Groov-Pin’s operations manager, Scott Bunn, recently celebrated his 35th anniversary with the company. He is involved with daily operations at both facilities in Smithfield, Rhode Island, and Newnan, Georgia, and has become involved in almost every aspect of the business. Some of his responsibilities include working with employees who run machines and clean parts before they are shipped and working with the engineering and purchasing departments.
Scott’s career path at Groov-Pin included a promotion in 1997 to plant manager in Georgia and an invitation to work with PTC in Rhode Island in 2006. For the past 11 years, he has traveled between Rhode Island and Georgia, spending time in Rhode Island every other week. “It’s hard,” he said. “But I know I’m sitting on the plane to come up to Rhode Island and help the folks at PTC produce parts for our customers and I love working with the folks up here.”
Every day, he holds production meetings in both Groov-Pin facilities. “We hold production meetings with a representative from each department so I’m hearing what’s going on in each area every day,” he said.
Technology has played a big role in making traveling between the two locations easier and more productive. “Now, with Skype and smartphones and other technology, we can video chat or send photos of parts,” he said. “Technology has greatly helped me communicate between the two facilities.”
“The most challenging part of this job, and it’s a challenge for the manufacturing industry in general, is finding the right people who are interested in manufacturing careers and learning how to run the machines,” he said. Many employees in the manufacturing industry are baby boomers and the challenge is to find skilled workers to train to replace them when they reach retirement.
“We have the latest and greatest CNC technology, which most young people are interested in,“ he said. “But we also run parts on older mechanical equipment.” It can be difficult to find people who want to learn how to run these types of machines.
To help with this challenge, Groov-Pin works with local tech schools and other educational entities. In Rhode Island, Groov-Pin partners with the Community College of Rhode Island and other local schools, and in Georgia, the company participates in the GA CATT apprenticeship program.
A benefit of working with a company like Groov-Pin is that all parts are manufactured in the US. “Because of that, we are able to provide our customers with very competitive lead times and excellent on-time performance,” he said. Groov-Pin’s goal, in addition to quality, is to ship parts to customers as quickly as possible. “We always say, there’s a lot to work on, but our top priorities are on time and lead time.”
The strong relationships Groov-Pin employees have helps to keep operations running smoothly. “I’ve been working with some of the people here for over 30 years,” he said. There is always a focus on building relationships with customers, but equally as important are the relationships that employees build internally.
Outside of work, you can catch Scott at his lake house in Georgia on summer weekends where he likes to water ski and enjoy other water sports.