July 26, 2016 Three’s Company

Volume 5 | Issue 2

When three successful ventures became one company in May 2001, the manufacturing world found that it had a new one-stop shop.

When three dynamic companies meld into one, synergy is inevitable. That’s exactly what Joe O’Connell and Carl Hicks decided would be the best idea for addressing both the current and future needs of Synergy Manufacturing Technology, Inc., the company formed out of three ventures in May of last year.

The merger took place among CEH Metal Technologies of Arvada, Englewood and Longmont, Colo., and Anaheim, Calif.; Scientific Dimensions of Albuquerque, N.M.; and Avalanche Industries of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Phoenix, Ariz. From these three successful manufacturing concerns arose Synergy, with corporate headquarters in Englewood.

This new combination of services includes a full spectrum of precision sheet metal, custom cable production, machining, electronic assembly and electromechanical design capabilities, explains O’Connell, Synergy’s vice president of sales. Prior to the merger, OEMs had to use multiple vendors to provide the services now available under Synergy’s one roof. By reducing the number of vendors and providing a single source, Synergy is able to deliver innovative turnkey solutions, O’Connell says.

“Each of our companies delivers unsurpassed products and superior customer service. By combining their strengths, we have the opportunity to simplify and expedite the customer’s manufacturing process,” says Hicks, Synergy’s chief executive officer.

With 200,000 plus square feet of manufacturing space, more than 300 employees and more than 30 years of demonstrated performance, Synergy is poised to provide new and unique services to OEMs, O’Connell continues. Among Synergy’s notable customers are Agilent Technologies, a spinoff of Hewlett-Packard, for which it manufactures metal enclosures for test equipment and telecommunications products; Honeywell, for which it makes cable harnessing for sub-assemblies; and Motorola, for which it provides finished mobile products.

Recent projects such as the Solo Rider golf cart, communication consoles for Bell South’s service vehicles and integrated housing assemblies for Honeywell have launched Synergy well into the market. Because larger corporations are doing more outsourcing of work, Synergy sees its business as highly sought after and has prepared for the eventual economic upswing. “The merging of the companies provides the ingredients necessary to create a contract-manufacturing concern as the economy emerges from recession,” O’Connell explains.

Harnessing Quality
Synergy’s companies provide myriad services with unsurpassed quality and technological expertise. Avalanche Industries, founded in 1990, is a contract manufacturer supplying OEMs of computers, telecommunications products, fluid-control products, medical test instruments and military equipment. From product inception to prototype and high-volume production, Avalanche’s expertise in defining the process, methods and documentation make the performance of each product reliable. Avalanche concentrates on electromechanical assemblies and cable harnessing, including copper co-axial and fiber-optic cable.

CEH Anaheim is a sheet-metal fabrication and machining company, with more than 30 years of continuous service to the computer, medical, automotive and gaming industries. The company offers customers in-house design and engineering capabilities. With state-of-the-art equipment, CEH is able to provide quick turnaround with the highest of quality. Its 1,000-watt laser is capable of cutting steel and stainless steel up to 0.375 inch thick, and aluminum up to 0.09 inch thick with a sheet size of 48 inches by 96 inches.

CEH Arvada in Denver has more than 15 years of precision sheet-metal fabrication and electromechanical assembly experience. The company specializes in quick turnaround projects that are competitively priced, and prides itself on personalized service and long-term customer relationships.

CEH Longmont in Colorado custom-fabricates and assembles precision sheet-metal products to meet customers’ exacting specifications. The Longmont facility sees its mission as one of meeting or exceeding customers’ expectations on every job through the use of state-of-the-art systems and knowledgeable employees, who share a commitment to continuous quality improvement.

The Science of Service
Scientific Dimensions Inc. (SDI) designs, manufactures and distributes mobile mounting equipment for voice and data communications devices. Its product lines include: mobile computer cradles and docking platforms, mobile office computer workstations, mobile equipment consoles for law enforcement and various types of mobile pedestals, radio mounts and accessories. The company also offers custom design services, including electrical and mechanical engineering expertise on staff, project management and technical assistance consulting.

SDI’s extensive line of products includes the Phoenix console with adjustable tower – a highly adaptable, maintainable, ergonomic and attractive console mount designed especially for public-safety vehicles. It features five mounting zones to accommodate a wide array of laptops, pen-based computers and various radio and controller packages. The seat-table mobile computer platform secures the vehicle laptop table with a custom-designed seat-belt set, a cost-effective way to secure mobile laptops.

In addition, an SDI-designed and manufactured equipment tower handles big installation packages in full-size trucks and vans. Multiple side-mounted devices (like radio equipment) can be conveniently stacked within the “tower.” Hole patterns on the top platform link SDI’s tilt swivel, offering solid support to a wide variety of SDI computer cradles, docks and holders.

“The key for us is that we offer one-stop shopping for manufacturing concerns,” says O’Connell. “It begins at the design stage and is followed through to actual installation into a vehicle or school where cabling boxes are mounted on walls.” In fact, he adds, SDI’s ability to install its own equipment amounts to savings in time and cost to the customer. “We get it to where the customer wants it,” he says. “We’ll build it and install it.”

Although it’s primarily focused on the Southwest market, Synergy has a global reach into Israel, France, Scandinavia and Great Britain. Among its American customers are the New York City police and fire departments, for which it builds consoles for police cars and fire trucks. “We have a sales force that is nationwide and a customer base that’s global,” O’Connell says. “That has helped to make this company work. We’ll go in and sell more than a widget.” He adds that SDI – as well as all of Synergy – has the ability to parlay its expertise into value-added solutions for the customer. SDI, he says, sees growth in the mobile data mounting market, where every fleet is looking at a paperless work environment. Other new opportunities will come from the gaming industry and from the resurgence of telecommunications.

When the economy kicks up again, Synergy will be there to help manufacturers get back on their feet. “We can take anything from concept to completion,” O’Connell says. “With our companies combined, we have the ability to approach customers that we never could reach otherwise. It becomes the perfect definition of Synergy. The group plays off each other.”

With 2001 sales revenue for the three companies at $38 million and with the recent acquisition of a California-based electromechanical assembly company, Synergy is
posturing itself to make its capabilities work for the customer. “We are prepared to perform,” O’Connell states. “We’re not afraid of anything.”

Subscribe to Industry Today