Update from Sig manufacturing
Les
Saw this on Facebook. Nice to see that one of the longtime hobby companies may be getting new life.
Les
Good morning. My name is Tom Lagerhausen, COO & CFO of Sig Manufacturing.
I have received many requests for info on how Sig is doing and saw a few comments that people think Sig is out of business. I can honestly say Sig is alive and attempting to get back to its glory days.
My business partner and I saw an opportunity in the industry and acquired Sig last spring. We believe Sig can grow within the foam and plastic airplane model industry and maintain the high quality products Hazel promoted when she started the company in 1951.
We came into the business knowing there were many issues to overcome (my current list has 27 issues on it), but the two most important issues were aging equipment and a difficult balsa supply chain.
When we acquired the company, most of the equipment was 25 to 50 years old, including our 200 watt laser cutting machines (for the old people like me, DOS is the operating system). We acquired a new Tannewitz band saw for our saw room and last week we acquired two SL6200 500 watt laser cutting machines in New York. The lasers should be in operation by the end of the month.
For the past year, worldwide balsa supply has been in turmoil. Major wind mill manufacturers have cornered the market to place balsa wood into their windmill blades, primarily in China. Reps have traveled to the farmers with cash in hand to circumvent supply.
In addition, the Covid pandemic closed many ports, especially in Ecuador, where the best balsa wood is grown. For years Sig was a bottom feeder, scrounging for whatever balsa brokers could find, which usually meant receiving balsa blocks supposedly that were 4" x 48" on paper, but after delivery we find they are 3.5" x 47" (not usable in our bigger kits).
I searched and found a Ecuadorian company willing to import balsa wood directly from their dedicated farms in Ecuador, processed in their own facilities & kilns, and ship directly to our dock. At this moment our first shipment of 26,000 board feet from this company is sitting in customs and should be here in the next few weeks. I also secured a long term contract with the company for three more shipments this year, so I believe the balsa block supply chain going forward is good. We are also buying 3" and 4" balsa sheets of various thickness from Indonesia and New Guinea to bypass our saw room operations and go directly to our lasers.
My apologies for the length of this post. Every week or two, I will provide updates of our progress, touching on different aspects of the business.
For those of you asking about tours, we can accommodate your visit. With 66,000 square feet of space in 12 buildings (two city blocks), you will see some clutter we are working on to get rid of. I work every weekend here in Montezuma and can be available to give a tour on Saturday or Sunday, just let me know at t...@sigmfg.com and we can schedule something.
More updates to come. My team appreciates your support to help Sig provide the best quality model aircraft kit in the world.
Tom Lagerhausen