Top Shops: SWD Inc. Gives the Quality Touch to a Billion Parts a Year

Getting to a billion starts with a single step. For metal finisher and fastener sorter SWD Inc. in Addison, Illinois, that process began 36 years ago with three employees in a leased shop. Today, SWD is one of the top metal finishers in the fasteners industry, with more than 150 employees running three shifts per day in its 165,000-square-foot facility.

SWD coated and/or sorted more than 10,000 different types of fasteners, stampings and springs last year, totaling over one billion pieces.

It’s the juggling of customer expectations and passing through truckloads of parts that earned SWD recognition in the finishing practices and performance category in this year’s Products Finishing Top Shops Benchmarking Survey.

“SWD is proud to be included in Products Finishing’s Top Shops list,” says Rick Delawder, company president. “Our team is dedicated to continuous improvement, assuring we adapt to ever changing customer expectations.”

The company specializes in black oxide, zinc (micro- and macro-crystalline) phosphate, passivation of stainless steel, stripping and cleaning. SWD also provides dip spin organic coatings and finishing systems with licenses to apply Dörken, Magni and Yuken materials. Shortly after SWD was incorporated, they began sorting and packaging parts. With over 40 pieces of automated sorting machines using multiple vision cameras to ensure nearly defect-free parts, these capabilities are a piece of the value-added service to its customers.

SWD’s 24-hour operations and in-house fleet of tractor trailers, serving the Chicago, Rockford, Indianapolis and Milwaukee areas, have enabled the company to fine-tune its drop-ship capabilities, ensuring a high level of customer satisfaction and quick turn-around.

SWD has ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001 quality and environmental management systems certification, and was the first metal finisher in the U.S. to achieve ISO 14001 certification. The on-site A2LA accredited lab facilities (ISO 17025) and precision operating standards ensure that parts meet stringent certification to automotive, commercial and industrial specifications.

SWD has continued its involvement with a number of local and national organizations including the Chicago Midwest Chapter of the NASF, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and the local community Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“By being involved with many trade and peer groups, we are networking and informed on various governmental and industry matters,” Delawder says. “SWD has always looked for the latest innovations for our processing equipment and continues to work with manufacturers to use automated equipment achieving repeatable and reliable processing.”

For more information, visit swdinc.com.

 

Originally published in the April 2016 issue.