Inside the New Facility at DIS

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

DIS has long been known as an equipment builder dedicated to PCB and assembly registration. Amidst a backdrop of increasing sales and expanding product lines, DIS has inaugurated a new facility and doubled its previous footprint. This move was aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and addressing space constraints that had plagued them for years, as well as allowing for the opportunity to expand their technology offering for their customers. In this candid conversation, Tony Faraci, owner and president of DIS, and Jesse Ziomek, DIS global sales director, delve into recent strategic advancements propelling the company forward.

Marcy LaRont: Tony, what led to the decision to build a new facility?

Tony Faraci: Over the past few years, we have been fortunate to see an increase in our sales. In the meantime, we've developed new product lines, and the machines have gotten bigger. Our original shop had serious space constraints, and I’d been looking to expand for a few years. We finally found the right facility, allowing us to double our space and set it up for the best possible workflow. As a result, we are significantly more efficient.

For instance, we have implemented better barcoding and traceability. When we get an order for a machine, for example, our engineering team releases a BOM to production. The BOM has a list of parts that go into the assembly bays. Every assembly bay has its own tools, and each one specializes in what is needed for that subassembly. Each subassembly is automatically assigned a barcode and goes into the queue for each bay as needed. At every machine bay, we can scan the barcode and, at any time, know every part we need, where things are in the procurement cycle, and where everything is in the shop. The new facility has made production much faster.

LaRont: Have you expanded or contracted your workforce due to the increased automation and efficiency?

Faraci: DIS has gotten bigger. We increased our head count in administration and IT, and added key people who monitor the process and the system. We tie purchasing into the subassemblies so we can schedule everything, allowing us to build and ship the machines on time. We’ve also added more tech support. As sales have increased, we need this additional tech support to be in the field, install the equipment, and provide application support. We have also increased our online application support. We can dial into the machines and talk to our customers anytime. Our guys are used to dialing into the machine at different times of the day to answer questions or help with an application. In addition to the new facility, these strategic staff additions are a significant investment for DIS. Providing superior technical service to our customers is one of our highest values.

Jesse Ziomek: Our equipment is in 23 countries, so it’s very important that we can extend critical and timely support to our customers everywhere that we do business.

To read the rest of this article, which appeared in the September 2024 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.