Under a new senior leader, Genesee Precision Inc. of Batavia, N.Y., is pursuing higher-value projects, broader geography and earlier involvement with customers.
John Erbland joined Genesee as chief executive officer in September after three years with Xerox Corp. and, earlier, 23 years with Eastman Kodak Co. Erbland said he knows about globalization and the domestic plastics industry's need to adapt and serve higher-end markets.
``The economics are different than 10 years ago in the heyday of the industry,'' he said in a telephone interview. ``The U.S. [plastics] industry has to continue to figure out how to be more cost effective and learn to be more focused on markets we try to serve.''
With ISO 9000 certification soon, Genesee plans to chase more high-precision medical components, electrical devices and military-aerospace applications.
The custom injection molder and tool manufacturer seeks to develop more work in New England, the mid-Atlantic and Midwest, beyond its core in New York and Pennsylvania.
``We are going to build on our strengths in design engineering,'' Erbland said. The firm will evolve toward program engineering for earlier involvement in customer product cycles, he said.
``Decisions made early in the cycle have an impact on cost 12-24 months down the road. We want to help [customers] make better decisions resulting in higher-quality components and lower-cost manufacturing.''
Genesee may boost assembly capacity and add distribution and logistics services, he said.
The company recorded 2004 sales of $5.5 million and employs 60, including 16 dedicated to mold manufacturing. The company operates 14 presses, with clamping forces of 50-400 tons.