Expanding Capacity at Ripley Machine
Ripley Machine is a production CNC machine shop offering CNC Turning, CNC Milling and CNC Grinding in the Buffalo, NY area as well as across the United States. The business was founded in the 1950s and was incorporated by Quentin Bensink in 1994. The business has stayed in the family for decades, with Bensink’s grandson Andrew in taking over in 2015. Beginning in 2017, the company began a pattern of annual growth of 10% or more through the present time. In the wake of this growth and some of the labor and supply shortages presented during the 2020 COVID Pandemic, the Ripley Machine management team recognized the need for expanded capacity with minimal capital investment. Since this time, Ripley Machine has been able to go from a 4-month backlog to a position where open capacity exists. Here are some of the steps that the Ripley Machine team took to achieve this:
Implementation of ERP System
Beginning in 2020, we began the implementation of ProShop ERP. This software has helped to improve the efficiency of all facets of the business, including helping make the shopfloor more operational while reducing the burden of management. This has allowed management to focus less on day-to-day operations and more on servicing customers and improving the company.
Streamlining of Programming and Setups
Over the last few years, Ripley Machine has worked diligently to improve the time required to set up jobs. An investment in programming software has helped to allow the CNC Milling department to complete all programming while off-line while machines are running. In the CNC Lathe department, the organization cross trained several team members to double the size of the setup team. These changes have created a significant reduction in job changeover time.
Establishing of a Tooling Management System
Perhaps one of the biggest pain points of Ripley Machine was the lack of organization of cutting tools that often led to machines running out of tooling that was needed. This caused machines either sit waiting on a shipment of tooling or forced the company to set up twice on a job. The tooling management system has not only increased efficiency, but it has reduced tooling and shipping costs.
Capital Investment
Ripley Machine has purchased a new machine tool in each of the last five years. These investments have helped us to increase throughput through automation. The addition of CNC Swiss turning helped to eliminate a bottleneck for a family of parts for a valve manufacturer. The recent addition of CNC Horizontal Milling with pallet changers is expected to greatly expand capacity while eliminating several operations. We want to thank Finish Line Gutters and Great Lakes Machinery for their help with this project!
Contact Us Today
Ripley Machine & Tool is continuing to expand and grow into one of the top machine shops in the region. We are an ISO 9001:2015 Certified machine shop with decades of experience in CNC Turning, Milling, and Grinding, and offer fast lead times, competitive pricing, and a true commitment to service. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our services.
