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Companies use loans to cut waste, create jobs
Thursday's presentation of two loan checks to local companies Oxnard Pallet Co. and Trupart Manufacturing to help them expand is a hopeful sign, Assemblyman Das Williams said."These are the kind of stories that do not get told. We need to tell people," Williams said at a presentation ceremony at Oxnard Pallet's facility, which is in a converted lima bean warehouse on Pleasant Valley Road.
"Getting out of the economic doldrums is a psychological thing. We need to tell businesses it's OK to hire," he said.
Business owners Beatrice and Elias Vasquez of Oxnard Pallet and Shane Prukop of Trupart Manufacturing said the loans will help them buy equipment to increase their manufacturing capabilities, providing more jobs.
The owners said they also were thankful for the assistance of the Economic Development Collaborative, Ventura County, which along with the Ventura County Recycling Market Development Zone collaborated to help both companies successfully apply incentives.
The loans from the recycling development zone were for $290,000 to Trupart Manufacturing and $145,000 for Oxnard Pallet.
Prukop said the loan would let his company buy a laser-cutting machine.
"What this means to us is huge," he said. He described his company, which is in Ventura, as "a job shop/production facility/research and development" and said that by getting the latest equipment, he can undercut overseas manufacturers on prices and bring some jobs back to the United States.
For example, one manufacturer left Trupart because the per-item price was 0.2 cent lower in China, Prukop said. When Trupart was able to beat that price, the business came back.
"That's 260,000 pieces," he said.
Trupart, which employs eight people, is working with Patagonia to create grips for shoes for fly fishermen and could be hiring up to four people in the next year, Prukop said.
The new laser-cutting equipment lets the company work more efficiently, allowing more items to be cut from a sheet of raw material and significantly reducing waste.
At Oxnard Pallet, which took over the old lima bean processing warehouse in 2008, the loan money is being used to buy two pallet-making machines and a heat-treating machine.
Elias Vasquez said his company recycles wooden shipping pallets, which traditionally have been thrown away after use. Oxnard Pallet breaks down and reuses the pallets. Wood that cannot be salvaged is ground into chips and used for mulch.
Vasquez said the quality of lumber used in pallets is very poor and untreated, which makes it ideal for recycling.
"The heat chamber allows us to heat the pallets at 140 degrees for 30 minutes to kill any living organisms in the wood," Vasquez said, adding that international buyers insist all outside wood be treated.
Oxnard Pallet employs 20 workers, and Vasquez said the new machines added five more people to that total — two people each to run the new pallet building machines and one person to run the heat chambers.
Bruce Stenslie, president and CEO of Economic Development Collaborative, Ventura County, a private nonprofit that serves as a business-to-government liaison to help county businesses, said the loans will let the two businesses grow using sustainable, "green" practices.
"I didn't play up the recycling side as much," he said. "I couldn't be more proud to be surrounded by public/private leadership, but mostly private leadership."
Stenslie that while his group connects business to available resources, he remains amazed at the innovative solutions the companies use.
For details about the services available to small businesses through Economic Development Collaborative, Ventura County, contact Stenslie at 384-1800, ext. 21, or bruce.stenslie@edc-vc.com or visit http://www.edc-vc.com.The recycling development zone program combines recycling with economic development to fuel new businesses, expand existing ones, create jobs and divert waste from landfills. The program provides loans, technical assistance and free product marketing to businesses that use materials from the waste stream to manufacture their products.
On the cutting edge of sacred
Sacred Cut, a new company based in Ventura, uses holy water and sand to make jewelry
By Hannah Guzik 01/03/2008
Fingers beating a tattoo on the computer keys, Shane Prukop programmed the abrasive jet machine, stuck a piece of stainless steel under the diamond-tipped high-pressure water funnel and prepared to cut — sacred style.
“Here, put these on,” he said, handing over industrial goggles, his voice echoing in the Ventura warehouse at 4450-A Dupont Ct. “Now stand back over there for a second. This thing hasn’t been on yet today.”
Prukop flipped a switch and the giant computerized water saw came to life, humming over the sheet metal like a monk at prayer.
“See this?” Prukop said, stepping forward and lifting the covering around the cutting instrument. “It’s just water and sand coming out. That’s all we use to cut it.”
Holy water and sacred sand, that is, erupting out a three-hair-thick hole in the diamond with 52,000 pounds of pressure per square inch.
Exactly 2.8 minutes later, Prukop silenced the machine and popped a quarter-inch-thick sign out of the metal sheet that read VCREPORTER in perfect lettering.
Prukop’s process of making art is based, he says nonchalantly, on the Grand Canyon.
“We cut with water and sand. The Grand Canyon was formed from water and sand only. Our process is similar to the process Mother Nature has been using for millions of years.”
Prukop, who preened over his metal creations as owner of TruPart Manufacturing, a company that makes industrial parts for satellites, government organizations and private companies, decided a few months ago to integrate his artistic talent, engineering skill and spiritual beliefs to start a new venture.
The concept behind Sacred Cut is that customers can request that any refinable liquid, sand or herb that is meaningful to them be used to make their jewelry.
“We would like for Sacred Cut to help spread peace and goodwill,” said Ingrid Boehm, Prukop’s aunt and business partner. “We want it to really make a difference and it to be something that people will appreciate forever.”
Holy water, ocean water and water from a special place, like one’s hometown or favorite vacation spot, can all be used to cut aluminum, brass, copper, gold, pewter, silver and stainless steel. In the future, Prukop would also like to make jewelry from marble, glass and diamond.
“I highly recommend using dirt from outside house where you grew up, where maybe your family’s been living for 30 years, because that’s sacred for you,” he said.
By hand, Prukop creates and designs necklaces, bracelets, key chains and other jewelry, often writing the computer programs for the abrasive jet machine. He said he is the only person in the world to use the sacred cut system to cut metal exclusively using holy water and sand.
“We’re the only company that is cutting with sacred elements,” he said. “This is our idea.”
But the 28-year-old former college football player and two-time business owner is used to standing out. He has already obtained a copyright on his Web site and is working on securing a patent for his jewelry creation process.
On owning two businesses, Prukop said, “It’s hard sometimes, and I ask myself, ‘What am I doing and what are my goals?’ And when I ask myself, ‘What are my goals,’ it all makes perfect sense.”
Prukop began working for his grandfather’s 30-year-old metal spring and stamping business, Tricoss, and soon decided to strike out on his own, opening his own metal manufacturing business. But eight months ago, after a conversation with his grandmother, Prukop’s focus began to shift from business to spirituality to art and back again like a dharma wheel, one of the symbols he now uses in his jewelry.
“My grandmother had a friend of hers who wanted me to cut out some angels,” Prukop said. “We were all sitting around at the Thanksgiving table and we were talking about it. Then these ideas just came out, and I began to think about prototypes of angels and other spiritual things I could make.”
Raised Catholic, Prukop now describes himself as a spiritual person who is open to all sacred forms of expression, which is shown in the images of crosses, peace symbols, angles, doves, ohms, Christian fish, the Star of David, hearts and Reiki he uses in his jewelry. Many of his creations look like military-issued tags, except for their message.
“Dog tags are usually for war, but we’re bold enough to make it about peace,” Prukop said, referring to the dove image he often cuts out on the tags.
Each piece of jewelry comes with a note card explaining the significance of the sacred symbol.
“Some of these religious signs we’re using, people don’t know what they are, or what the symbol means,” Prukop said, citing the dharma wheel as an example. A dharma wheel is a Hindu and Buddhist symbol representing the path to enlightenment.
As part of his business practice, which uses exclusively U.S.-made materials, he plans to give about 8 percent of Sacred Cut’s profits to a Ventura charity, or possibly start his own local nonprofit. He also hopes that local church groups and schools will use his jewelry for fundraisers. Most jewelry for sale or order must be bought wholesale from Sacred Cut, and is therefore very affordable. Fundraising groups can buy the jewelry at a discounted price and then sell it at whatever price they set, Prukop said.
“We’re that much closer to legacy,” he added, referring to his family’s longtime activism in local businesses, beginning with his grandfather Karl Schlosser, whose last name means “metal fabricator” in German.
“Customer service and the highest quality are the most important things in business to my dad,” Boehm said. “That’s why he’s done as well as he has and that’s the example Shane and I try to follow.”
Boehm said the jewelry has already touched lives. “I have a friend back east who bought necklaces for two twin girls in her family. One of the twins was just diagnosed with diabetes, and the other one was taking it really hard, so she got a ‘Fear Not’ necklace and the other one, the one who has diabetes, has a cross necklace.
“This is about being able to reach people and about how we can make a difference for people.”
Although Prukop still straddles two businesses, manufacturing metal and making jewelry, and takes care of his 15-month-old son, who Prukop calls his inspiration, he said the work is worth it.
“Being a business owner can be frustrating, but it also can be very rewarding,” Prukop added, pulling out a dharma wheel key chain from his pocket, which he carries around with him as his own “quality control.” “Now I can see someone on the street wearing our stuff instead of looking at a picture of a satellite and saying, ‘There’s my part.’ ”
http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/?id=5568&IssueNum=157
In The News
OMAX Customer Spotlight
TruPart: Domestic waterjet owner counterpunches offshore manufacturingTRUPART MANUFACTURING INC
15 years ago, a family-owned metal fabrication business in Southern California faced the harsh reality of losing long-term punch press jobs to overseas manufacturers. At the time, they couldn't compete with the cheaper manufacturing rates which drove so many lucrative U.S. projects to China, India, or Southeast Asia. Next generation family owner Shane Prukop re-established TruPart Manufacturing with a new business strategy: Beef up the company with versatile equipment to blank high quality parts without expensive tooling costs and offer shorter lead time services. In other words, respond to their clients' needs when offshore manufacturing becomes surprisingly expensive due to unsatisfactory quality standards, shipping deadlines, and shipping budgets.
"The OMAX waterjet came into mind," Mr. Prukop said. "It holds tight precision; programs quickly and on-the-fly; and makes parts affordable by stack cutting. All those things combined really made waterjet equipment in a league of its own due to its versatility."
With his three OMAX® JetMachining® Centers (Model 2652, Model 55100, and Model 80X), he applies production efficiencies unique to waterjet cutting. Whether the material is metal or plastic, he stacks 11 sheets (each 1 mm thick) on top of each other and produces multiple parts in one single cut with the abrasive jet stream. "I've held 0.005" tolerances by cutting that way with our Tilt-A-Jet® cutting head," he said.
If you tried that cost-savings trick on a laser machine, plastic parts would melt (causing toxic fumes) and metal parts would weld together. Another disadvantage would be not cutting all the way through the stack of material.
An additional benefit unique to waterjet technology is getting the best yield from material by nesting parts with Intelli-MAX® Software.
"Because of the OMAX waterjet machine and the ease-of-use with the software, it allows us to nest parts in these materials and get more pieces per sheet," Mr. Prukop said. "It allows us to save customers thousands of dollars because they won't have to purchase more materials and spend money on delivery fees."
TruPart Manufacturing soon became a serious contender for domestic fabrication jobs as soon as they offered competitive lead times. Unlike before, Prukop operates his OMAX machines with quick setup times and can route more rapid prototyping or long-run cutting jobs.
"Having a quick setup with equipment is important on what you need to make on a daily basis cash-wise," he said. "We can complete a waterjet setup in 10 minutes, whereas a laser machine can take an hour and a CNC machine can take several hours."
As a result, his machinists gain momentum with more waterjet operating time to blank out parts. The blanks are routed to secondary processes on other equipment, such as multiforms, benders, punch presses, and heat treating machinery.
"I get really scared when it's silent out on the shop floor," said Prukop. "I like pieces moving out of the facility quick. I like being able to control my own lead times. If a die goes down, you can at least blank out more pieces on your waterjet while you troubleshoot the die equipment."
With well-managed time on their side, his operators can gauge their work priorities on available machines and run more parts on a daily basis. The "kaizen" concept leads to competitive prices for TruParts' clients; profit to hire new employees; and funds to purchase new equipment.
When he speaks to potential clients favoring overseas fabrication processes, Prukop isn't afraid to challenge their assumptions about producing quality end-products with outsourced labor and inspection.
"If you are looking for a cheaper production price, it costs in part quality," he said. "We've seen some outsourced jobs that involved making 250,000 parts, and the pieces came back in poor quality. We've seen customers send out $200,000 worth of work overseas, and then lost $200,000 along with several months of lead time. Those customers are eagerly looking at us to come up with affordable ways to make their parts with tighter quality control in a shorter amount of time."
A client also asked TruPart Manufacturing to assist with inspecting electrical connectors made overseas. The connectors were used in precision medical devices, such as ultrasounds and other monitoring systems, so proper component assembly was critical. Prukop used the OMAX JetMachining Center to slice the connector in half so his clients could inspect the internal components. They discovered broken and smashed wires caused by the contractor during assembly to resolve loose fittings. They later learned the contractor remedied the loose component assembly by pushing a chopstick through the connector to complete the production ? without informing the client about this new procedure. This became a rude awakening for the client who realized he had over a thousand yards of faulty electrical cord and bad connectors. Prukop's cutaway demonstration convinced his client about the advantages of in-house manufacturing instead of outsourcing the work.
"You can see from the video on our website, the part came out beautifully when cut on a waterjet," he said. "They tried to machine the connectors with a saw, but it didn't come out pretty since it galled up. This connector can't be cut any other way but with a waterjet."
This sort of teamwork is what TruPart Manufacturing strives to deliver for all their customers. Prukop believes his business has a good combination of expert machinists and reliable equipment to suit today's fabrication demands.
"If our customers are not it business, we're not in business," he admitted. "We do our best to see that our work yields a good quality product that sells."
TruPart Manufacturing
Owner: Shane PrukopFounded: 1974
Location: Ventura, CA
Specializes In: Diversified services and quick machining of prototypes and production runs
Website: www.trupartmfg.com
SBDCs Recognize 8 Small Businesses for Their Outstanding Achievements
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Business owners show true entrepreneurial spirit despite bad economy
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) Network during 2011, counseled over 4,500 small business owners, which shows the strong entrepreneurial spirit even in the current down economy. At the SBDC Network’s 2011 Small Business Successes event held on December 14th in Los Angeles, Jesse Torres, Regional Director of the Los Angeles Regional SBDC Network hosted by Long Beach Community College District, recognized eight of those clients who throughout the year were able to grow their business and accomplish significant milestones such as jobs created, loans awarded and increase in sales – just to name a few.
“These small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and we are honored to support them in any way we can,” said Long Beach City College President Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “Our SBDC Network is doing an incredible job of supporting these innovative business owners.”
One of the businesses honored was start-up company Legends of Hollywood Tours, a multimedia tour guide company based in Los Angeles. Owners, Mark and Natcha Morrow, both sought the help of the SBDC at Santa Monica College after he thought of creating a business that would offer a unique Hollywood sightseeing experience—one incorporating film clips, music, photographs and stories into tours of celebrities’ homes. With the help of the SBDC, the Morrows were able to meet with business advisors and receive free guidance to fine-tune their concept, write a business plan, get startup financing and start their business. Since launching in June 2011, Legends of Hollywood Tours has served nearly 150 clients, conducted at least one tour daily, and developed relationships with hotels including JW Marriott , Omni, Redbury Hotel and Holiday Inn Express.
The SBDC also honored Trupart MFG, Inc., a second generation manufacturer specializing in quality precision abrasive and waterjet cutting services. The SBDC business advisors at Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County helped company owner and President Shane Prukop with everything from payroll and HR to strategic planning, marketing, operations and changing the company’s business struc¬ture. They also introduced Prukop to the Ventura County Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ), which provided a loan for new equipment.
“Congratulations to the small businesses and advisors honored by the SBDC Los Angeles Regional Network. Their collaborative perseverance and entrepreneurial drive have helped to produce small business growth, job creation and economic recovery in our local communities,” said Victor Parker, District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration Los Angeles District Office.
Other businesses honored were: Marketing Innovations International, Caban Resources LLC, Shortin’ Bread, Forbidden Art LA, DPTint, GTD Shipping and Distribution. To read in more detail about the clients’ personal success stories, please visit our website at www.smallbizla.org.
Eye on the environment: Green business strategies thrive
Two companies in very different industries have a surprising amount in common when it comes to their business strategies.
Through waste reduction, reuse and recycling, both have managed to grow during this recession, and both recently received assistance from the Economic Development Collaborative-Ventura County and the Small Business Development Center. They secured low-interest loans from the Ventura County Recycling Market Development Zone to fund purchases of new equipment.
The companies are Trupart Manufacturing and Oxnard Pallet Co.
Trupart makes parts for other companies' equipment. It reduces waste through precision design and cutting, finding clever ways to make the maximum number of pieces from the smallest possible amount of raw materials. It also saves the scrap it generates, along with flawed or leftover materials. It carefully stores and inventories much of these materials, using them to cut new pieces.
Trupart also does an outstanding job of using recycled material. For example, it makes unusual products such as jewelry from recycled surfboard resin, and simple products such as oil pump gaskets from recycled paper. This green business strategy has garnered great success, with the company growing 25 percent in each of the past two years.
The Recycling Market Development Zone program, administered by the county Integrated Waste Management Division, provided a $290,000 loan at 4 percent interest for 10 years to fund a laser cutting device for Trupart. The Economic Development Collaborative and Small Business Development Center are helping Trupart reorganize its shop floor, obtain incentives for new hiring and plan for further expansion.
The Oxnard Pallet Co. received a $145,000 development zone loan and purchased new equipment, enabling it to reduce waste and reuse more. Most pallet-reuse companies cannot handle off-specification or broken pallets, so many are disposed. Oxnard Pallet's new equipment enables employees to tear pallets apart and reuse the pieces.
Additionally, the company purchased a device to heat-treat wood, enabling it to certify the pallets as "insect free" and therefore suitable for use by exporters. To operate the new equipment and handle an anticipated increase of 4,000 tons of pallets per year, Oxnard Pallet will hire two new employees.
Trupart and Oxnard Pallet each had about 300 business customers last year. By keeping their eyes on the environment, both are able to improve the sustainability of many other businesses.
Celebrating that success, the economic collaborative and zone program are organizing an event for 10 a.m. Thursday at Oxnard Pallet. Assemblyman Das Williams will present a giant check to Trupart for its new loan. And representatives of Assemblyman Jeff Gorell, state Sen. Tony Strickland and county supervisors Steve Bennett and Kathy Long will present commendations and see a demonstration of the equipment Oxnard Pallet purchased with its funding.
In keeping with the spirit of the event, all polystyrene plates and cups used for lunch will be compressed and heated into a block, to be recycled into flower pots and curb stops by Western Recycling Technologies. Additionally, McConnell's Fine Ice Cream will collect its ice cream bowls at the event, and those containers — made from tapioca and bamboo — will be composted.
The public is invited.
David Goldstein is an environmental resource analyst for the county of Ventura. Representatives of government or nonprofit agencies who want to submit articles on environmental topics for this column should contact Goldstein at 658-4312 or david.goldstein@ventura.org.
http://m.vcstar.com/news/2011/oct/08/green-business-strategies-thrive/