Dajaco Industries- Customer Story
Progressive Die stamping software improves overall lead time and improves company growth and their bottom line.
On the surface, Dajaco Industries looks like your regular Mom and Pop Die Shop, resting on the edge of an industrial park in South East Michigan; however, when one starts to scratch the surface they realize Dajaco is not just the first building on the right, but one of 6 huge stamping plants that surround the horseshoe shape of Leona Drive in Chesterfield, MI. You begin to wonder, how did it become the successful business it is today?
Founded in 1976, by a rather spry looking gentleman, James M. Ureel Sr. company is a family-owned and operated business. Dajaco is a full-service provider with a commitment to producing a high-quality product. Today the company employs over 75 people and encompasses 6 full production facilities; they have Tier 1 and Tier 2 clients such as General Motors, L & L Products, American Axle, Dura Automotive, Detroit Diesel, to name a few. Dajaco specializes in the manufacturing of world-class quality metal stampings and assemblies produced on Fourslide machines and presses ranging up to 600 tons.
Dajaco’s primary products include metal clips, clamps, brackets, retainers, washers, baffles, and sealing plugs. They pride themselves and their success in on-time delivery, top-notch service, and competitive pricing. Successful businesses such as Dajaco don’t always go it alone and realize that success isn’t achievable alone. Many have learned to listen to ever-changing trends and finding the resources to put your company at a competitive advantage.
In 2006, the company was trying to transition into 3D modeling and had little success.
The 2D modeling software Dajaco was using to build their progressive dies was originally developed for architecture and it was taking them up to forty hours to model a complex top and bottom form. They purchased an add-on to the software program to help them gain some speed, but in the end, it didn’t deliver what was promised. “See the thing was, we didn’t know how hard it was to use until we got a demo of VISI,” says Al Ziehm, Engineering Manager for Dajaco. “That’s when we learned how inefficient our current software’s 3D modeling was.”
Enter TST Tooling Software, LLC, (TST) Vero’s Master Reseller of VISI CAD/CAM software in North America. VISI is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading PC based CAD CAM software solutions for the Mold & Die Industries. It offers a unique combination of applications, fully integrated wireframe, surface and solid modelling, comprehensive 2D, 3D, and 5 axis machining strategies with dedicated high-speed routines.
“The deciding factor in choosing VISI was Scott Sargent and Jon Kohn stopping in for a demo. I don’t know if they were banging on doors and cold calling or if we invited them for a demo, but after they were done, JR, our President, was ready to write them a check before they left. That’s how impressed by VISI we were,” states Ziehm.
Once VISI was installed, Tony Varnadore, Prototype Manager, went back to the same complex design that previously took them eighty hours to complete, and Tony had it done in around 30 minutes. “I remember the first time I saw it (VISI) model a cavity out of a block, and then it just dropped the part and I was blown away!” says Varnadore with a chuckle. Ziehm was also able to use VISI Blank for quoting almost immediately after installation and it was a huge help getting the quoting process rolling. Ziehm said that training in VISI moved quickly. “We were up and running in a matter of days, and within a month we were pretty proficient in it.”
The relationship built between TST and Dajaco continued to grow over the years, which came in handy when they were experiencing some tough tryouts one summer.
They’d heard through the grapevine that TST was now a Dynaform reseller and Dajaco reached out for a demo. “It was kind of the same thing,” says Ziehm, “We gave TST a part that we were having trouble with and the results from Dynaform looked exactly like what we were getting off the die. So that was another one where JR wanted to write Jim a check before he left. We got it installed the very next week,” Ziehm says with a smile.
While it’s taken a bit for them to get familiar with Dynaform, it has been beneficial. “Between VISI interference checks and Dynaform, some of our tryout times are hours instead of days, and that’s huge. We went from doing 2D die designs to 3D full progressive die designs in a very short period of time.”
Dajaco also credits TST’s world-class Support team for giving them the advantage. They had a unique schedule of training when they first installed VISI to help Dajaco stay on top of their jobs, and TST helped to work around that tight schedule so they were able to keep up with their workload and learn their new system at the same time. “TST’s Support, you couldn’t get any better; someone is always there to take a call and answer a question or if you email in, it always gets acknowledged right away. We really couldn’t ask for better support,” says Ziehm.
With the inception of a new software system, Dajaco has doubled its business since 2010. They currently own eight buildings and are running out of six. They are, at present, under major construction in their main office to add in elevators and a second floor. They have expansion plans in place over the next two years to utilize the new space and continue to grow at a rapid pace. Along with this growth, they have also almost doubled the size of their team, as well. To find out more about TST Tooling Software, VISI CAD/CAM for Dies, and Dynaform software, please visit them on their website: https://www.tst-software.com/
When asked why they chose VISI, Dynaform, and TST the answer from Al Ziehm was quick and simple “The software is awesome, support is great and all that time saved in tryouts, those are the big reasons.” For a company that started out only in one building, and now owns eight on Leona drive, it’s really only a matter of time before they expand again and purchase another building in the neighborhood.
One thing is for sure though, because continued growth, faster, more accurate designs, and customer satisfaction are worthy ongoing goals for Dajaco Industries, they’ll probably own the whole street in no time.
To find out more about Dajaco Industries please visit them on their website: https://dajaco.com/
To find out more about TST Tooling Software, VISI CAD/CAM for Dies, and Dynaform software, please visit them on their website: https://www.tst-software.com/