NETAAC Success Stories
Success Story #4:
VR Industries
NETAAC Qualification
VR Industries of Warwick, RI manufactures high-end, electronic circuit boards and Electro-Mechanical System Assemblies for performance-critical applications. The explosive expansion of low-cost electronics services in the Far East during the ’80s and ’90s lead to a significant reduction in plant volume as expired contracts were lost to competition from overseas.
NETAAC Assistance
NETAAC responded with funding and assistance to implement programs that improved company product, efficiency, and sales. Training in lean manufacturing initiatives included redesigning and reorganizing the company’s manufacturing footprint—a move that according to President Brian Pestana now saves about 9,500 miles of “manufacturing process travel” annually.
The procedural improvements subsidized through NETAAC also allowed VR Industries to apply for and receive expanded ISO certification to ISO 13485—qualifying them to produce highly-reliable Medical Device circuitry. With efficiency improved and service classifications expanded, VR Industries used the remainder of their grant to help improve elements to support marketing and sales. This included refinement of digital marketing and the company website.
“With Electronic Contract Manufacturers competing on a global scale, we needed a balanced strategy that would help us remain competitive in product, process, and distribution. NETAAC funding and guidance provided the support to realize marked improvements in those crucial areas. Today, we are stronger and more capable than ever—thanks in great deal to the expert assistance NETAAC provided.”
