Consolidated Industries Inc. | 7
in the process. “We’ve always strived to bring in the most
highly trained, technically-skilled people,” says Briggs, not-
ing that beyond the various degreed employees working
at Consolidated, there is also what he describes as “high-
tech blacksmiths.” Briggs says Consolidated doesn’t simply
rely on schools to do the job; it conducts its own system
of schooling, and views training and staff development as a
vital part of their own operations.
In connecting, honing and building upon skill
sets, Consolidated significantly expanded its capabilities
in both design and production. Under Wilbur’s leader-
ship, new product offerings (once limited to six per year)
grew to more than seventy per year. At one stage, it was
determined that as much as half of the new products had
been co-designed with the customers served by Consoli-
dated. This ability to collaborate, to fully understand the
customer requirements and applications for which their
forged materials must serve, and actually produce the goods
in the quality and time frame demanded, all speaks to the
capability of Consolidated Industries. In fact, Briggs notes
there has been frequent occasion when Consolidated has
examined design specifications and offered alternatives to
customers that save them time, money and headache in the
long run. This has led to prototypes being delivered in four
to six weeks (when industry averages can typically range
from 14 to 16 weeks) and components that don’t need to
be qualified via the costly ardors of retesting. As engineer-
ing consultants, Consolidated offers comprehensive guid-
ance, not only assisting with design and/or redesign, but
also metallurgical analysis and design concept to replaced
machined hog-outs with more less costly “Near Net Shape”
forgings. The company can also provide metal flow analysis
