American Durafilm, a custom manufacturer based in Holliston, MA, needed to digitize customer drawings and prints, standardize processes, increase cybersecurity to protect client data, and much more.
From creating custom designs and fabrication to distributing high-performance film, this manufacturing business had plenty of high-level production processes to focus on without worrying about security measures or technical issues.
Wearing Many Hats Meant Stressful IT Management
Before he discovered the power of IT services for manufacturing companies, President and Director of R&D at American Durafilm Mack Hendrick was trying to do it all. Like most growing businesses, he had to take on leadership roles in management, HR, and IT. With the complexity and rapidly changing IT landscape, he knew he had to offload IT responsibilities to an outsourced provider.
"That was always a limiting factor for us," Mack said. "We didn't want to get too complicated when we were trying to do IT management ourselves. Not knowing what we were doing really limited the scope of what we could take on."
After looking at different IT services and finding Usherwood online, Pre-Sales Engineer Dan Hernborg got on the phone with them and learned a bit about their situation before kicking off a network assessment.
A Network Assessment To Inform & Empower Change
Called the Odyssey Discovery, this process involved a visit from Dan to American Durafilm’s Massachusetts office and a thorough check-up of all things IT.
“I went to their building, met their staff, launched our [assessment] tools, found a lot of deficiencies and vulnerabilities out there, licensing, things like that that needed to be adjusted,” Dan said.
After going through results of the Discovery, American Durafilm decided to move forward with onboarding with Usherwood as their Managed Service Provider. This way, they could take what they found in the audit and leverage it to reach their business goals.
For American Durafilm, the process was as eye-opening as it was empowering for getting a handle on their IT strategy.
“The discovery process was interesting from our perspective that it first tells you where you are, and Usherwood did a good job of trying to understand what we wanted to achieve,” Mack said.
Cybersecurity and Manufacturing Sector Risks
Of the thousands of clients they serve, many require strict confidentiality and data security when collaborating on projects. With these requirements from clients like government contractors, securing data was a must.
"Being able to share that information securely is really important," Mack said. "Anything that's covered under nondisclosure agreements, we want to make sure that whatever we have internally is protected."
Manufacturing cybersecurity is uniquely important due to the many risks facing the industry. This illustrates the unique importance of IT services for manufacturing. Read more about cybersecurity and how IT support for manufacturers can help here.
Third-Generation Values with Modern Manufacturing IT Support
After partnering with Usherwood, the third-generation fabricator could finally focus on core manufacturing operations without fretting over outdated hardware, software, or other potential vulnerabilities.
“The biggest excitement for me is that I don’t have to do it anymore,” said Mack with a smile, recounting how bringing in an MSP took IT worries off his plate.
How to Find Quality Managed IT Services for Manufacturing
Now that they've partnered with Usherwood, Mack is confident in the future as the business grows.
"Now at least having a partner where we can work with them to implement new ideas and get good advice along the way is very reassuring," Mack said.
IT services transformed American Durafilm's IT strategy throughout the network assessment process and the advanced technologies they invested in. If you're ready to explore how IT services for the manufacturing industry, click the button below to get in touch with an IT expert.
