A versatile water jet cutting machine has helped a gasket manufacturer increase productivity by eliminating the need for tooling for short and long-term jobs and prototypes.

During economic downturns, many businesses rein in their spending and hope merely to stay afloat until the storm passes. Others seize the opportunity to lunge ahead of their retreating competition by reinvesting in their business and increasing their productivity. This is a story of a gutsy gasket company that never stopped investing in its business and continues to grow as a result of its bold initiative.

Located in historic Haverhill, Massachusetts, New England, USA, Die Cutting is a rapidly growing gasket fabricator that serves the military, electronics, medical, and commercial industries.

With capabilities including die cutting, laser cutting, waterjet cutting and CNC drilling and routing of plastics, NEDC manufactures products from a wide range of materials, including elastomer, sponge, foams, films, extrusions, EMI shielding and thermal interface materials.

Business has been very good for this ISO 9001:2000-certified company, which is quickly transitioning from a small job shop to a true manufacturer.

In fact, NEDC recently moved into a new 18,000ft2 building, a huge step forward from its humble beginnings in 1982, when husband and wife David and Kim Abare opened the business at a former shoe factory on Haverhill's River Street.

In March 2005, NEDC received its 'Woman Owned' certification from the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, an important accomplishment for a company whose primary clients are defense contractors who are asked to place 23% of their dollars with certain small business categories.

In May 2005, NEDC received a US$40,000 grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Work Force Training Fund to implement lean manufacturing, and in spring 2006, the company received its Small Business Association 8(a) certification.

Over the years, NEDC has developed premier partnerships with Parker Chomerics, Laird, Thermagon, MTI, Grondyke, Bergquist, 3M, St.

Gobain and Rogers.

NEDC president Kim Abare attributes her company's phenomenal growth to continued reinvestment in the business despite economic downturns.

'Most companies feel a temptation to stop spending on advertising, marketing and new equipment when the economy takes a downturn,' Abare stated in the October 2005 'Gateway' magazine.

'You must always keep reinvesting in the business in order to stay ahead of the competition.' Despite its growth, NEDC retains the hospitality of a family-owned business.

NEDC's staff of 28 provides the quality products and service you would expect in this enterprising New England river town.

During the past two years, NEDC has made a number of its own enterprising moves, including adding abrasive waterjet cutting services to its lengthy list of capabilities.

In 2004, NEDC acquired a Jet Edge abrasive waterjet cutting system, which it uses to cut numerous types of material including metal, plastic, rubber, resin composites, tile, and glass.

Manufactured by Jet Edge, of St.

Michael, Minnesota, the abrasive waterjet system can cut through any material utilizing water that is pressurized up to 55,000 lb/in2 with a Jet Edge intensifier pump.

Abrasive garnet is added to the water to increase cutting speed through hard materials.

NEDC's Jet Edge system is capable of cutting sheets that are as big as 5ft by 10ft.

The machine is powered by Jet Edge's 50HP 55-50C intensifier pump and controlled by Jet Edge's PC-based AquaVision interface featuring SigmaNest software and automated features including 'Automatic Trueshape Nesting', 'Automatic Feedrate' generation and corner ramping, graphical and/or G and M code display, plate alignment, remote pendant, real-time cutter compensation, point and click start/stop points and more.

NEDC could have bought their waterjet system from a number of manufacturers, but they chose Jet Edge primarily because it is American made, Kim Abare said.

'We have lost so much business overseas, that to us, it is paramount that we invest in American-made equipment,' she explained.

'Beyond this reason, Jet Edge's sales director David Dumas specifically flew out to our facility, 1,500 miles away, to ask for our business, making us feel like we are an important customer.' NEDC vice president David Abare said he has been very satisfied with Jet Edge's equipment and customer service.

'First and foremost, compared to other equipment, it almost never goes down,' David Abare said.

'It is the most reliable piece of equipment we've ever invested in.

It's a versatile machine, meaning that it can cut anything, anyway, anytime.

By far, Jet Edge has done everything they said they would.

Their service has been fabulous.

Their sales guy is welcome here, and stops in from time-to-time, buying pizza for our shop.' The Jet Edge waterjet cutting system has helped NEDC increase productivity by eliminating the need for tooling for short and long-term jobs and prototypes, he noted.

'The part can be cut instantly using a DXF/IGES,' he said.

'We have one customer that requested an intricate part that would have cost US$8,000 to tool.' 'We were able to save that customer that money and cut a prototype, allowing him to make additional changes.' In addition to saving production time, the Jet Edge system also saves NEDC material costs by giving them the ability to tightly nest parts, David Abare noted.

Asked if he would recommend Jet Edge to other businesses, David Abare responded: 'Absolutely.' * About New England Die Cutting - call 001 978-374-0789, visit http://www.nedc.com or e-mail sales@nedc.com.

* About Jet Edge - Jet Edge is a global designer and manufacturer of ultra-high pressure waterjet systems for precision cutting, surface preparation, coating removal, and hydro demolition.

Jet Edge systems are used around the world in a broad range of industries, from the world's leading airlines to automotive, aerospace, industrial manufacturers, machine and job shops.

Jet Edge's customers include Ford, Toyota, General Motors, Boeing, American Airlines, and General Electric.

* Advantages of Jet Edge Waterjets - Jet Edge waterjets offer many productivity and flexibility advantages over traditional cutting methods including: no sharpening and no burrs requiring secondary finishing.

Waterjets completely eliminate heat-affected zones, toxic fumes, recast layers, work hardening, and thermal stress, and offer a hygienic method for cutting food.

Jet Edge waterjets can hold a positional accuracy of 0.005in with a repeatability of 0.001in over the entire work envelope.

They have been known to cut materials up to 15in thick.

Waterjets are environmentally friendly and produce no hazardous waste, reducing waste disposal costs.

They can cut off large pieces of reusable scrap material that might have been lost using traditional cutting methods, parts can be closely nested to maximize material use, and the waterjet saves material by creating very little kerf.

Waterjets use very little water (a half gallon to approximately one gallon per minute depending on cutting head orifice size), and the water that is used can be recycled using a closed-looped system.

Waste water usually is clean enough to filter and dispose of down a drain.

The garnet abrasive is a non-toxic natural substance that can be recycled for repeated use.

Garnet usually can be disposed of in a landfill.