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Machining, manufacturers offer online database to attract business

Burt Mason with Hexagon Metrology, Inc. demonstrated a laser scanner that reads the surface of parts at 450,000 points per second and records the shape to a computer. The scanner can be used to inspect parts or reverse engineer parts and was on display at the Dayton Tooling and Manufacturing Association's annual Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Show at the Dayton Airport Expo Center.

Staff photo by Ty Greenlees Burt Mason with Hexagon Metrology, Inc. demonstrated a laser scanner that reads the surface of parts at 450,000 points per second and records the shape to a computer. The scanner can be used to inspect parts or reverse engineer parts and was on display at the Dayton Tooling and Manufacturing Association's annual Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Show at the Dayton Airport Expo Center.

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Jason Clark from New Bremen Machine & Tool Company is reflected in a truck bumper his company produced at it's stamping plant. The company has been in business since 1928 and displayed its manufacturing abilities at the Dayton Tooling and Manufacturing Association's annual Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Show at the Dayton Airport Expo Center.

Staff photo by Ty Greenlees Jason Clark from New Bremen Machine & Tool Company is reflected in a truck bumper his company produced at it's stamping plant. The company has been in business since 1928 and displayed its manufacturing abilities at the Dayton Tooling and Manufacturing Association's annual Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Show at the Dayton Airport Expo Center.

By John Nolan, Staff Writer Updated 7:56 PM Thursday, October 22, 2009

DAYTON — Manufacturing and machining companies from the Dayton and Cincinnati areas have introduced a new online system designed to help them attract new business from customers across the United States and abroad.

The new Edison Manufacturers Network went into operation at the Dayton Tooling and Manufacturing Association’s annual advanced manufacturing and technology show, which concluded on Thursday, Oct. 22, at Dayton International Airport’s Exposition Center.

It offers a free online database that is searchable by manufacturer, region, industries served, production capabilities and quality certifications. Customers looking for a service can use the network to compare suppliers, by viewing profiles of the companies, and solicit bids for services.

The Ohio Department of Development provided funding to get the system up and running. The Dayton Tooling and Manufacturing Association and TechSolve, an advanced-manufacturing support organization based in Cincinnati, combined to start up the system, so their members will get the benefit of it first, said Angelia Erbaugh, executive director of the local manufacturing association. Similar companies elsewhere around Ohio also will be given the chance to add their information to the database, to better showcase the state’s machining and manufacturing capabilities to customers elsewhere, said Janice Saddler Rice, a spokeswoman for the association.

Testing of the system during recent months resulted in new business for some of the participating companies, including Custom Manufacturing Solutions of Xenia, Rice said.

Projects requiring tool and die expertise have long been the primary source of work for the Dayton region’s machining and tooling businesses, Erbaugh said. But aerospace, energy, medical equipment — including medical replacement parts that surgeons insert into patients’ bodies — and food and beverage equipment are today’s business growth areas for the region’s machining and tooling companies, she said.

Vigorous market competition from U.S. and foreign competitors has forced the regional companies to be more aggressive in seeking new business, Erbaugh said.