Manufacturing Meets Social Media

B.C. manufacturer and custom machine shop Williams and White is stepping outside traditional marketing boundaries and entering the online world of social media

Spring key for hydroelectric dam

Large and heavy parts like this spring key for a hydroelectric dam's turbine can be machined.

They have been called social phenomena, revolutionary technologies, and giant time-wasters. But no matter what you may have heard, social media Web sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter aren’t just for bored teenagers.

In the boardroom at Williams and White, Burnaby B.C., more is discussed than just business trends, the value of the dollar, and how the shop is running. This is a manufacturing company that has added social media to its marketing program, a move that is not exactly revolutionary, but is uncommon in most manufacturing businesses today.

Founded in 1957 by Christopher Williams and partners Len and Jack Claxton, the company was originally named Claxton and Williams, and it operated solely as a machine shop for the local Vancouver industry. Two years later the Claxtons sold their shares to Len White, and the Williams and White brand was created.

Today the company is made up of three independent business units: equipment manufacturing, custom machining, and automation systems.

While specialized grinding equipment used in the sawmill, cutting tool, and machining industries is perhaps what the company is best-known for now, investment in the machining and automation divisions has given the company the machining capabilities to compete with shops across western Canada.

Having a diverse customer base and operations in a variety of industries has enabled Williams and White to maintain a steady business even as certain sectors declined. For example, in recent years the company’s business in the forestry sector declined, but an increase in in-house custom machining work kept the company running smoothly.

Social Media Activities

No stranger to tradeshows and traditional marketing techniques, a few years ago the company took a step into social media through the use of a Facebook page, YouTube channel, and Twitter account.

“We would rather be a little ahead of the curve than a little behind the curve,” explained Williams and White CEO Justin Williams.

These three Web sites can be used to drive traffic to a company’s own corporate Web site and also augment traditional marketing methods.

YouTube allows people from all over the world to upload and store videos. While mainly known for its entertainment value, there are definitely business applications as well. Manufacturing businesses can use this Web site to store videos of their equipment in action and take viewers on virtual tours of their facilities to drive sales.

Component oil and gas sector

A component for the oil and gas sector is machined on Williams and White's vertical machining center, which is equipped with a 20-in. fourth axis.

Williams and White’s online videos, for example, have been viewed more than 500 times.

“Being able to show prospective customers the capabilities of the equipment that we make from an off-site location is a really powerful tool,” said Williams. “Now any client with an Internet connection can view our YouTube videos and see what we can do for them.”

The company’s Twitter account, which Williams describes as a work-in-progress, recently has been used to announce its new guide milling machine that is capable of milling a guide in seven seconds.

“I think Twitter can become a very interesting tool for us,” said Williams. “For example, I recently tweeted about our new spray welding services and about the fact that we had some capacity in our VMCs. In the future, as we attract more and more followers, we think this can become a great sales tool.”

Twitter takes timely information and delivers it to everyone that is following a company’s activity. In a short message of no more than 140 characters, manufacturers can post messages and even links to Web sites.

While Facebook may be best-known for its ability to share pictures and videos with friends while keeping them up-to-date on social activities, like YouTube, it also has business applications.

On the Williams and White Facebook page are pictures of the latest equipment to hit the shop floor, a Haas TL-4 large-bore toolroom lathe, as well as the first shaft turned on the machine.

“One advantage of having a high dollar is that we were able to make this purchase,” said Williams. “This was a great addition for us, and putting it on Facebook was just another way to make the announcement.”

In-house Capabilities

By keeping current with the latest in milling, turning, boring, grinding, welding, and fabrication technologies, Williams and White is able to serve diverse customers, who come from various local industries, including mining, forestry, structural, and oil and gas. The company was also recently received a controlled good certificate, which will allow it to handle controlled goods such as military materiel.

The company’s milling capabilities include both large-scale, CNC vertical and horizontal machining centers as well as conventional milling. Five-axis horizontal boring with a capacity of 60 by 60 by 100 in. and 15,000 lbs. of table load is also possible.

Column Milling Machine

A 6-ft. flange is created on the company's traveling column milling machine.

“Our machining centers are equipped with the latest in CNC systems, and to increase our efficiency our machines have been networked to our server system. Machining programs can be drawn directly from our server into the CNC,” said Williams.

Using SolidWorks® and Mastercam® 10, the company generates programs directly from solid models. This allows Williams and White’s machinists to machine complex geometries while maintaining the necessary precision.

In addition to the new Haas lathe the company has turning capacity up to 20 ft. long and 48 in. in diameter. Typical turning jobs include shaft creation, bearing housings, and bushings. Grinding up to 84-in. diameters and 120-in. lengths is also possible.

Williams and White also has a full-time quality control staff that inspects every part shipped from the facility. And to ensure accurate tracking and quoting orders, an enterprise resource tracking system is used.

Like every other shop across the country, having all the high-tech machines in the world won’t matter if they aren’t busy.

“If we get one extra call because of what we are doing online, then it’s all worth it,” said Williams. “You also need to keep an open mind and listen to what your social network is telling you.”

Williams and White is like many other shops and factories in Canada in that multiple generations of the same family have been caretakers of the family business. Now, as the company competes not just with other local machine shops but with shops around the world, it has become even more important to market its capabilities.

Computers have become commonplace in the home, in business, and now on the shop floor, and as shop workers become more comfortable with their use, social media marketing can be another way to attract business.

“The face of manufacturing is changing,” Williams joked. “It’s getting younger.”

For more information, visit www.williamsandwhite.com.