Bruce Hagenau

All manufacturers seek to improve processes and ROI. Alpharetta, Ga.-based Metcam, a fabricator of sheet metal components and assemblies, has seen significant improvement since beginning its kaizen initiative in late 2013. What follows is the company’s blueprint for kaizen success.

Earlier this year my company, Metcam, announced it had been certified as a finished goods supplier for global office environments manufacturer Steelcase. In doing so, U.S.-based Steelcase was choosing to source highly cosmetic finished components from a U.S. firm (ours) rather than from overseas...

Some manufacturing work formerly outsourced to other countries is beginning to return to the U.S. What’s behind this shift, and how can fabricators best position themselves to acquire some of this repatriated work?