MEC differentiates itself by offering “extraordinary” services and treating its staff "in a special way."

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Michael Stoehr decided to purchase Milwaukee Electronics Corp. (MEC) in 1985 because he wanted to lead a company that provided “extraordinary services and treated employees in a special way,” he says.

At that time, the company had only 24 employees, was privately held, and became available because the founder wanted to retire.

Based in Milwaukee, the 54-year-old company provides electronic engineering services, such as product development, rapid prototyping, EMS contract manufacturing and PCB assembly for OEMs in 17 different markets. These include HVAC, medical/dental, military defense, motor controls, theater and sound control, material handling automation, appliance controls and industrial equipment.   

Its goal is to meet and adapt to its clients’ needs. For example, one of MEC’s customers wanted its engineers to work closely with its own technical staff, so MEC’s engineers now work on-site and within the customer’s engineering groups in California and Oregon. “The two groups are embedded together,” says Stoehr, who is MEC’s president.

Several customers have been with MEC since its inception.

“There are exceptions, but once we begin working together, we tend to stay together for a long time,” he says.

Stoehr, who has an electrical engineering background, treats employees differently from other companies, he says. For example, MEC does not use a time clock; instead, all employees are on an honor system. The company also provides special health programs for its employees, such as company-paid health assessments and weight loss competitions, and provides doctors on-site for weekly visits in some of its facilities.

Based on its turnover and employee participation, he says the system is a success. “I think the best business related feedback is longevity,” he says. “The employee turnover rate in some facilities is as low as 10 percent annually.”

‘Perfect Product’
Hyman Smith founded the company in 1954 to produce electronic Hi-Potential Testers, which are used to analyze electrical defects in products. Its first customer was Harnischfeger Corp., a world leader in the mining equipment industry, for which it provided electronic test instruments and circuit board assemblies. The company remains a customer today, Stoehr notes.

As the company grew, made acquisitions and expanded to other locations, the name was changed to MEC Cos. to better represent its current state.

Stoehr explains the industry as a whole has consolidated in the past five years, resulting in much larger competitors.

“Our philosophy is that size doesn’t necessarily meet the needs of the individual customer,” he says. “We design our facilities to be under 200 people, so we can be more responsive to each customer’s needs.

“We can better show them we care about them as customers and provide extraordinary attention.”

MEC is committed to providing  the “Perfect Product,” Stoehr says. “What customers want, when they want it, with no returns.

“There are few companies that make that promise,” he adds. “We can, and do, though we have occasions of imperfection.”

Each product is tested thoroughly before the customer receives it. “We don’t manufacture products that can’t be tested,” he says.

Quick Turnarounds
Along with its headquarters, the company also has facilities in Canby, Ore., and Tecate, Mexico, with a total of 130,000 square feet of manufacturing space. MEC expanded to Mexico in 2003 so it could offer low-cost electronics assembly, Stoehr explains.

The company says it also outsources some manufacturing processes, such as cable harnesses and custom casings.

“Electronics manufacturing has gotten more technical, complicated and time sensitive,” he says. “We have had to outsource as opposed to doing it internally, to help us shorten customer lead times.

“Our goal is to provide ever-expanding and increasing services to the marketplace, and we see faster turnaround becoming our specialty,” he says.

For example, MEC says it is the leader in providing quick-turn prototypes in the PCB industry through ScreamingCircuits.com, which provides PCB quoting, order management, secure file uploads and online order status.

The site, established in 2003, can complete short-run prototype and production orders in 24 hours, a fraction of the time it used to take for normal prototype assembly, the company says.

“If customers have significant cost sensitivity, we produce that product in our Mexican facility under the same Perfect Product standards, but with slightly longer lead times,” he says.

All of the company’s facilities are ISO 9001:2000 certified. “MEC’s goal is to continually reduce customer lead-time, required production floor space and excess inventory,” it adds.

Several of its customers have converted to operate on a Kaizen/MEC managed daily or weekly inventory replacement structure, reducing their inventories dramatically, Stoehr says.