In 2008, the executive team at Oberg Industries was frustrated.
In many of the markets that Oberg worked in, such as automotive, customers were trying to commoditize. Projects were put out on online auctions where global manufacturers bid against each other.
In order to get away from cutthroat pricing, the manufacturer of precision components and tooling put its sights on markets with a complexity of parts where quality was very important — the medical device, aerospace and defense, energy and metal packaging sectors.
Then the recession hit.
But for Dave Bonvenuto, who now serves as president and CEO, and Oberg, this was a lucky break — not the obstacle it was for so many.
“Companies were looking for something different than what they had, because they knew their current playbook, and their supplier base, and what they had there,” Bonvenuto says. “We were something new and fresh. We were a different idea. And they looked at it and they gave us a couple chances, and we took full advantage of it.”
With businesses actively working to consolidate their supply chains, Oberg presented itself as a one-stop shop with its new services and capabilities.
Bonvenuto says Oberg picked up enough wins that when businesses started to come out of the recession Oberg was able to accelerate its growth.
Over the past two years — the $125 million company has been around for more than 60 years — Oberg had record sales, profitability and total employment, and exceeded the expectations of its long-term plan.
“There was a great strategy, and I think with it there was a lot of luck,” Bonvenuto says. “And most important there was a workforce dedicated to the execution of it.”
Getting up to speed
In order to reshape the company’s services and capabilities to better serve customers in the new market verticals, Oberg not only added equipment and new processes, it had to get its people up to speed.
Bonvenuto says cross training the existing personnel and finding outside talent with complementary skills was a huge undertaking.
In the past three years, Oberg’s total employment has gone up about 25 percent to 750 employees — 625 in the U.S. and 125 at its facility in Costa Rica.
“We are a people business. I mean, yes, it’s capital intensive with machines and technology, but, as we all know and agree, people are a differentiator,” he says.
Oberg doesn’t just want skilled employees. It seeks to attract employees who embrace challenges and get satisfaction out of working on innovative, complex projects with exotic materials, Bonvenuto says.
