost, quality and on-time delivery.
Continuous improvement through
technology advancement certainly
helps support those initiatives.
It’s how you stay at the forefront
of the industry and it’s how you
support your existing customer’s
needs and attract new customers.”
Schaller Group’s commitment
to growth comes in many forms
including technology, equipment
and manufacturing floor space.
In addition to state-of-the-art
presses, machining centers,
simulation software technologies
and continuous autonomous
machining, the company has also
added more than 55,000 square
feet to its aerospace facility and
52,000 square feet to its heavy
stamping facility in the past
three years.
“We also understand that you
can’t go it alone, so we have entered
into long-term agreements with
both our customers and supply
base,” Pacitti said. “It’s also
important to stay in good
communication with our customers
to meet their additional needs,
whether that is helping to reduce
costs by offering alternative
manufacturing methods, eliminating
non-value-added operations or
just accommodating them as they
look to become more efficient
and profitable.”
If your business looks to be
on the rise, Pacitti and his team
have some key recommendations
to allow you to compete without
running the risk of exceeding
your capacity:
• Define your manufacturing
scope and focus on your core
competencies
• Audit your current processes /
validate yield
• Work to mitigate the causes for
lost production and understand
cost of poor quality
• Learn from your successes as
well as your failures
The custom-made dies produced daily by The Schaller Group
allow their customers to stay a step ahead of the competition.
“Manufacturing offers a
rewarding career path. Young
people are rediscovering what a
great career path it can be,” Pacitti
offered. “The work we are all doing
is vital and, if you can keep an
eye to the future with continuous
improvement and investment,
there’s really no limit to where
your business can go.”
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