REELL ANNIVERSARY
REELL PRECISION MANUFACTURING CELEBRATING MORE THAN 50 YEARS IN BUSINESS
We ’ ve heard a lot about the supply chain problems caused by the pandemic lately , and the issue has affected some businesses more than others . “ Doing business is harder , more expensive and less reliable than it was three years ago ,” said Kyle Smith , CEO and President of Reell Precision Manufacturing .
The St . Paul-based business makes components , such as clutches , precision springs , torque inserts and position hinges for a variety of industries ,
Kyle Smith including office automation , medical , automotive , transportation and consumer electronics . Just as the company was getting ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary in early 2020 , company leaders realized the materials they need , particularly metals , resins , wires and coils , would likely soon became harder to acquire . So , like a lot of other companies , they pivoted .
“ Once we saw the possibility of shortages coming , we changed our focus to guard our customers . Our inventory positioning is a lot higher than it was a few years ago ,” said Smith , “ and there are challenges involving labor making everything harder , more expensive and less reliable .”
Despite the challenges , however , the company is holding its own . “ We have faced worse things than this and we ’ ll deal with it ,” said Smith , who added that at a time that many companies are losing market share , Reell Precision Manufacturing is growing .
In 2022 , the company will be setting up full operation at its own facility in China , and is also planning to do some contract manufacturing in Mexico .
Company History
Reell Precision Manufacturing was established in 1970 by Dale Merrick , Bob Wahlstedt and Lee Johnson . Prior to starting the company , Merrick had worked at 3M .
The company ’ s original product was a high-quality wrap spring clutch , which is typically used as a braking mechanism in machines that require multiple starts and stops in a single rotation , such as printing presses , conveyor belts and packaging machines . Early customers of the company included the Xerox Corporation and Hewlett Packard Company .
In the early 1980s and 1990s , Reell began developing an internal spring winding capability and established
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