Han-Tek, Inc.

Han-Tek, Inc. was established in 1961 as Hartman Sales, Inc. and specialized in pallet racks and warehouse shelving.  In 1980, the name was changed to Handling Technology and product focus shifted to satisfy general material handling needs with products such as totes, racks and conveyors.  By 1990, when the current owner, Mr. Jon Tobin, arrived as the then Vice President and General Manager, the company had over 230 different products.  An amendment to the original incorporation certificate changed the name to Han-Tek, Inc. 

Over the next four years, the company started to evolve towards the overhead crane and conveyor market and, in 1996 Mr. Tobin took over complete ownership of the company.  It was at this time that Han-Tek started its first automation project.  The company now focuses on four primary markets:  Automation Systems, Robots, Conveyor and Crane Systems.

Situation:

As Han-Tek expanded further into its specialty markets, Mr. Tobin realized that due to the nature of “One-Off”, “Make-to-Order” products where each is different from the last, it is very difficult to develop consistency in manufacturing processes.  He was concerned about how the company could gain efficiencies particularly in the areas of Engineering, Purchasing and Material Handling.  There was also the complication of long lead-time, specialty components especially for the Robotics and Automation Systems.

Solution:

Although no customers had asked for Han-Tek to be ISO 9000 certified, Mr. Tobin knew that having such a Quality Management System (QMS) would help standardize operations, reduce costs and eliminate wasted effort.  Therefore, the company embarked on an intense ISO implementation effort through the auspices of High Tech Rochester.  A company wide orientation helped to galvanize the entire workforce.  In less than a year, with Mr. Tobin’s commitment and leadership and every employee’s contribution, a fully and appropriately documented system was created and implemented and subsequently certified.

Results:

Han-Tek has had its Quality Management System in place for almost three years.  Due to their ongoing commitment to the system, they have passed every surveillance audit to date.  According to Jon Tobin, the most significant benefit of their QMS has been an ability to move projects through their respective processes more quickly and efficiently.  This improvement has allowed the company to grow from approximately $7 million revenue three years ago to almost $12 million in 2005.  In so doing, they increased their workforce from 37 to 43 employees.