New 55 Ton Absolute Haitian Mold Machine for DC Electronics

We are thrilled to introduce a new 55 ton Absolute Haitian Mold Machine. A crack team from AC Wilson did the installation and set up. This new machine is one of the largest of the 6 injection molding units we now have on the floor. The verticle clamp of this unit is ideal for cable assemblies, so it was the clear choice. This new addition to the plant gives a significant boost to our injection molding capacity.

The Tsunami’s Effect on Manufacturers Continues.

Japanese supply chain disruptions may last until the end of this year, according to Japan’s Ministry of Economics and Trade. While many manufactures are scrambling to find alternative suppliers, DC Electronics customers who rely heavily on Japanese parts suppliers are protected, thanks to the heads-up action of DC Director of Materials, Alice Cheung.

“The first thing we did after we heard the news was to run BOMs on all our customers to find out which ones were using Japanese suppliers,” Alice said. She did not rely exclusively on suppliers for information, but went directly to the factories to determine exactly what the supply situation was. She learned very quickly that order lead times were jumping from 12 to 22 weeks.

“The suppliers were saying one thing, but the factories had the real information. You just had to know where to find it,” she said.

Alice immediately contacted those customers who looked like they would be in trouble if they didn’t act fast. She helped strategize a safety stock system. In some cases, DC doubled up on its orders as insurance against short supply or delays, and they are now holding stock in reserve.

“When we need it, it’s there,” says VP of Operations, Ruben Macias, Jr. “If the situation improves and we don’t need it, we can work with customers to draw it down.” The current situation is very fluid. Alice and her team are checking the factory websites and requoting orders on a daily basis. She expects most of the factories to be up to full capacity before the end of the year.

Connector Specifier’s Top 10 Wiring Harness Industry News Stories of 2010

Happy New Year DCE friends. We really enjoyed Connector Specifier’s Top 10 Wiring Harness Industry News Stories of 2010 from their newsletter and thought we would pass it on….with one addition.

#11. Our industry is transitioning from having vendors/suppliers/etc. to having valued partners.  DCE provides a rather ordinary product in an extraordinary way:  We help customers create solutions, not just custom cable assemblies.

CCCA testing shows offshore patch cords fail miserably

Valuable news via: Interconnection World.

The latest round of performance testing conducted by the Communications Cable and Connectivity Association (CCCA) has shown that Cat 6 patch cords from brand-name manufacturers can be trusted to perform as expected, while “no-name” cords from offshore manufacturers, by and large, cannot.

This latest set of tests included 499 samples of Category 6 patch cords — 379 made by offshore manufacturers whose names are not generally known in North America and 120 made by well-known manufacturers. A whopping 322 of the 379 offshore cords failed to meet the performance specifications of TIA-568-C.2. CCCA reports that 78 percent of the failing samples failed by a margin of 3 dB or more, and 45 percent of the failing cords were 6 dB or more worse than the 568-C.2 performance specs.

Read the rest of the article here.

When Customers Become “Close Friends.”

by Dave Cianciulli, President, DC Electronics

I was excited to find this article in Bloomberg. It perfectly describes the kind of relationships we at DC Electronics have been actively cultivating for several years now. In his piece, journalist Shruit Singh reports on Caterpillar’s cultural shift from “vendor master” to team player. He writes about Caterpillar’s effort to form extremely close and innovative working relationships with its suppliers in an attempt to cut costs and improve quality.

We know this story well. DC Electronics has embarked on the same journey with our customers. In the past two years we’ve made a serious investment to transform the way we work and think. We installed new tools that enable close collaboration and better communication. We challenged our standards and raised them. We worked to make our organization more transparent and most important, we actively worked to increase the level of trust between us and our customers. We share information and technology. We share our success and we share our failures.

Learning how to do business in a new way has not been easy, believe me. But I can honestly say that in my 22 year history with DC Electronics, business has never been so rewarding and exciting.

Check out the article.

www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_44/b4201022256509.htm

DC ELECTRONICS LAUNCHES NEW WEB SITE TO HIGHLIGHT ADVANCED QUALITY AND PROCESS SYSTEMS

San Jose, California, 11/2/10 – DC Electronics, a San Jose, California based cable and harness assembly firm, today announced the launch of a new, media-rich Web site designed to give clients a detailed look at the company’s systems and process.

“Our goal is to be as transparent as possible,” says company President, Dave Cianciulli. “We are very proud of our Lean Kaizen and Six Sigma systems and we wanted to show the public what we’ve got.”

In recent years, DC Electronics has embarked on an aggressive program to apply high level manufacturing systems to its San Jose manufacturing facility. All production lines are AS9100B registered and UL/CSA safety approved.  The company has also installed advanced IT and data management systems to ensure real time quality and on-time delivery tracking.

“We are a relatively small company but our process is not much different than Boeing or Toyota,” says Ruben Macias, VP of Operations. “We want the Web site to give people on the outside a very clear view into who we are and how we do things here at DCE.”

DC Electronics takes pride in its unique ability to work in close partnership with its customers.  Sales VP, Bryan McCreedy sees the new Web site as a tool for staying connected. “It’s really about delivering relevant information. We’re using video, social networking tools and web-based data management systems to keep a cutting-edge connection with our customers.”

About DC Electronics

DC Electronics provides custom cable manufacturing and engineering for aerospace, agriculture, construction, industrial manufacturing, medical, military, nuclear, semiconductor, telecom, transportation, underwater and photovoltaic industries.

The company operates in a 32,500 sq. ft. facility in San Jose, California, and employs 220. DCE’s state-of-the-art facility features a fully equipped machine shop that produces custom molds on demand. Tooling capabilities combined with five, 30-85-ton molding presses allow DC Electronics to meet injection molding demand worldwide.

Founded in 1979 by former Hughes Aircraft executive, David Cianciulli, Sr., and now run by David Cianciulli, Jr., this family-owned company has a stellar reputation for innovation, consistent high quality, and top-level service for demanding customers.

CONTACT

Bryan McCreedy

408-947-4523

b_mccreedy@dcelectronics.com

www.dcelectronics.com

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Dito Brings Collaboration and Innovation to DCE

Dito Trains DCE Employees on Google Apps

When it comes to innovation, quality control and efficiency, collaboration is the key. A lot of companies say they strive for collaboration but the real question is, how much have they actually invested in it? The internet age offers incredibly powerful new tools for supporting communication and collaboration. DC Electronics has launched an initiative to harness that power by bringing in Dito, a company that specializes in applying the resources Google offers. “Our systems here at DCE are 6 Sigma,” says VP of Operations Ruben Macias, “We have very demanding standards to meet so the training, the test data, the documentation needs are intense. Dito has taken us to the next level when it comes to tying together all our data and communication channels.”

Dito bundles together Google Apps to meet specific needs. In this case, DCE wanted to encourage more collaboration and develop Web-based learning tools. “Google Apps make it easy to share and store documents,” says Dito’s Director of Adoption Strategy, Susan Cline. “This is what enables collaboration. The key to being a learning organization is having easy access to information, so the tools we put in place for DCE move the company to a very high-level, communication infrastructure. Not to mention, it offers a high level of security.”

It’s the security piece that DCE president Dave Cianciulli appreciates. “I love the fact that our people and customers are connected, but knowing that the data is safe and sound, that is a huge load of my mind.”

 

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DC Electronics Adds a Distribution Hub in Singapore

“In response to changing industry needs and our key clients expanding their global presence in Asia, we have partnered with Ryder Ascent Logistics PTE LTD in Singapore,” says Ruben Macias, VP of Operations at DC Electronics.

Ryder has agreed to perform logistics services for DC Electronics, which may include receiving, storage, order picking, shipping preparation, inventory location tracking, packing and transportation of DC cargo.

Quality, cost and cycle time improvement remain the focus at DC Electronics and our clients will have continued ‘just-in-time’ delivery of finished goods inventory in the Asian geographical area.

DC Goes Lean Kaizan

Donna DiPalma on the DC floor

A lot of companies say they have cultures of “continuous improvement,” but where is the proof? For DC Electronics, you can ask Donna DiPalma of Global Improvement Solutions, an outside consultant the company brought in to improve its production and operational systems. “Usually companies call me when things are going badly and there is a crisis,” says Donna. But to Donna’s surprise, that was not the case with DC. The company just had its best year ever. “I felt it the minute I walked in the door; DC has a strong positive culture, and the fact that they would bring in Global Improvement Solutions now demonstrates to me they walk their talk when it comes to wanting to be the best.”

Donna’s company specializes in process improvement, waste elimination, training and project management. GIS has helped large and small companies all over the world to set up Lean/Kaizen and Six Sigma systems. “Specialty manufacturers of DC’s size are often perceived as ‘mom and pop’ shops, and many are just that,” she says. But as she sees it, DC’s practices of continual improvement have taken the company to a different level. “This company is really building standards and systems that put it in world class league,” she says. “You just don’t see companies of this size, in this sector making the kind of investment in time and money it takes to be a truly lean, disciplined, customer-focused organization. DC is unique in that way.”

DC Electronics Qualifies For Highest Aerospace Manufacturing Standards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT

Bryan McCreedy

408-947-4523

b_mccreedy@dcelectronics.com

www.dcelectronics.com

DC Electronics Qualifies For Highest Aerospace Manufacturing Standards

San Jose, California, July 12, 2010 – DC Electronics today announced it has met all the requirements and passed inspection from an independent certifier to qualify for AS9100B   certification.

The AS9100B standard was developed to ensure safety and reliability in an industry that demands near perfection. The tough standards demonstrate a manufacturer’s commitment to quality and continuous improvement.

“This certification is really a testament to who we are and how we work,” says company president, Dave Cianciulli. He adds, “It recognizes the strength and depth of the systems and people we’ve put in place over the last thirty years.”

The new registration puts DC in a class above, enabling the company to meet strict production standards set by the military and aerospace industry. Director of Quality, Leonard Martinez, says, “We’ve upgraded our skill sets across the board. Workmanship and soldering techniques are now Class 3. Overlapping Six Sigma processes ensure defect detection happens fast. From process mapping to risk analysis, the new systems really increase our capabilities.”

DC’s Sales VP, Bryan McCreedy, says the AS9100B certification will reassure customers. “It shows DC has the ability to serve very demanding industries. We know how to solve complex problems. If we couldn’t, we wouldn’t meet the AS9100 standards.”

About DC Electronics

DC Electronics provides custom cable manufacturing and engineering for aerospace, agriculture, construction, industrial manufacturing, medical, military, nuclear, semiconductor, telecom, transportation, underwater and photovoltaic industries.

The company operates in a 32,500 sq. ft. facility in San Jose, California, and employs 200. DC’s state-of-the-art facility features a fully equipped machine shop that produces custom molds on demand. Tooling capabilities combined with five, 30-85-ton molding presses allow DC Electronics to meet injection molding demand worldwide.

Founded in 1979 by former Hughes Aircraft executive, David Cianciulli, Sr., and now run by David Cianciulli, Jr., this family-owned company has a stellar reputation for innovation, consistent high quality, and top-level service for demanding customers.

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