Consolidated Industries Inc. | 7 in the process. “We’ve always strived to bring in the most highly trained, technically-skilled people,” says Briggs, noting that beyond the various degreed employees working at Consolidated, there is also what he describes as “hightech 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 leadership, 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 Consolidated. 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 engineering consultants, Consolidated offers comprehensive guidance, 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
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