The Sheahans own Platinum Precision Machining, a machining shop with two employees in addition to the Sheahans
The last three months have been filled with many ups and downs. We have considerably more customers than we did a year ago and a record number of job quotes, but the orders are slow and irregular. This makes every day an unknown.
Most shops we know are at reduced hours, and many have had at least one round of layoffs. We’re still hoping to stave off a permanent downsizing but are currently operating on a reduced-hour schedule.
Because it’s difficult to predict which industries are slowing, we’ve concentrated on diversifying our customer base and have ventured into a variety of specialized industries.
We’ve produced high-end mountain-bike parts, snowboard bindings, prototype kitchen utensils and customized show-car parts. We have been able to spread the work around and stay busy enough to keep the doors open. Some of our most interesting work has come from walk-in business.
We’ve also been working on the development and marketing of our own products. The products are still in the engineering stage, but by next quarter we plan to have a website launched with our own product line. The line will initially focus on the RC hobbyist and eventually branch out into areas such as custom off-road gear, racing accessories and custom auto accessories.
Our strategy is to remain focused on our long-term goal of consistent growth. In order to achieve this we will have to be open to original ideas, seek out new, emerging industries and be willing to veer off in different directions. This economy will rebound and, though Platinum Precision may look different when this recession is over than it did going in, we believe we will be a stronger and more versatile company.
