It is with a profound sense of pride satisfaction that I write this version of the President's Message.  As of March 27, 2009 our manufacturing team has installed, commissioned and begun production on the final roll form line in our new Edenton, NC manufacturing facility!  This major undertaking, which began in a cluttered, unused section of our parent company MiTek Industries, largest plant, has morphed into an efficient, centralized production hub for Aegis products---all in just 3 short months!
 
During the course of the past 90 days, the transformation at Edenton has been nothing short of remarkable. Spearheaded by Ryan Cook, Aegis Operations Manager, Mark Phelps, Production Manager Edenton, and overseen by Vice President Fred Powers, the Edenton team has accomplished the following significant milestones:

• Completely cleared and cleaned 16,000ft2 "Main Building" area-the new home of three Aegis lines.
• Demolished several old wood buildings to make room for a new 6,000 ft2 metal building to house two additional roll form lines. Erected, roofed, and sided this annex building.
• Cleared and refurbished 10,000ft2 of additional interior space for slit coil storage
• Installed 100 foot long, 7.5 ton overhead crane to feed coils to roll form lines
• Poured more than 1,000 ft3 of concrete for 10' x 220' foot "coil highway" from the slitting line to roll form plant
• Installed new  16,000 pound,  3500kw transformer to provide 2400 amps of new electrical service
• Installed 45 hp compressor and dryer to provide air requirements
• Installed thousands of feet of electrical conduit
• Broke down, packed, shipped, unloaded and installed 5 individual roll forming lines, uncoilers, presses, and material run-out tables. A sixth line will be refurbished and utilized for future geographic expansion.
• Implemented new scheduling, production control, and inventory software modules.
• Began production of all Aegis roll-formed products-a full 6 weeks ahead of schedule! 

Hats off to everyone involved in moving heaven and earth to make the new Aegis facility a reality!
 
To be sure, much work remains to be done.  The Edenton team is putting in long hours to overcome the inevitable "start-up glitches." Our fabricator partners have been most understanding as we work through the challenges, and we thank them for their loyalty and patience.  You have my assurances, as well as those of the MiTek executive team, that all necessary resources will be applied to bring Edenton up to full speed just as quickly as possible.

      

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