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Embracing the global economy
WARREN
A globalized economy doesn’t dissuade the leadership at Drake Manufacturing Services Co. LLC.
Instead, the company at 4371 N. Leavitt Road NW has received recognition for thriving in such an environment. Drake Manufacturing was among the Weatherhead 100 awards by Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Business Management. Since 1988, the award recognizes Northeast Ohio’s 100 fastest-growing companies based on revenue from the past five years.
The manufacturer placed 36th with a revenue growth of 200.67 percent.
“American companies can still compete,” CEO James Vosmik said.
The company designs and builds production systems for manufacturers of parts with threads at its 35,000-square-foot facility.
The manufacturer employs nearly 100 people with some of its top customers in industries such as automotive and oil and gas. There are about 100 to 150 active clients throughout the world.
“We have a lot of repeat business,” said Nancy Halliday, the marketing manager for Drake Manufacturing.
In 2009, the net sales were about $9 million, which increased to about $30 million over the last five years, Vosmik said. The Weatherhead 100 required companies to make at least $100,000 in 2009, and increase to at least $1 million over the five-year period.
To compete with companies abroad, Drake Manufacturing provides not only the production system, but also the training and handling of the equipment.
“This continued to separate us from [the competition],” Vosmik said. “We ended up preserving our existence.”
Drake Manufacturing exports 60 to 70 percent of its products overseas with 38 percent going to China, he added.
“We would joke that we would bring Walmart money back home,” Vosmik said. “If we stayed a domestic company, we would’ve been $4 million in the bottom during the recession.”
Halliday said customers from all around the world visit the facility to test its products.
“It’s definitely a multicultural company,” she said.
Drake Manufacturing was founded in 1972 by John Drake. Vosmik and four engineers that worked at the facility bought the company in 2007 from Drake, who was planning to retire.
The company had refocused its efforts on producing machine tools for threading. Twenty-five percent of the staff are engineers, Vosmik said.
Applying for the Weatherhead award was a way to raise awareness in the community about the company.
“We tend to focus on our customers, and stay out of the limelight,” he said. “This [award] was a way to get known a bit.”
For the next five years, Vosmik said the company is looking to improve its execution and internal processes. The company also expects to produce a net revenue ranging from $50 million to $70 million.
“[You’ve] got to stay on your toes,” Vosmik said.