By Bob Abrams, Controller

As Bauer continues to grow, we must continue to manage our business to realize the results necessary to reinvest in our workforce and operations and to support the new product development expected from our customers. These goals are to be achieved while continuing to provide our customers with world class quality products and services on schedule at a competitive price.

Rigorous attention to each project budget is a key component to achieving sound financial results. Together with continuous improvements in design and operations, we look to the on-going development of our integrated business information systems to provide us with information that is visible, accurate and timely. We are constantly on the lookout for new ways to provide relevant information to our end-users to assist in decision making and to provide value for our customers. The development and use of this information to reduce costs is critical to remain competitive in today's marketplace.

Our ability to provide simple, real-time project performance information to all members of the Bauer team helps us focus, as one team, on our mission of exceeding customer expectations. Through information, each member of the Bauer team understands how attention to the elimination of waste in each of our roles contributes to the success of a customer's order. Initiatives such as modular components for customer equipment are ways we can provide the customer with a better product while reducing our labor costs and strengthening our position with our supply base through part rationalization.

Accurate and timely information is also critical to effective management of materials and cash flow. Our materials group relies heavily on daily communication between the Project Manager, Design, and Manufacturing to ensure that the materials required to build our customer's product arrive on schedule. The information we use internally to measure a project's progress is also shared with our suppliers. To assist in reducing the costs associated with non-conforming products and productions delays due to late delivery, we maintain a vendor rating system to ensure that we select only those suppliers who can deliver the highest quality product on time.

By applying the same creativity and craftsmanship brought to each piece of Bauer equipment to the elimination of waste and attention to project performance, we will continue to build a stronger Bauer to serve our customers, now and into the future - project by project.