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Out of Office

Crossing to the other side of the lake

Editor’s Note: Christopher Fagnant is the third-generation president of family manufacturing company Qualtek in Colorado Springs, Colo.

This is the first post in his new monthly blog, in which he shares about life and business in a family-run manufacturing company. He offers his unique perspective as a young company president, third-generation family business owner, employer, father, son, brother, and Chicago-transplanted Colorado metal stamper and fabricator. Enjoy!

Hello!

In this new blog, I invite you to follow our $8 million (give or take) manufacturing business. I’ll share our stories about pragmatic approaches to operating a manufacturing business, such as using 5S and lean, but my intention with every post is to give context around the innovative ways in which we are challenging the status quo while learning from history and experience.

I am afforded the opportunity to see and experience the manufacturing floors of businesses all over the world. From the state-of-the-art automated circuit board assembly at Whelen Manufacturing to the garage startup of Titan Robotics, I get a peek into the future for manufacturing. I have been sharing these experiences with our team at Qualtek for years, and I look forward to sharing them with all of you.

The blog will also explore the many ways in which manufacturing companies like ours are engaging their communities to ensure the previous 100 years of U.S. manufacturing experience isn’t relegated to the history sections of Wikipedia. The demise of Bethlehem Steel can be looked upon as a cautionary tale and a beacon of hope for the future.

It is not hard to get people behind the idea that we can and should make things right here in the U.S. I feel as though there has always been a groundswell of support for investing in the future of U.S. manufacturing. People often swoon over the fact that Qualtek is actually manufacturing in the US.

I have escorted politicians personally through our building, knowing full well that all they wanted was a photo opp in front of the equipment. Yet, many of us continue to vote with our dollars by choosing to support the companies and products that have chosen to offshore their production.

It can be confusing, I admit. Last year I had to buy a car and had narrowed the choices down to a Subaru Legacy (Japanese company) and a Ford Fusion (Good ol’ Detroit company). As it turns out, the Subaru is assembled here in the U.S., while the Fusion is assembled in Mexico. We could dive into a discussion of the components manufacturing and argue for days about something as complex as an automobile being a global effort rather than a domestic one.

So you might be saying: “I am dying to know, Chris … which car did you end up buying?” I have been driving the Fusion for over a year now and I love it. I may have justified my decision a bit because I know that parts we make here at Qualtek end up in Mexico for assembly into transmissions before they are shipped back to the U.S. for final assembly into the car.

Christopher A. Fagnant - President, Qualtek Manufacturing.

I may have also been influenced by my wife’s assessment of the two cars, which centered on a fairly simple observation: “Uh, the Fusion is way prettier!”

I have toured metal stamping operations in Mexico that are owned by families whose companies are based in the U.S. They followed their customer (the OEMs) to keep the work. If I were faced with the same prospect, I would probably do the same.

The fact is that the lines are blurred a bit when it comes to how we think about protecting U.S. manufacturing jobs, technical expertise, and the ability to deliver marketable goods at a marketable price. Just ask Elon Musk how quickly his supply chain was forced to incorporate Chinese suppliers to hit the $35K price point on the Model 3.

The manufacturing community will be responsible for shaping future policies and needs best practices to survive. My passion for contributing to the manufacturing community is what motivates me to share my stories in this blog. After all, if Qualtek succeeds only in a bubble, it will have been in vain.

From time to time, I recognize a theme weaving through my life in personal, professional, and spiritual ways. The recognition itself generally takes place when I make time to really listen to both subtle and obvious cues. Recently, the biblical theme “crossing over to the other side of the lake” from the Book of Luke was presented in a spiritual setting, and its universal message was reflective of everything happening at work and at home--a perfect inspiration to start blogging.

I invite you to read on in my subsequent blog posts to see what might lie on the other side of the lake.

About the Author
Qualtek Manufacturing

Christopher A. Fagnant

President

4230 N. Nevada

Colorado Springs, CO 80907

(719)-598-3394