What time is it? It's real time

Brad Gotts knows exactly how the FPE plant in Stratford is running, right down to a part, without ever needing to leave his desk at headquarters in Troy, Mich.

Dan Taylor, the plant's operation manager, can tap in to the same data from home in case there's a problem.

Honda, one of the company's customers, has the same "real time, any time" access online if it needs to track parts.

"We would never have been able to launch at the speed and rate and effectiveness that we did without the ability to measure those issues and be able to connect that (real-time) data," Gotts, the president and chief operating officer, said during a tour of the renovated 130,000-square-foot plant, the former home of Manchester Plastics in south Stratford.

Florida Products Engineering picked Stratford to debut its system that tracks all facets of production and inventory and makes it available instantly online -- password protected, of course.

"That's probably the best part of what our operating system provides me -- the data. We need to make strong decisions, good decisions based on the information that we have and it gives me real time in my hand," Taylor said.

Gotts said the systems allows FPE to ensure quality, accuracy and instant feedback to customers.

"Those are things that are very expensive, and we've seen good companies in this area go out of business because they can't compete. So this is one of the ways we will compete here against areas in which we said we couldn't compete against in Canada before," he said.

FPE announced in fall 2010 it was coming to Stratford and began making improvements and installing equipment including 300-to 1,500-ton presses at the Griffith Rd. facility. Just as production was reaching full stride the twin disaster earthquake and tsunami hit Japan March 11. Output was forced to slow and out of respect FPE put off an official launch.

"We're now starting to see the volumes come back," Gotts said.

A casual opening was held earlier this month. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by a catered meal for salaried and production staff. Mayor Dan Mathieson, economic development director Larry Appel and The Beacon Herald were invited to tour the operation.

"You can't manage what you can't measure," an impressed Mathieson said.

Appel asked the company to include a brief about how it uses technology as part of the city's pitch for the Intelligent Communities Forum smart city in 2012.

Gotts said the plant is open to other manufactures to learn about the system as long as they're not competitors.

The goal is to have the system in FPE's six other North American facilities in the next 18 months.

The Stratford plant makes injection-moulded plastic parts for major automakers.

Gotts called them value-added assemblies.

"We have the ability, either within this facility or through our other facilities to mould, paint, chrome plate, assemble all those components for our customers," Gotts said.

An RT grill for Chrysler is one example. The grey plastic trim piece is sent next to the company's chrome-plating plant in Cleveland. FPE can also add mesh grating and an emblem to deliver it as a complete assembly to the automaker.

"Our real ability to grow the value of our company is being able to offer our customers more value-added than just moulding," Gotts said.

The company expects to have about 50 production staff in Stratford by year's end, plus eight salaried staff.

"We're going to be going to a multi-shift," Gotts said.

The plant's human resources department will take applications.

The company is already eyeing expansion.

"The beautiful part that this facility gave us is we have the ability to put up to 3,000-ton-plus presses here because of how this facility was built," he said.