JIREH METAL: Training & User Groups Unlock Growth Potential

Jireh Metal Products, founded in 1983 as a family-owned business, has built strong, long-standing relationships with leading partners in the furniture, automotive, and hardware industries. Today, the company is a minority-owned, tier-one supplier with 85 employees across two facilities in Grandville and Walker, Michigan. Jireh Metal specializes in metal stamping, fabrication, and assembly services, and continues to grow by delivering high-quality, dependable solutions.

Situation: Jireh Metal was preparing for growth and leadership transitions while aiming to stabilize day-to-day performance. Leaders wanted a reliable way to benchmark practices with peers, compare approaches to daily management, and stay current on operational best practices and emerging technologies. At the same time, customer expectations were increasing, with many leveraging the framework of automotive IATF standards. To remain competitive, Jireh sought to strengthen its people, technology, and processes to both “zig and zag” with evolving customer demands while preparing the organization for future IATF readiness. The company also aimed to position itself as the go-to source for its current customers and to open new opportunities by demonstrating tighter process control and stronger technical capability across its cross-functional team.

Solution: Since 2017, Jireh Metal Products engaged with MMTC-West and The Right Place’s Manufacturers Council to combine peer learning with targeted skills development. The company focused on two levers:

GD&T Training – Building a Core Team Jireh invested in GD&T training for a nine-member cross-functional core team, ranging from customer-facing engineers to production-floor leaders. This group developed a shared technical foundation to interpret prints, evaluate CMM data, and translate design intent into manufacturing processes.

With this capability, Jireh was able to:

· Cut RFQ response time by over seven days, enabling quicker, more professional engagement with customers.

· Accurately evaluate new opportunities and feasibility, ensuring alignment with Jireh’s core strengths.

· Provide proactive manufacturability feedback to customers, including redesign recommendations or pushback on overly tight tolerances, supported by real data.

· Apply GD&T principles to refine current product evaluations, improve quality, and communicate true risk in part geometry.

Plant Manager Network – Sharpening Leadership Jireh’s leaders also engaged in the Plant Manager Network, collaborating with a peer group of West Michigan companies. This forum helped the leadership team:

· Benchmark practices and brainstorm new ideas.

· Refine what is measured daily on the floor and establish clearer, more defined performance metrics.

· Improve corrective action communication across departments, enhancing customer confidence.

· Stay nimble and agile in meeting increasingly tight customer expectations for delivery, quality, and timing.

Results:

· Major New Business: GD&T-trained employees led a two-year effort culminating in a complex assembly program projected to generate nearly $2,000,000 in new sales by late 2025.

· Investment & Jobs: The program drove over $250,000 in equipment and plant investment and created 4 new jobs.

· AutomotiveRFQs: Jireh has secured several new automotive RFQs, with customers citing the professionalism of its processes and operations as a key differentiator.

· Customer Credibility: Faster RFQ turnaround and data-backed manufacturability assessments have improved customer trust, helping Jireh win the right projects while respectfully declining those that don’t fit.

· Leadership Development: The GD&T core team emerged as organizational leaders, while the Plant Manager Network sharpened how managers measure and manage daily performance — improving both internal alignment and bottom-line results.

Testimonial

“The GD&T training has elevated our team — empowering frontline leaders, improving customer confidence, and helping us grow stronger as an organization. It’s a big part of why we continue our partnership with The Center.” - Steve Hughes, Director of Finance