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Reading Alloys, Inc. Company saves nearly $150,000 in program’s first year
	Editor’s note: This article is reprinted courtesy of Management Development Programs and Services’ Management Developments Newsletter, Fall 1998.   Reading Alloys Inc. saved about $150,000 in the first year following a quality program delivered by Penn State’s Management Development Programs and Services, according to Mike Healy, the company’s director of human resources. By employing problem-solving tools and processes, the company was able to streamline its production techniques and save money.   “We would not have been able to do it if we had not had the relationship with Penn State. It’s as simple as that,” Healy said.   Based in the eastern Pennsylvania city of Robesonia, Reading Alloys Inc. is a producer of very high-quality metal alloys. The company’s metals add many desirable characteristics to finished products.   “For example, we are a principal supplier of titanium to all the major producers of titanium products throughout the world,” explained Healy. “Our products are marketed internationally, from England to China, Japan to Australia. We are one of a small handful of companies in the world that do what we do.”   Reading Alloys Inc. currently has 136 employees and is looking toward a strong future, because of the steadily increasing demand for its metals. It serves companies in the aerospace, specialty metals, marine and surgical supply industries. “Some of our materials are found in computers, like precision metal components used in disk drives,” Healy noted.   Representatives at Penn State were first approached by Reading Alloys Inc. for help in meeting ISO 9002 certification requirements.   “Two years ago, we began to take some steps towards ISO certification,” Healy said. “That led us to consider the possibility of quality training for our employees. We wanted to develop skills in our employees that would help them add more value to their jobs and professional careers.”   To get things started, Healy contacted Lothar Gumberich, the continuing education representative for Penn State Berks–Lehigh Valley College. Gumberich brought in Dr. Michael Gerfin, a faculty member of Penn State’s Management Development Programs and Services unit, based at Penn State Harrisburg, to discuss specific client needs.   “I told both Mike and Lothar what our challenge was,” Healy said. “In addition to quality concepts, I asked them to provide our employees with some basic statistical techniques, basic flowcharting and graphing techniques and cause-and-effect chart techniques. We also wanted help in providing them with team skills.”   Reading Alloys Inc. was awarded its ISO 9002 certification in March 1998. Since then, the Management Development program has continued to generate benefits for the company.   “In our search for ISO capabilities, with the assistance of Mike Gerfin, we have been able to create an excellent forum for our employees to tackle processes that they have always talked about,” Healy said. “We have reaped significant benefits from this project, in particular, and from the relationship we have developed with Penn State Management Development in general.”   Today, employees at Reading Alloys Inc. are helping to transform most of the major processes employed by the company.   “Employee teams tackle a particular process or project. They use the skills they’ve learned to put together recommendations for change. Next they present these recommendations to our management group. It is then up to management to ensure that the recommendations are addressed. Our employees do an exceptional job of describing a current process and how it can be improved.”   Healy said that Gerfin adapted Penn State’s program to the special needs of Reading Alloys Inc.   “We have a very diverse group here,” he explained. “About 16 percent of our workforce is Latino. We have people from Puerto Rico, Central America and other Spanish-speaking countries. That’s why it is important that we have an environment where everyone works together.”   Management Development’s flexibility was further demonstrated when the program was simultaneously delivered by several signing instructors, to accommodate a hearing-impaired employee.   “Gerfin was completely comfortable with that situation. We will certainly consider using him for similar programs in the future,” Healy concluded.   As a result of the Management Development program, employees at Reading Alloys now have a skill set that will serve them well for a lifetime.   “No doubt about it,” Healy stated. “They will continue to grow and improve as individuals and be successful moving into the next century. We were happy to make this investment in our people.”