Custom Fabricators, Inc. Case As Ben Lawson, CEO of Custom Fabricators, Inc., drove home to south Indianapolis, he thought about that day. Lots of business with Orleans Elevator in Bloomington over the years, but I just wonder how long this will continue. I've invested a lot in my manufacturing plant right next door to their factory, but now that United Technologies [Orleans' parent company] is involved in this open market Internet purchasing system, I just wonder how long they're going to want to keep me in supply. -chain loop. This has been a good deal over the last few years. I was in the right place, at the right time, when Orléans embarked on just-in-time and lean production in the late 1980s. Initially, I simply manufactured elevator control panels. It was interesting to walk into a new building, get on the elevator, and see my company's work in this beautiful stainless steel panel that houses the buttons for the building's floors. I could be very proud of the craftsmanship, even though a lot of it was about technology. This new CNC machine tool I purchased in 1985 made it easier to make the holes in these custom panels. We always make beautiful signs. Since that time, my company has obtained a lot of other business from Orléans. We now manufacture all kinds of special supports and panels for the factory. It’s been great for us over the years. We have a very efficient process in place to make exactly what the factory needs in these parts in a very short time frame. For most items, Orléans simply gives us the production schedule for elevators shipped within the next month, and we automatically manufacture the required parts. We know exactly what they need based on their schedule. Of course, it's easy to modify things for the specific needs of a particular elevator control. However, the sector has changed in recent years. “Outsourcing” is now the big game. Orléans is much more interested in entire sub-assemblies than just parts. We are now making the entire control panel, complete with buttons and wiring harness. One of our biggest money makers is the elevator motor housing. This is a massive box containing the motor and control electronics of the elevator. The motor housing connects electronically to our control panel. We custom manufacture each one in our workshop and ship them directly to the site where the elevator is assembled. The Orléans factory never even sees them.