Fights Back To Record Sales!

HIGH-VOLUME METAL STAMPER FIGHTS BACK TO RECORD SALES

Cleveland, OH – Talan Products is celebrating record sales in its 25th year, but only after working hard to claw its way back after the recession hit in 2009.

“We were down 30% that year,” says President Steve Peplin. “We are in the custom aluminum extrusion/fabrication and progressive die stamping business, and much of our historical business was in the construction, automotive and appliance industries. But Pete Accorti and I have been growing this company successfully for 25 years. We’ve seen downturns before. We knew what to do.”

So how did Talan come back, even while the industry is still depressed? There was an “inside” solution and an “outside solution.”

• First, the inside solution. “We re-invigorated our own factory floor,” says Peplin. “We did a lot of little things that made a big difference in efficiency. In general, we created a flatter decision-making structure and created a “home production line” for each tool we run. One result was an outstanding 22 ppm customer defect rate.We’re ISO 9001-certified, and we’ve employed open-book management, strategic planning, and lean manufacturing methods since the 90’s, but you need to keep re-inventing yourself, especially in tough times.”
• Second, Peplin went outside Talan’s traditional customer base. “We knew we needed to diversify, and we figured out ways to get involved in supplying aluminum extrusions and metal stamping in high-growth areas like solar and LED.

“The solar business is a natural outgrowth of our understanding of commercial roofing systems,” says Peplin…” We understand how the solar collectors need to be interface with the building racking/mounting system. That’s an area we understand well -– it’s called B.O.S. — “Balance of System”. We now make many parts for the photovoltaic solar panel market and solar-voltaic thermal products market.”

In the LED industry, the company now makes aluminum extrusions and stamped metal parts for well-known consumer lighting product companies for use in their lamp fixtures and assemblies.

Talan still has all of it first four customers from the late 1980’s. It has been named one of Inc.’s Fastest Growing Small Businesses, has won numerous awards for growth, sustainability, and has been given the national Inner City 100 award for commitment to its inner city neighborhood four times.

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