SI Manufacturing: Over 60 Years of Electronics Expertise
SI Manufacturing’s roots go back to 1952. Our present-day company is an outgrowth from a partnership between J. Ross Reed, Jr. and Clarke Reese, who met while both working at an electric coil manufacturing company. However, when their employer couldn’t handle a large project that the two men had spent years working on, Reed and Reese decided to leave and start their own business with a mission to accommodate challenging project needs.
The Roots of SI Manufacturing
The two men started manufacturing precision electronic coils in Reed’s home garage, but soon, their manufacturing operation outgrew that suburban location. They relocated to a more conventional commercial building in Pasadena, California. While Reed & Reese began their business with the intent to distribute very large coils, they transitioned to small precision coils which were just as useful and in demand as their larger counterparts and a lot easier to handle.
Expanding Our Capabilities
While the heart of the company had always been magnetics, as Reed & Reese expanded, filters and more complex assemblies were added to the company’s capabilities. As the space age was coming of age they found a fertile market in aerospace and defense products. They excelled in finding simple solutions to complex problems.and gained a reputation as problem solvers.
SI Manufacturing: Standard Industries Acquisition
When Standard Industries was acquired by the Reed & Reese team in1965 they gained their tape recorder manufacturing operation. These resources allowed the new Standard Industries to take on the biggest project they had worked on up to this point. They built the power conversion and distribution units for the TSE 38, a battlefield communications center. This gained the company a reputation within the Defense industry.
SI Manufacturing: Innovative Solutions
In 2000 the company was reorganized and took on the name SI Manufacturing and continued to produce solutions using creative techniques in order to provide customers with the highest quality and value. An example of our innovative strategies at work is seen in our CAT scan machine project. We were employed to develop and produce high voltage power dissipation coils to protect medical X Ray tubes. SI’s challenge was to dissipate 100,000 volts at 1,000 amps. Clarke Reese and Bud Reed personally worked on this project, eventually developing a new resin and producing new tooling specifically for this application. Now, over a quarter of a million of these parts have been distributed, with a customer failure rate of 0% and an internal failure rate of only .01%.
Working Smarter Rather Than Harder
SI Manufacturing is strategic in our manufacturing work. Rather than stick to traditional solutions, we are constantly looking for ways to operate more efficiently. For example, an SI engineer, Ata, who had been working with the company for years, was promoted to production manager where he would produce parts he had previously designed himself. As an engineer in charge of production, he was able to redesign the production process when he saw potential for greater efficiency. This optimization is the direct result of SI’s “work smarter not harder” value, as well as the result of trusting the instincts of our team.
SI Manufacturing: Truly a Family Business
While 50% of family businesses fail after the first generation and another 65% after the second, SI manufacturing is still going strong well into its third generation of leadership. Additionally, we boast impressive longevity with our employees as well. This is a direct result of our dedication to integrity in business. Treating the company as an extension of family, our instilled values work to support our employees and create avenues of growth for team members who wish to succeed.
As a small business, our company structure not only benefits our employees, but our customers as well. When you partner with SI Manufacturing, our agility as a business sets us apart from larger competitors, as we are able to make spot on decisions without going through a long chain of command. Discover for yourself the advantages of working with SI Manufacturing!