As published in Toledo Business Journal - June 1, 2020
MBDS, LLC’s new facility in Tiffin is 43,000 square feet
A manufacturer based in northwest Ohio has opened a new 43,000 square foot facility in Tiffin, with operations that began in early spring. MBDS is working to locate at the former Tiffin Insulators, 981 Tyber Road, and expects to hire 29 employees and invest over $100,000 in the operation in its first year.
Brian Robertson, president / COO, MBDS, said, “The ‘Trinity Project’ – as it was code named for our third plant in northwest Ohio – was driven by our ability to localize production which in turn drives down cost through our low-cost campus solutions. We began initial operations with our first wave of ‘Genesis Associates’ on February 17 and should be in full production by year-end.”
MBDS, LLC (Manufacturing Business Development Solutions) is a multimillion dollar company, established in 2003, that supplies products that reach both major appliance industries and leading automotive companies, such as Honda, Nissan, and Toyota. The company, which employs 55 people in the region, is headquartered in Findlay with a second campus in Upper Sandusky.
“This facility will support both automotive and whitegoods (appliance) industries while we typically deal with supporting a broad range of glass, metal, packaging, plastic, and rubber products including Class-A (safety) components,” said Robertson.
Robertson noted that MBDS serves a range of Tier-One suppliers on the Japanese automotive supply chain along with whitegoods manufacturers that support Whirlpool’s northwest Ohio facilities.
According to the company, it is a supply chain integration partner meeting the demands of industry while delivering solutions for manufacturing services. MBDS provides the following solutions independently and/or in conjunction with its strategic partners:
“MBDS has a culture that is deeply focused on striving for excellence through standardized work while using the fundamental methodologies of the Toyota Production System daily to ensure continuous improvement,” said Robertson. “This delivers quality, cost, and delivery to our customers while conducting our operations like a world-class Tier-One.”
MBDS, LLC expects to hire 29 employees and invest $100,000 in the facility
MBDS, according to the company, is a total solutions provider committed to building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships through continuous improvement.
“After leaving corporate Japan in 2003, we founded this company believing that our business model would keep manufacturing localized by competing daily to ensure jobs stayed in the USA versus being outsourced to low-cost countries at the peak of this transition that was happening aggressively throughout manufacturing in the United States,” said Robertson. “MBDS continues to find ways to drive cost out through supply chain integration providing the needed cost reductions for our customers and ultimately their end customers.”
Local incentives for this project include the City of Tiffin’s New Jobs Program, which was approved by Tiffin City Council in early February; the potential for workforce development grants through OhioMeansJobs – Seneca County; and a pre-existing Community Reinvestment Area tax exemption on the Tiffin Insulators property.
“We are excited to be making Tiffin the location of our third campus and completing our Trinity Project,” said Robertson. “The workforce and local support helped us make the decision to open in Seneca County.”
Tiffin Mayor Aaron Montz commented, “I’m proud that Brian Robertson has chosen Tiffin as the new campus for MBDS and that our manufacturing community continues to grow in Tiffin. This is a further result of all the great things in our community.”
“As Tier-One’s look to meet increased industry cost reduction demands, MBDS’s experience continues to be an avenue to help current and future customers compete at a time when there are only two types of companies: winners and losers. We are hopeful that our efforts will help create win/win solutions step-by-step through kaizen,” concluded Robertson.