Improve Your Company and Contribute to Our Community's Well-Being

Improve Your Company and Contribute to Our Community's Well-Being

To succeed in business, you have to remember where you come from. Our success story in Brevard County has been built from equal parts responsible growth, intuitive leadership, early technology adoption and deep community support. 

This support from various levels of local industry, government and business leaders has allowed Symetrics Industries to grow into a world-renowned defense electronics manufacturer that has consistently increased its revenue and employee numbers even through a well-documented downturn in the industry. As we develop new programs and secure new contracts. These impacts will continue to be felt throughout the community.  Symetrics has been facilitating a number of changes in recent months that are indicative of our continued support of the local economy. Pressing forward in our best financial year in company history, Symetrics has stayed the course through many developments to emerge a more agile company, positioned to make the most prudent decisions in order to maximize opportunities while minimizing costs.

Earlier this year our internal growth became apparent externally when we purchased a new 6,000 square-foot facility adjacent to our current Melbourne location. The new building houses approximately 25 new engineers and a design lab. With each new change or opportunity that Symetrics is presented, we manage to make opportunities work for our company and at the same time serve as an asset to an area that exemplifies the spirit of innovation. This relationship allows us to cultivate a mindset of distinction as a competent producer in the global defense industry.

What is behind this robust growth can be found in the form of creative technology usage. One model created by our team that is making waves throughout the industry is our Truly Paperless Manufacturing Floor. Not often do you find an innovation that improves the way in which a company does business but also one in which the improvements are so significant they can be directly attributed to positively impacting the bottom line. Symetrics' Paperless model combines technology with organization to save the company time, tangible resources and money.

By utilizing Lean Manufacturing procedures, we eliminated traditional paper reports that accompanied parts as they made their way across the production floor. Paper reports exposed the facility to potential errors and for the information to quickly become out of date. With the installation of wireless terminal servers at each production floor station, information is able to be transmitted or altered more quickly and efficiently than ever before. This innovation has transformed operations with quality improvements, cost reductions, less scrap and rework, and on-time delivery. It has given Symetrics the competitive edge needed to win new business which, in turn, has helped Florida's economy grow.

Our efforts to work smarter haven't gone unnoticed. Over the course of the year" we have received a variety of prestigious awards. The PM 100 Digital Factory and the AFEI Enterprise Integration awards were presented to the company in recognition of our revolutionary Paperless system. Additionally our corporate successes were celebrating with the ACG SMART Award (Successful Management of Assets, Revenue, and Teams) and the Governor's Business Diversification Award for Export Excellence sponsored by Enterprise Florida.

These awards highlighted Symetrics' revenue increases, a 15% growth in workforce over the past eight months and an attainment of nearly $3 million in export sales during the previous year. The varying areas of focus for these honors show the multi-faceted nature of Symetrics as a company and our ability to excel in all areas of business operations.

Brevard County is our corporate home and has been for nearly 50 years. As Symetrics continues to become more well-known outside of the community, we continue to place a high degree of focus within the community to continually make it better. Our growth has helped to build the local industrial base, which makes it easier for organizations like the Economic Development Commission to sell the community to relocating companies. Our new processes and technology expertise also make us an important resource to similar companies and corporate neighbors seeking solutions to industry problems. The more exposure we are able to bring to our company, the more exposure we bring to Brevard County, It's a win-win situation and one we hope to continue to build upon,

Symetrics: Big Business Ability...Small Business Agility

AFEI Announces Winners of its 2010 Excellence in Enterprise Integration Awards

AFEI Announces Winners of its 2010 Excellence in Enterprise Integration Awards

AFEI Announces Winners of its 2010 Excellence in Enterprise Integration Awards

Arlington, VA (Vocus) October 22, 2010

The Association for Enterprise Information (AFEI) is proud to announce the winners of its 2010 Excellence in Enterprise Integration Awards. The top Industry Award was awarded to Symetrics Industries, LLC, of Melbourne, Florida for their Truly Paperless Manufacturing Floor Project. The government submission selected to receive the top Government Award was the Persistent and Daily Distributed Mission Operations Training from the Distributed Training Operations Center (DTOC), Des Moines, Iowa. In addition, five government submissions were recognized with an Honorable Mention.

Symetrics: Big Business Ability...Small Business Agility

Symetrics Industries Receives Governor’s Business Diversification Award

Symetrics Industries Receives Governor’s Business Diversification Award

Symetrics Industries is pleased to announce their acceptance of the 2010 Governor’s Business Diversification Award at the Governor’s Club in Tallahassee, Florida.  In Tallahassee to accept the award were Symetrics’ Ken Campbell, Director of Contracts, and Courtney Culver, Manager of Contracts and Compliance.  The awards were presented during Florida’s annual Industry Appreciation Week, which is the third week of September, and honor those companies that have made an outstanding contribution to Florida’s economy.  The Governor’s Award is sponsored by Enterprise Florida, Inc. which is a partnership between Florida's business leaders and government leaders and serves as the principal economic development organization for the state of Florida.

Winners of the award were a respected group of eighteen Florida companies representing twelve counties distinguished for exceptional contributions they made last year toward statewide economic diversification.  The award recognizes successful job creation along with distinctive community involvement and investment efforts, many of which fall into industries that Florida targets for economic diversification and high-wage job growth.  Eighty-five companies were in competition for this year’s award.

“We are proud to receive this award and are pleased that Symetrics Industries has had an outstanding effect on our state and local economy not only through financial growth creating jobs, but also through community responsibility efforts,” said Mitch Garner, President of Symetrics Industries.

Symetrics won in the Export Excellence category for a Major Market in competition amongst many deserving Florida businesses.  The industry categories for annual award consideration were Business Expansion, Entrepreneurship, Export Excellence, Innovation, Newcomer and Green to Gold.

Symetrics specializes in the design, manufacture, and test of electronic systems for military applications that integrate into airborne or ground platforms.  Their endurance and adaptability as a company has not only increased their market share in the defense arena, but also has increased their revenues substantially.  Key success factors include Symetrics’ commitment to quality manufacturing and dedication to their employees while exemplifying excellence throughout their local and global communities.  Symetrics has been built on a solid foundation with cornerstones of leadership that have prepared them to impact the defense world by supporting and protecting our military.

Symetrics: Big Business Ability...Small Business Agility

Local firms get governor's honor

Local firms get governor's honor

Symetrics Industries LLC of Melbourne and Lighting Science Group Corp. in Satellite Beach will join 16 other Florida businesses as winners of the 2010 Governor's Business Diversification Awards. The awards, to be presented Sept. 22 in Tallahassee during Florida's annual Industry Appreciation Week, recognize "successful job creation and distinctive community involvement and investment efforts."  Eighty-five companies competed this year. Symetrics, a defense contractor, won in the Export Excellence category for showing a significant increase in documented export sales in 2009. Lighting Science, which designs and manufactures LED products, won in the Innovation category. That highlights companies that "through product or process best exemplified innovative leadership in 2009," the state said.

Symetrics: Big Business Ability...Small Business Agility

More at work, but more still looking

More at work, but more still looking

Though the unemployment rate rose slightly to 11.6 percent in Brevard County last month, 833 more people were working than in June. Some of the increase in the job total is coming from small hightech and defense businesses on the Space Coast, a welcome sign for an economy that faces the loss of an estimated 8,000 aerospace jobs when the space shuttle program ends next year. “We're hiring folks with very high assembly skills on the manufacturing floor,” said Matt Smith-Meck, vice president for business development and planning at Symetrics, a Melbourne defense contractor. “We're hiring engineers.” Since May, the 182-employee company has added 30 workers and plans to hire another 20 before year's end. Symetrics builds defensive flares and data modems for military aircraft. “We're not one of the big boys, so we're not having the draconian cuts because of high overhead,” Smith-Meck said. He added that the company hasn't struggled to find skilled workers. “We're seeing an uptick in the ability to go out and get good quality, high-caliber workers,” Smith-Meek said. Kelly Services, an agency that fills orders for temporary workers, also reported an increase in requests for technicians and skilled assembly workers in Melbourne. Even information giant Harris Corp. in Melbourne is hiring. The company, however, is only hiring to counteract normal attrition and keep its workforce stable at around 6,500, said spokesman Jim Burke.

But despite the job growth, Brevard's unemployment rate rose to 11.6 in July from 11.4 in June, according to figures released by the state Agency for Workforce Innovation. In July, the number of people working in the county grew by 833 to 239,031, while the number of those listed as unemployed grew by 544 to 31,264. That may reflect some unemployed attempting to re-enter the job market.

Across the state, 5,700 more people were working in July than in the previous month, even though the unemployment rate rose .1 percentage point to 11.5 percent. This growth is the first yearly increase in jobs since June 2007, according to state figures

Still, some 1,055,000 remain jobless out of a statewide labor force of 9,214,000.  About a quarter of the unemployed have qualified for extended unemployment benefits. “Throughout July, we were pleased to see job growth in several industries including government jobs, education and health care,” Brevard Workforce President Lisa Rice said. “And while those are positive signs of an improving economy, we still face impending layoffs due to changes in the space program, which will greatly affect us going forward.” In October, space industry giant United Space Alliance expects to let go 900 shuttle workers at Kennedy Space Center.

Symetrics: Big Business Ability...Small Business Agility

Symetrics expands with purchase of new facility at Nasa Palms Center

Symetrics expands with purchase of new facility at Nasa Palms Center

Symetrics Industries Inc. continues to grow and add employees to its ranks in the face of a tumultuous business environment that for the past 24 months has forced many companies into a defensive, cost-cutting mode.

The private Melbourne business, led by President and Chief Executive Officer Mitchell Garner, a University of Central Florida chemistry graduate, has grown its work force from around 150 employees last year to 170 in 2010.

Technology businesses across the nation seem to be leading the recovery, as many of them are hiring people again to keep up with new demand.

First-quarter bookings this year at Symetrics - a company that specializes in the design, manufacture, and testing of electronics systems for the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, and prime contractors - have surged.

The company's business is concentrated in three core segments: data links, aircraft self-protection systems, and electronic-manufacturing services.

"We've had an incredible three months of booking business, which is something that I am very forced on," said Garner, whose company is expanding to a location near its 42,000-square-foot corporate headquarters on West NASA Boulevard.

"In just the first three months, we're nearly half way to our booking' goal for the year. We've had a great year so far, and we're hoping to keep the momentum going."

The uplifting news is on top of a U.S. Army contract Symetrics won in the fall of 2009, which has the potential to mature into a $50 million deal. Presently, the current contract is worth roughly $20 million in business.

"It was a huge win for us," he said, adding that the award has increased the company's need for space for Symetrics' growing team of engineers.

Garner did not have to look far for expansion space for his company which was a public entity more than a decade ago before going private.

Commercial real estate developer John Newton's new Nasa Palms Professional Center is just a short walk next door from Symetrics' corporate location.

When fully developed, Nasa Palms will feature seven buildings totaling 42, 000 square feet. Five of the buildings situated on a five-acre campus, have been completed and house a number of private medical practices.

Nasa Palms is where Garner's company purchased a new 6,000-square-foot, existing building "shell," extending its corporate footprint from 1615 W. Nasa Blvd.

The interior of the Nasa Palms facility is being fitted to meet Symetrics' specific needs. The new site will house 15 to 20 engineers, Garner said.

This transaction is an example of how a well-managed small business is giving a lift to the local commercial real-estate market during one of the most challenging times for brokers.

Commercial real estate is the basis for much of the growth in American industry and the economy. But high unemployment rates and tight credit conditions have hampered the market's performance over the past year. As a result, it has sharply sliced into sales transaction for commercial real-estate professionals.

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Symetrics: Big Business Ability...Small Business Agility