Dielectric, a pioneer in purpose-engineered antennas and RF systems for TV and radio broadcasters, has reorganized its production floor strategy in preparation for the impending US TV spectrum repack. Mike Spugnardi, recently appointed as Manufacturing Engineer, will lead the strategic initiatives around inventory control, production planning and maximizing capacity facility-wide. This includes revised floor plans to better accommodate specific operations across TV and radio projects and departments.
Spugnardi’s appointment to this position also marks his return to Dielectric. Spugnardi had previously spent more than 15 years at Dielectric, and was heavily involved in production floor projects and processes for the initial US analog-to-digital transition, including electrical engineering, antenna tuning and product testing. He returns to Dielectric after a five-year stint with Nestle Waters, where he was focused on Total Performance Management. There, he oversaw the operational aspect of a heavily automated, single-piece flow, 12-line bottling plant for Nestle Waters products.
Spugnardi states that, “It’s still something of a single-piece flow here, as we design one piece at a time. However, Dielectric continues to move toward more software simulations for product and systems design that takes weeks out of the upfront design work, and reduces bottlenecks. This will complement my overarching initiatives as Manufacturing Engineer. By removing some of these manual design processes from the main production floor and into specialized labs, we will be well-equipped to maximize square footage for product inventory and assembly.”
Based in Raymond, Maine, Dielectric LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinclair. Dielectric is a leading provider of innovative broadcast products. From remote stations to major markets, Dielectric has been delivering solutions for every need since 1942. Dielectric is an innovative, customer-centric organization with a long history of engineering excellence in designing and manufacturing high-quality broadcast solutions.
With regard to making preparations in anticipation of the TV spectrum repack and all of the flurry of activity and production that will produce, Vice President and General Manager for Dielectric, Keith Pelletier, says that, “A lot of our factory changes are around making our current processes more efficient, which is especially important as early repack orders continue to roll in. We continue to develop new broadband technologies across antennas, filters and transmission line that will help us respond quicker to customer orders, as well as new modeling software to minimize time and labor in the design phase. Mike’s depth of experience in implementing new strategies around operational efficiency, both inside and outside of Dielectric, makes him the ideal candidate for this important positio
John Schadler, Vice President of Engineering at Dielectric is confident o the preparations being made as he says that, “In terms of knowing how to grow and handle that kind of hockey stick growth, we have been there and done that. And we have the core group here to do it again, and we are expecting the same type of ramp. We are the only company that has been through that and know how to do that. Certainly, knowing how to do it puts us in a very good position. We were shipping over 350 antennas a year. Certain things about repack can be anticipated ahead of time. We make broadband transmission line, which works on any channel. So we are producing transmission line at this time, in anticipation of its use in repack. Also auxiliary antennas, which are broadband, to be used through the transition and post-transition as permanent aux antennas. Those are being manufactured right now. But, it’s very limited until the channel assignments come out. That is when the floodgates open.”
Spugnardi notes that these changes will support a more intelligent inventory approach to service TV and radio customers quicker as he notes that, “We will now be able to very quickly pull stock products that we can tune for each channel, and accelerate overall production and deliver for TV broadcasters working under a very tight repack deadline,” he said. “Our radio customers seeking quick shipments of tunable filters and broadband antennas for FM and HD Radio systems also benefit from these changes.”
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