New Kensington Update
I’m thrilled to share an update on the dynamic progress of our renovations at Re:Build’s 175,000 square foot site in the New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park. We’ve marked another milestone in fulfilling our mission to create a revitalized, thriving, sustainable U.S. manufacturing base. Phase 1 of the physical transformation at New Ken is well underway, owing in large part to our partnership with the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwest Pennsylvania (RIDC) and Mascaro Construction. Two out of four buildings have undergone a successful partial renovation. Outdated elements—old concrete, electrical wiring, and energy-inefficient windows—are now history. We’re pressure-washing, repairing roofs and masonry, and preparing a concrete foundation that’s over a foot thick, a testament to our commitment to excellence from the ground up.
August New Hires
Welcome to the new Re:Builders who came on board in August! We are excited to have so many wonderful, talented individuals join our growing Re:Build family.
Good Things Happen When Visionaries Invest For the Long Haul
Joining Re:Build Manufacturing has been a boon for Re:Build Fikst. We are growing, collaborating in new ways, tapping resources not previously available to us, contributing to the revitalization of American manufacturing and basically having a great time doing it! Now, after two months in our new space in Wilmington, Massachusetts, Re:Build Fikst is starting to feel settled in. It’s hard to say which change has made the biggest difference to us. Maybe it’s the ground-floor machine shop that means we don’t need to use a forklift to get our new Haas machine centers up and running on a second floor walk-up. Yup, we did that in our old space! Maybe it’s the two dedicated clean rooms where we can prototype biotech consumables in a controlled environment. Or maybe it’s our electrical lab with state-of-the-art ESD flooring. With so many significant improvements, including doubling our square footage, it’s an embarrassment of riches! We accomplished a lot of amazing work in our old home, but the opportunities to improve efficiency and expand capabilities in our new facility are beyond exciting.
July New Hires
Welcome to the new Re:Builders who came on board in July! We are excited to have so many wonderful, talented individuals join our growing Re:Build family.
The Re:Build Origin Story
By Miles Arnone — I’m often asked how Re:Build Manufacturing got its start. Like many businesses’ origin story, it contains personal and professional elements. The personal aspect goes back more than thirty-five years, when Jeff Wilke was growing up in Pittsburgh, which was beginning to decline as an industrial mecca, and I was in high school. We both were concerned about the degradation of the U.S. manufacturing base (yes, this is what I was thinking about as a teenager!), which at that time was struggling to compete with Japan. No one was worried about China as a competitor in the late 1980s or early 1990s. In any case, ultimately those changes led us both, and several other early and current Re:Builders, to apply (and miraculously be accepted) to a graduate program at MIT called, “Leaders for Manufacturing.” The idea of the program was to equip engineering-centric professionals with the management and leadership skills necessary to drive improvements in the U.S. manufacturing ecosystem.
Fikst Day
Our team works hard and plays hard! See what we mean by looking at some photographs from our recent Fikst Day.
Collaborative Design for the Win in Creating Inclusive Products
For 5 years, Tekna has partnered with Michigan Design Council’s Design Prize in collaboration with K-12 students, tackling a design challenge that combats societal issues linked to Michigan and beyond. This year’s challenge was to inspire healthy exercise for K-12 students. The inspired team to tackle this challenge was made up of Branch Area Career Center 11th grade students Caleb Jones, Steven Covell and Brianna Omo with educator lead, Marvin Gage. From Tekna, Kyle Spieker and Tony De Leo provided guidance and insights from an Industrial Design perspective.
Oribi Awarded 2021 Colorado Manufacturing Award
Denver, Colorado — The 2021 Colorado Manufacturing Awards recognizes outstanding companies and people shaping American manufacturing, in a region emerging as a model for a new, dynamic sector. Winners were announced last week in the sixth annual Colorado Manufacturing Awards at a virtual event co-hosted by CompanyWeek and Manufacturer’s Edge Colorado’s NIST-sponsored Manufacturing Extension Partner. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) shared video messages with the winners during the ceremony. With 14 categories and more than 40 finalists, this year’s CMAs were the biggest yet. CompanyWeek Publisher Bart Taylor also noted the participation of nearly 25 judges, many of them previous CMA finalists and winners. “The thoughtfulness of the deliberations was impressive,” he said of the judging process. “As they are every year, the judges were a highlight.”
Responding to the Need: PPE for the COVID-19 Pandemic
We can’t express enough gratitude to all of the healthcare professionals working so hard to care for us in a great time of need! As hospitals have struggled to get the protective equipment needed for their healthcare providers, we partnered with local companies Fabri-Kal, Schupan & Sons, and Southwest Michigan First to make face shields. Bronson Healthcare requested support from Southwest Michigan First to acquire additional Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). With input from health care professionals, our companies were able to collaborate and adapt a concept design provided by Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI) consortium in less than one week. Each organization leveraged its specialty in the project. Fabri-Kal formed and cut the plastic shields then handed them off to Schupan & Sons to prepare the shields for assembly. We funneled all of the components of the project—foam, elastic and plastic shield—in order to assemble and then deliver to area hospitals.
Tekna Awarded Wonderful Workplace 2019
Tekna was selected by 269 Magazine as one of Southwest Michigan’s Wonderful Workplaces. This award celebrates the outstanding efforts made by local businesses in the region who build culture and create a great place to work. The article, released in their 2019 Holiday issue, focused on our culture of authenticity. “The space—with ceilings high enough to allow for an airplane to be suspended above the design team—leaves plenty of room for big ideas, but Tekna’s openness is more than physical.” Being open and ‘real’ with each other and our clients allows for meaningful relationships based on trust.