Signs Good for More Growth at McHenry Industries
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio -- New equipment, innovative methods of manufacturing and a sleek plant hitting its stride have made McHenry Industries Inc. one of the top go-to manufacturers of durable signage across the country.
What was nearly impossible to achieve four years ago at McHenry’s former location on Industrial Road in Youngstown is very much a reality at its plant on Victoria Road, says its president, Ron Musilli Jr. “We’ve been able to take on a lot of new customers and large-scale projects,” he says.
McHenry Industries constructed a 38,000-square-foot-building four years ago to house its offices and manufacturing operations, Musilli reports. Since then, sales have doubled, and today the company finds itself faced with the difficult situation of turning away business.
“When we moved into this building, we made a conscious effort to go out and do trade shows” to increase the company’s customer base, he relates. “We went to one big show in Las Vegas and came back with more work than we could handle.”
McHenry Industries fabricates and manufactures signage for retail sign companies throughout the country, Musilli reports. The company boasts more than 200 clients who have contracts with some of the largest national chain restaurants, financial institutions and retail stores in the United States. On the morning of Oct. 7, employees on the shop floor were engaged in no fewer than 18 jobs.
The move to Austintown was critical to the company’s growth, notes CEO Ron Musilli Sr. If there’s one factor that that’s hampering expansion, it’s the challenge of finding employees who are motivated, experienced and willing to show up for work.
“I could hire 10 people today,” says the elder Musilli. “We’ve been trying to start a second shift for almost two months now. We can’t find them.”
The CEO says that McHenry Industries hasn’t bothered to put salesmen on the road, noting that most of the company’s business comes from word-of-mouth and satisfied customers who return.
One recent project resulted from a contract with Toledo Sign Co., which landed the business with Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course’s new racino in Austintown. “That turned out to be a $300,000 contract,” he reports. The company’s proximity to the new racetrack made it a perfect fit for the Toledo job, and McHenry fabricated the signage for Hollywood Gaming’s racino in Dayton as well.
McHenry Industries’ signs can be found nearly anywhere, the younger Musilli says. Among the larger contracts the company is working on is signage for the Red Robin fast-food restaurant chain and the Champs sporting-goods franchise. “They want 50 of them up by Black Friday,” he says of the Champs account.
Most of the company’s business, Musilli notes, is derived from companies that provide financial services. “I can’t tell you how many financial changeovers we’ve had to do over the years,” he says, referring to the many acquisitions in the financial sector.
Several factors have helped the company achieve success and gain a larger share of the market over the last four years, Musilli says. First, advances in technology have allowed McHenry Industries to enter markets that years ago were cost-prohibitive. Second, new equipment has enabled the company to manufacture components faster and more efficiently, making room for additional work, larger clients and more business.
“We’ve added some automation,” Musilli reports. One piece in particular, an Accu-Bend, fabricates metal channels used for large signage letters. A workman digitally feeds the dimensions into the machine, causing the equipment to form and bend the metal channels to the precise contours of the letter.
“In the past, we used to do this by hand,” Musilli says. “It took almost 2½ hours for each letter.” With the Accu-Bend, it takes just 10 minutes to form and manufacture a three-dimensional letter.
The purchase of the Accu-Bend came as a result of a customer’s request to provide raised lettering for the AT&T affiliate Cricket Wireless. “It was for 800 sites to start, and they wanted it in two months,” Musilli recalls. Filling that order would have been impossible using the traditional method. “Once we knew our customer had the job,” he says, “we went out and bought the machine for $60,000. And it’s worth its weight in gold.”
An automated break machine has also helped reduce the time needed to fabricate and cut aluminum, Musilli reports, while a new Rolls Roller flatbed applicator can roll an entire sheet of vinyl that covers several signs at once.
McHenry Industries uses three materials to create its signs: plastic, aluminum and steel, almost all of which are obtained from local suppliers. Heavy steel fabrication is usually reserved for those signs that require large posts, while plastic and aluminum are common in just about every product.
On this morning in October, employees are fabricating large signs for Champs sporting goods and Red Robin. The Red Robin order, for example, relies heavily on aluminum and plastic, including freestanding letters that will be affixed to a large metal base. Once the base is assembled, it’s painted and stored in a heated chamber where temperatures reach 200 degrees Fahrenheit, sufficient to dry a product in three to four hours. Once the sign is painted and dried, the letters are mounted and the product is delivered to the site.
Musilli reports it takes roughly four days to build a Red Robin sign from start to finish before it’s shipped directly to a restaurant for installation.
Another important development in the sign industry is the proliferation of light-emitting-diode, or LED, lights into the market, he reports. The use of LED illumination has dramatically reduced the cost of lighting signs, which only five years ago relied heavily upon neon as its main source.
“Neon is practically gone because of the mercury content,” Musilli says. “Most customers want LED lights now.”
Moreover, there are fewer manufacturers in the market today that can handle the jobs McHenry Industries undertakes, Musilli says. “There might be three in the country,” he muses.
Musilli says the next step is to continue acquiring new equipment as necessary to remain competitive. “There’s also rumblings of another expansion two or three years down the road, but that’s kind of far out right now,” he adds.
Pictured: Ron Musilli Jr.is the president of McHenry Industries
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
CLICK HERE to subscribe to our free daily email headlines and to our twice-monthly print edition..