By MIKE ELSWICK
Sunday, April 27, 2008
A.P. Merritt Jr. said the fact the company founded by his father 80 years ago has not only survived changing times but thrived is a testament to a dedicated workforce.
Merritt will be honored Thursday in the Dallas as the 2008 Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration, said Brad Bunt, director of the Kilgore College Small Business Development Center.
Kevin Green/News-Journal Photo
A. P. Merritt Jr. stands in one of the production areas at Merritt Tool in Kilgore.
The honor recognizes the top small business operators in a 72-county area of North and Central Texas, Bunt said.
Merritt Tool was founded in 1928 by A.P. Merritt Sr. The company has evolved from being a small supplier for East Texas oil field production and service companies to handling aerospace defense contracts that include making parts for the the Boeing 737, the F-22 Raptor, the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and the Joint Strike Fighter.
The company was awarded its first government contract in 1949 when it was chosen to repair and manufacture bomb loading carts at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, he said. It continues to make custom tools for firms in the energy industry, Merritt said.
"We're pretty diversified today," he said. "We embrace lean manufacturing principles and constantly work to reduce costs."
Lean manufacturing, or lean production, aims to manufacture goods while cutting waste and improving production flow.
"For all these contracts, it's based on price and delivery," Merritt said. "It's all related to keeping costs down."
A major factor in Merritt Tool's success at keeping an eye on eliminating waste is having a strong core of workers, he said.
"These guys that work with me are the ones that make it all happen," Merritt said. "We're all one big team that works together."
Longevity is key, he said, adding that many employees went to work for the company soon after graduating from high school.
"Most of my management team has been here 15 to 20 years," he said. "That's what it's all about. I'd stack this group of guys up against anybody."
The company also provides extensive formal training on the latest trends and methods of operating the computerized machinery used to produce the high-tech parts that must meet the stringent demands of the aerospace and defense industries.
"But a lot of it is learned in the school of hard knocks too," Merritt said.
Because of upswings in the industry sectors that make up a large part of the company's work flow, energy, defense and aerospace, his workforce has been busy keeping up with demand..
"A lot of times in the past we've had one up or one down and they balanced out," he said.
Merritt's SBA award is not the first such recognition the company has received.
In 1988, Merritt Tool was a national winner of the organization's Small Business Subcontractor of the Year competition for contract work performed for Boeing Helicopter Co. The company was one of 197 small businesses out of several hundred thousand government subcontractors nationwide to win the award.
"It is such an honor to receive this award. All of our employees work very hard to make Merritt Tool successful," Merritt said of the SBA honor.
"I know my dad would be very proud of what this company has become."