Growth
Innovate to succeed
Darryl J. Dillenback refuses to settle for the status quo at Union Metal Corp.
By Matt McClellan
Smart Business Akron/Canton | May 2007
Union Metal Corp. turned 100 in 2006, and it was a pretty good year. The Canton-based streetlight manufacturing company
added 25 employees to its work force of almost 400, improved revenue by 16 percent and invested nearly $2 million in the
business.
UMC has been in turnaround mode since 2003, when president and CEO Darryl J. Dillenback took the helm and started working to reverse the company’s declining revenues.
There were several obstacles in the way. Employees were missing vital skill sets, there were major issues with business processes and several infrastructure systems needed to be fixed. Dillenback focused on placing the right person in the right job and
developing leadership competencies at every level. Since 2004, annual revenue has increased at an average rate of 17 percent.
When a company has been around for 100 years, you might think it is set in its ways. That’s not the case at UMC, where Dillenback
has created a way to promote innovation within the company.
The “Bright Ideas” program is designed to reward employees who challenge the status quo and find ways to do things faster, cheaper and better. UMC is always looking for new, innovative ways to improve and simplify the work process, and those ideas can come
from people on all levels of the organization, he says.
Many changes have happened as a result of the program. In fact, an effort is in place to improve one of the processes that has
remained unchanged for 65 years. The proposed change would increase manufacturing speed and help grow the business.
Employee training is also an important part of UMC’s success. The company has spent more than $100,000 on training courses in
areas like blueprint reading, interpersonal communications, value stream mapping, conflict management, workplace safety and several other areas.
Union Metal has a strong commitment to the community, as well. The company donates two $1,000 scholarships each year, one
to Canton McKinley High School and the other to Timken Senior High School.
HOW TO REACH: Union Metal Corp., (330) 456-7653 or www.unionmetal.com
