Vickers Engineering, a New Troy, Michigan-based manufacturer, is growing at 20 to 30 percent annually with the help of robots and automation.
According to Matt Tyler, Vickers president and CEO since 1999, the company had 35 employees when he took the reigns 15 years ago. Now, the Tier 1 supplier has nearly 200 highly-trained employees working in conjunction with 12 robotic cells to produce parts locally for global customers.
"Automation has been a critical driver in that it has provided us with a more predictable process, higher quality, improved product flow, and most importantly, it's made us competitive globally," said Tyler. "We've acquired customers from all over the world and we're producing the parts right here in Southwest Michigan."
Tyler emphasizes the need for more work force training as well as increased technical education for future workers. "The skill sets required to work with automation are higher, which means qualified workers will be able to achieve better and higher-paying jobs."
Vickers plans to incorporate additional robots and automation at its facility in the near future. "There's a lot of room for us to grow with the automation, and we're looking forward to it," said Tyler.