E-Archive

Interview

in Vol. 17 - May Issue - Year 2016
Growth Continues With Positive Changes
Michael Langtry, Founder and President of Langtry Blast Technologies Inc

Michael Langtry, Founder and President of Langtry Blast Technologies Inc

Discussion with Monica VanderPol (left) and Adam Roth (middle)

Discussion with Monica VanderPol (left) and Adam Roth (middle)

The company of Langtry Blast Technologies Inc

The company of Langtry Blast Technologies Inc

MFN had the pleasure to talk to Michael Langtry, Founder and President of Langtry Blast Technologies Inc.

(?) MFN: Can you tell the readers what Langtry Blast Technologies is and what it does.

(!) M. L.: For the past 15 years, Langtry Blast Technologies Inc, (LBTI) has been a major designer, manufacturer, installer, integrator and service provider of high-end, custom-designed shot peen, grit blast and automation equipment for the commercial, medical, automotive and aerospace industries. LBTI has been called upon to provide equipment for some of the world's largest companies and OEM's of blast equipment, with several hundred machines located around the globe.

(?) MFN: What changes are happening at LBTI?

(!) M. L.: In August 2015, we relocated into a new larger facility to meet the need of increased demand and expanded product lines. As we continue to grow, it's important for the organization to stay well balanced both internally as well as externally. In order to keep up with the continually increasing daily demands of production and to maintain customer expectations, we have also made some changes to our organization by strengthening our key leadership.

(?) MFN: Tell us about your new organizational changes

(!) M. L.: We are very fortunate and proud to have a knowledgeable, highly skilled and dedicated team that has established long-lasting relationships with our customers.  We have aligned some of our best people in order to strengthen our foundation with strong leadership in preparation for the future and to better service our customers. Three of our key people at LBTI;

1) Monica VanderPol is our Customer Service Representative and schedules Service & Preventative Maintenance Programs (PM's) for our customers. She came aboard LBTI after working for Wheelabrator for a decade.
At the time we were a much smaller group of people running the business.  Monica set up internal processes to improve work flow and documentation. She also provided customer service and support for the Service and Manufacturing departments.
 
Currently Monica monitors our day-to-day operations at LBTI, processing aftermarket parts, producing quotations for our long standing, existing, and new customers. Being resourceful and highly organized, she is a valued member of our team and can assist our customers with quotations for aftermarket parts for a variety of different machines including Wheelabrator, Pangborn, and of course LBTI equipment.
 
Monica also oversees scheduling for our 24/7 Maintenance and Service Program and ensures customer PM's are up to date, providing detailed PM reports and quotation for any recommended services and parts that are required from the PM's.
 
Monica has just recently celebrated her 10th anniversary with LBTI.

2) Adam Roth heads up our Technical Sales Team. He has over 10 years of experience working his way up from shot peening and machining to service, and is now working on the front line in Technical Sales.

Adam is proud to represent his family as the 3rd generation in this specialized industry.
His background as a Mechanical Engineering Technician provides a solid foundation in the field of industrial automation that provides equipment and service to a loyal base of top automotive and aerospace companies. Adam strives to bring his customer's vision to reality with equipment that surpasses expectation.

3) We are very excited to announce the addition of a General Manager as part of LBTI's growth plan.

Terry Downs joined LBTI in February as the GM and will be responsible for the processes that will enable even higher performance of the organization, paving the way forward to the next level by providing new strategic direction.

Terry is a passionate and accomplished manager with extensive strategic operations expertise in the Automotive and Aerospace industries. He has a great mix of leadership, innovation, technical breadth and customer focus.
Terry brings with him an impressive and well-rounded 20 years of experience from a variety of management roles with corporations such as General Electric and Magna. For the last 10 years, he was the Manager for the Surface Finishing Department at United Technologies Aerospace Systems (UTAS), Landing Gear site, overseeing shot peen, grit blast, plating, paint and bushing and associated tooling.

Terry holds a Bachelor of Engineering Degree from Ryerson University and is a Professional Engineer. He has extensive continuous improvement (CI) experience as both a lean practitioner / instructor and has a six sigma black belt designation.

"I am very excited about my new role with LBTI. Being a former customer of Langtry Blast Technologies for the past 10 years, I certainly understand the need to have equipment in good working order, to maintain up-time and to keep the product flowing. LBTI not only produces some of the best equipment out there but they have excellent support with very well trained technicians with short lead times for parts. They are definitely customer focused and add a great deal of value to any organization that are looking to replace or add new equipment or need service for existing equipment. LBTI has a bright future ahead of them as they continue to grow and I am very happy to be part of an exceptional team." - Terry Downs

(?) MFN: What will these changes mean to current and new customers?

(!) M. L.: These changes will allow us to service our customers even more effectively by improving response times and allowing more “face” time with our customers. It will allow us to develop solutions and cost-effective processes through innovations and R&D. Internally, we will be more structured and in turn this will result in providing the customer with more options.
I will be more focused on expanding our international exposure. We already have a strong presence in North America and China and machines all over the world including Europe, Africa and South America.

(?) MFN: Will any of your current capabilities or services change?

(!) M. L.: No, in fact our capabilities and services will continue to evolve and grow as customer needs develop and as the technology requirment of our customers become more sophisticated and demanding.
For example, our 24/7 Service and Maintenance Department has always supported our customers with emergency breakdowns, parts and PM Service. As a result of increasing customer requirements, we now provide and offer services to paired equipment such as paint systems and coating equipment as an all-encompassing service package offering services such as calibration, remote monitoring, thermography (heat analysis) and vibration analysis.  We also produce extensive reports and provide Audit Services, ensuring customers meet the industry standards for their equipment.
We continue to meet standards such as ISO 9001:2008, AMS2430, AMS2432, Controlled goods of Canada and are certified through the Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB). All of our service technicians have ITAR clearance.
We have a team of Professional Engineers, Millwrights, Electricians, Programmers, Machinists, Tool Designers and Welders on site, dedicated to a common goal at LBTI: manufacturing of quality equipment, exceptional service and customer satisfaction.

(?) MFN: Anything else you would like to add?

(!) M. L.: Langtry Blast Technologies remains dedicated to building top quality equipment that will stand up to the test of time, is user friendly and easy to service. We stand behind our equipment with a talented parts and service team that is available 24/7. We have a long list of satisfied and repeat customers such as Nissan, GM, Goodrich, Messier, P&W and UTC Aerospace.
The new organizational changes along with our recent expansion will give us a firm footing to move forward with more inventory, shorter lead times, and as such, we will be able to meet our customers' needs in an efficient and timely manner. We are very excited about our future and look forward to continually building our team and our relationships with our existing and future customers.

MFN would like to thank Michael Langtry for this interview!

For Information:
Langtry Blast Technologies Inc
5390 Munro Court, Burlington
Ontario, L7L 5N8, Canada
Tel. +1.905.681 2030
Fax +1.905.681 2814
E-mail: info@blastech.org
www.blastech.org