Polymer Professionals | 9 the middleman in the equation, one might think Hunstad would do all in his power to prevent the manufacturer and supplier from coming together in such a way as to negate his role, but NO. He believes in transparency and openness, so suppliers know exactly who the manufacturer is that requires parts and the manufacturer knows exactly who is producing the parts. “Some may find that scary,” says Hunstad. “I think the more open you are, and the more transparent it is ... the better it is for all involved.” That philosophy has only gone afoul on one occasion, he concedes. Some years ago, in the midst of the economic recession, Hunstad encountered a situation where he was only able to source a particular largesized component from a singular supplier that specialized in that manner of production. The manufacturer was undertaking a little belt-tightening and ultimately began dealing solely with the supplier, a maneuver that ultimately cost Hunstad an estimated $15 million of business over time. Fortunately (or unfortunately), the manufacturer learned that it wasn’t really saving that much in the way of cost by going around him. The valuable lesson for Hunstad was realizing the importance of working with numerous suppliers with numerous capabilities, and never depending too strongly on one singular source for a specific material. Jeremy Werhan - Manufacturing Engineer Jerry Sinner - Director of Finance
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