Mike Munsell

"The Tier One supplier was willing to step up and also invest in the cell along with us," Mike Munsell, president of Southern Michigan Tool & Machine (www.smtool.com) said.

He added that the practice of suppliers investing some of their own capital to work with a shop appears to be a growing trend for high-volume automotive jobs.And, he said that there are still a lot of those jobs around because not every automotive part can be manufactured overseas.Parts that are too complex and have very tight tolerances, or parts that are big and heavy, typically don't make it to overseas shops, so a shop in the united States must be able to handle such parts if it wants to survive doing high-volume automotive work.

Prior to the automated cell project, Southern Michigan Tool & Machine saw much of the same downturns in work as other shops in the automotive industry."We were either going to close our doors or restructure the business for the future, and we saw automation as the key to our success if we chose to restructure," said Munsell.

While the shop had already incorporated some automation, the turning point was the partnership with the Tier One customer, and that partnership also has led to some new customers.The shop now quotes about $60-million worth of jobs per year and is looking to new markets, such as medical.

"When potential customers see the cell out in the shop and realize the investment it took on our part, it gives them the confidence that we are serious about high-volume manufacturing, providing quality parts and being around for a while," added Munsell.

Company president Mike Munsell could not be reached for comment.

changed, Mike Munsell, founder

Mike Munsell, president of Southern Michigan Tool and Machine, agreed with England.
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Munsell said public opinion might be swayed by proof the City is making an effort to cut costs.

"If the city can show its willingness I think the public would have a lot different attitude if you needed additional funds.This is very bad timing," he said.

Company president Mike Munsell could not be reached for comment.