Gregory Design is a designer and manufacturer of material-handling racks for the automotive industry.

Premier Business Partners:

Livonia Tool & Laser Polyflex

Mike Walker founded Gregory Design & Manufacturing 20 years ago with the simple intention of becoming a major player in the material handling industry. With only 19 employees, the company started manufacturing its first rack order out of its Fort Madison, Iowa, facility. Since then, Gregory Design has experienced continuous growth, expanding to 300 employees and opening two additional facilities in Fayetteville, Tenn., and Kahoka, Mo.    

The company designs and manufactures glass racks, extrusion racks, containers and other automotive material handling racks for clients that include DaimlerChrysler, BMW and General Electric. Gregory Design is certain it is on the right track. “Obviously, the company is doing things right,” General Manager Bill Coppage asserts. “I think the biggest success factor here is the people involved. The individuals are creative – we have the opportunity to explore new product lines and new industries on a regular basis, which allows us to change as the market changes and as different product lines cycle. We have the ability to adjust our products to meet the needs of the marketplace.”   

Coppage says Gregory Design’s flexibility gives the company other business despite the decreased demand from the automotive industry. “The traditional automotive industry in which we have thrived in the past is down, but that forced us to go after industries such as the government and alternative energy that we normally won’t take the time to go after in a boom market,” he states.

Dual Offerings
Gregory Design prides itself on handling both the smallest jobs that require only 10 racks and the largest jobs with more than 5,000 racks. “We are small enough to react quickly and be a low-cost provider but still have the size to produce the volume that our clients need,” Coppage states. “Usually, there is a definite separation – large companies produce large volumes and large overhead, while small companies are cost effective but they don’t have the capacity to do everything. We offer both.”   

In addition, he explains that manufacturing steel racks is beneficial to the environment. “There is still a lot of industries that package and ship products in wood or cardboard,” Coppage continues.    

“That’s been an issue cost-wise and disposing them – they just fill our landfills. We do steel returnable racks with a life span of 15 to 20 years. In the long run, it is a very cost-effective move for companies.”   

Gregory Design says its competitive advantage includes:

• Complete on-site design and CAD systems;
• A total of 116,000 square feet of manufacturing space;
• A full line of CNC equipment;
• State-of-the-art laser-cutting technology;
• Six completely equipped production lines; and
• Automated paint conveyor and assembly systems.
  

Knowing Your Client
Getting to know its clients is one of Gregory Design’s challenges. “With our headquarters in Iowa, it is challenging because a lot of our [clients] are in the East,” Coppage states. “But once we establish our relationships, we have them for the long term because of our quality and our ability to function quickly and meet our customers’ needs.”  

To ensure customer satisfaction, the company helps offset additional shipping costs and improves its manufacturing processes. For example, it has implemented many lean manufacturing techniques. “We use the principles we learned in our relationships with the automotive industry,” Coppage explains.    

“We use just-in-time and one-piece flow, which is [important] in our business. If changes are made by customers, there are only a handful of parts made as opposed to bulk. Some companies bulk cut racks, and if their customers want a change, they have to pay for it.    

“We, on the other hand, are cutting pieces right as they are building racks, so we cut two or three pieces vs. the entire job.”

Continuous Expansion
Gregory Design’s recent accomplishments include becoming the single-largest material handling supplier for the Chrysler Group in Los Angeles in 2008. This year, the company became the direct supplier to the General Motors Group and has been approved as a preferred vendor.    

Gregory Design plans to continue to expand into the alternative energy and other government sectors. “We’re working further to expand our customer base in our current market,” Coppage states. “[For example], there is a big opportunity in the agricultural industry. The economy has led us down that path.”