Editor’s Note: This article was updated at 2:22 pm Aug. 16 to correct what the Phase 4 expansion includes.
FREDERICKTOWN — For the fourth time in its 27-year history, UMD Automated Systems is expanding.
To mark the occasion, local officials joined company founders Don and Laura Rogers and their sons, Nick and Mike, in a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday.
“The reason for this expansion is because of our customers’ needs and expectations,” Don Rogers told those who gathered at the company on Salem Road.
Noting that demand is not up to expectations and delivery time is poor, Rogers said UMD will bring its component manufacturing in-house.
“This will support our local community, and it will open up new opportunities for employment,” he said.
Phase 4 expansion includes the company’s roller division, which will employ up to 20 people, an addition to the machine shop, and additional assembly space.
“We are going to bring our [electrical] panel shop back in-house. The goal is right now we are looking at 15 to 20 new people,” he said.
Rogers said that when he is asked how he hires people, he says he looks for people who are three things: hungry, smart, and humble.
“People who want to advance,” he explained.
“Our No. 1 resource is our employees,” agreed business manager Mandy Johnson. “We can put up 24 full flatbeds of equipment in one week.
“As far as trying to stay in Ohio, at least 80 percent of our vendors are in Ohio.”
“The thing that struck me about this group is their passion,” said Brent Maurer of Maurer Solutions.
Small manufacturing fuels the country
Maurer, who works with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership at Columbus State Community College, said UMD’s project not only offers additional space, but it also offers the opportunity to bring efficiencies to the manufacturing process.
He noted that 17 percent of the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) comes from manufacturing.
Acknowledging that big companies such as Intel often make the news, Maurer said that 98.6 percent of manufacturing companies in the United States are small businesses. The majority of those firms have fewer than 20 employees.
“In December, when the expansion project comes to fruition, you’ll think Christmas has come early,” he said. “This is a phenomenal success story.”
Rogers said that in late 1995, he “decided to take the plunge” and started the company in 1996 with two employees.
Its first location was in a little building behind the Rite Aid store on South Main Street. The company now employs 64, and design for Phase 5 is underway.
UMD offers a variety of products related to tire manufacturing. Products include conveyor and material-handling systems, trimmers and stackers, and “green” tire sorters and carts.
The company also offers tire inspections, engineering services, and installation and field support.
UMD’s customers include Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, Ryder, Ford, Corvette, and Honda, among others.