Original Date: 03/16/1998
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Strite Industries Limited was founded in 1964 by Joseph Strite, a pioneer in the machining of ultra precision components. This privately-owned company started with eight employees, a few machines, and one customer (Litton Systems Canada). By 1967, Strite’s workforce grew tenfold, and the company began diversifying its services in the early 1970s. In 1974, the company received the Government of Ontario’s A for Achievement Award, an honor given to few for their outstanding contributions to the province’s economy. In the early 1990s, the company initiated an international marketing strategy to expand its business to include its North American customers’ manufacturing facilities located throughout the world. Today, Strite specializes in machining small and medium-sized, close tolerance precision components and subassemblies for the aerospace, defense, electro-optical, nuclear, scientific, and other high technology industries. In addition, the company provides engineering and prototyping services, and can usually find solutions to difficult manufacturing, mechanical, and metallurgical problems which few others will attempt.

Strite represents the first Canadian survey for the BMP program. Located in Cambridge, Ontario, Strite employs 220 personnel at its 74,000 square-foot manufacturing facility, and achieved $18 million in revenues for 1997. The company maintains a unique selection of precision machines and manufacturing processes under one roof. By performing its services in-house, Strite can guarantee the quality of its workmanship, and generally improve production lead times for its customers. Among the best practices documented were Strite’s design review process; one-stop shopping; and global marketing.

The quote on Mr. Strite’s business card says a lot about how he runs his company “The bitterness of low quality remains long after the sweetness of low prices is forgotten.” Strite gained its excellent reputation through the can-do attitude of its employees and the high quality of its products. The company’s commitment to its employees and their well-being engenders a sense of harmony, cooperation, efficiency, and family that is serving Strite well as it competes in the global marketplace. By using innovative training methods, the company maintains a highly skilled and motivated workforce who thinks in terms of concurrent engineering with six sigma quality; strives for continuous improvement in the manufacturing process; and finds solutions to seemingly impossible problems on a daily basis. In return, the employees display an unusually high sense of dedication and faithfulness to the company. More than one quarter of the employees have 25 years or more with the company, and there are several examples of multi- generation family members working at the facility.

Strite’s history is one of continuous diversification while remaining focused on its core skill of high precision machining. From biomedical implants to jet engines to IMAX cameras, Strite has gained a global reputation for engineering excellence by providing its customers with best value solutions to difficult problems. The BMP survey team considers the following practices to be among the best in industry and government.

TABLE OF ACRONYMS:
The following acronyms were used in this report:

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