Blachford Inc Wins Two Spark Awards for Manufacturing
Blachford Acoustics Group is proud to announce that Blachford Inc. (West Chicago, IL) has won, not one, but two 2024 Spark Awards for excellence in manufacturing. Blachford won awards in the category for Safety as well as Operational Excellence at the 8th Annual Spark Awards.
The Spark Awards, held at Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton, IL on March 6th and presented by the Valley Industrial Association (VIA), honors the best of the best among Chicago area manufacturing. Blachford’s Esther Barrios, Michael Benjamin, Charles Furst, Tonya Hubbartt, Ramon Leon, Milton Paloma and Alex Severson attended the ceremony and accepted the award for the team.
Blachford’s President and COO, Matthew Taub, had this to say about the accomplishment, “I’m incredibly proud of what the team has accomplished regarding our top organizational priorities, Safety and Operations. They have put in incredible time and effort to improve over the last three years. We truly have a world-class team, and it’s great to see these efforts formally recognized.”
Director of Operations, Ramon Leon, added “It is great to see the efforts of our successful team accomplishing this milestone in our continuous improvement journey.”
Manufacturers compete by completing a self-assessment that measures their aptitude in the six categories: Workforce Development, Safety, Innovation, Culture, Operations, Social Responsibility. Those with the highest benchmarking results become finalists in the competition. Finalists are interviewed by a panel of industry experts to determine winners in each category. This is the first time Blachford has won a Spark Award
“Blachford Acoustics Group has set the standard for manufacturing among the Chicago area,” said Kathy Gilmore, president of the VIA. “This award is a testament to their commitment to best practices and continuous improvement.”
Click here for a formal press release of this posting
(Left to Right) Charles Furst, Tonya Hubbartt, Esther Barrios, Ramon Leon, Michael Benjamin, Milton Paloma, Alex Severson
(Left to Right) Milton Paloma, Charles Furst, Ramon Leon
Customers Who Trust Blachford Acoustics Group
“Blachford eliminated SKUs. Across product families, the reduction of one SKU is a $10k savings. Blachford eliminated 14 SKUs.”
– Noise Control Research Engineer – Construction Equipment Manufacturer
“The first project with Blachford, it was a definite quality improvement, and it was over a million dollar yearly cost savings for just the purchase parts themselves. We went from 28 (SKU) parts to 14.”
– Design Engineer – Heavy Equipment Manufacturer
“Noise is important to brand image. It is one of the top factors along with driveability and reliability. Acoustics – it’s a 4 out of 5, it might even be a 5 in importance projecting the image, the brand, and the quality that we want projected to the market.”
– Design Engineer – Truck Manufacturer
“Our ten-fold growth prior to our acquisition was expedited by our working relationship with Blachford.”
– Design Engineer
“For our shareholders, we have to produce a product at the lowest cost, at the right level of quality and sell it at the highest price we can. We look for suppliers who can help us do that. Blachford helps us do that.”
– Global Procurement Manager – Construction Equipment Manufacturer
“When a company does a spec, boundary conditions like humidity that day, temperature, that all matters. ASPM national or international spec. We try to verify where we can, but we don’t even have the equipment they have. We trust their specifications. Blachford brings innovative ideas, processes, materials, and offerings we value.”
– Design Engineer – Truck Manufacturer
“Then, bringing them in at the beginning with our new product design, it probably saved 6-12 months of development. We didn’t just wa nt the spec sheet value. We wanted customers to get in the machine and experience the difference.”
– Design Engineer – Heavy Equipment Manufacturer
“If we have an acoustics issue, we will reach out to Blachford since they are the experts. It saves us money because we do not have to keep an acoustic expert on site with an annual salary, with benefits, of $125K.”
– Design Engineer – Truck Manufacturer
“As a mechanical engineer, we make stuff that is practical and affordable and Blachford’s materials routinely help me reach these goals.”
– Design Engineer
“We [purchasing department] reported savings of $100k annually from moving to the die-cut solution using Blachford.”
– Design Engineer – Truck Manufacturer
Customers Who Trust Blachford Acoustics Group
“Blachford eliminated SKUs. Across product families, the reduction of one SKU is a $10k savings. Blachford eliminated 14 SKUs.”
– Noise Control Research Engineer – Construction Equipment Manufacturer
“The first project with Blachford, it was a definite quality improvement, and it was over a million dollar yearly cost savings for just the purchase parts themselves. We went from 28 (SKU) parts to 14.”
– Design Engineer – Heavy Equipment Manufacturer
“Noise is important to brand image. It is one of the top factors along with driveability and reliability. Acoustics – it’s a 4 out of 5, it might even be a 5 in importance projecting the image, the brand, and the quality that we want projected to the market.”
– Design Engineer – Truck Manufacturer
“Our ten-fold growth prior to our acquisition was expedited by our working relationship with Blachford.”
– Design Engineer
“For our shareholders, we have to produce a product at the lowest cost, at the right level of quality and sell it at the highest price we can. We look for suppliers who can help us do that. Blachford helps us do that.”
– Global Procurement Manager – Construction Equipment Manufacturer
“When a company does a spec, boundary conditions like humidity that day, temperature, that all matters. ASPM national or international spec. We try to verify where we can, but we don’t even have the equipment they have. We trust their specifications. Blachford brings innovative ideas, processes, materials, and offerings we value.”
– Design Engineer – Truck Manufacturer
“Then, bringing them in at the beginning with our new product design, it probably saved 6-12 months of development. We didn’t just wa nt the spec sheet value. We wanted customers to get in the machine and experience the difference.”
– Design Engineer – Heavy Equipment Manufacturer
“If we have an acoustics issue, we will reach out to Blachford since they are the experts. It saves us money because we do not have to keep an acoustic expert on site with an annual salary, with benefits, of $125K.”
– Design Engineer – Truck Manufacturer
“As a mechanical engineer, we make stuff that is practical and affordable and Blachford’s materials routinely help me reach these goals.”
– Design Engineer
“We [purchasing department] reported savings of $100k annually from moving to the die-cut solution using Blachford.”
– Design Engineer – Truck Manufacturer
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