Adaptive Micro Sysems opens new plant in Wisconsin

Adaptive Micro Systems LLC on August 10 announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility dedicated solely to the mass production of digital billboards and large digital displays for commercial applications as well as its plant-floor automation and transportation industry solutions. A demonstrated industry leader and innovator in the design, manufacture and support of LED displays, Adaptive plans to use its 27,000-square-foot, Jackson, Wis., facility to increase production capacities and efficiencies of its largest digital communications solutions.

"With the way digital billboards and large-format digital displays are taking off in the marketplace, capacity and turnaround are as important to customers as cost, quality, performance, reliability, lifetime value and customer service," said Bill Latz, chief executive officer of Adaptive Micro Systems. "Because we've been in the LED display business for more than 25 years and we genuinely focus on customer needs, we have a fundamentally different philosophy than our competitors.  While many manufacturers continue to hang on to a one-at-a-time-build mentality, we think in terms of optimizing mass production in every way imaginable." 

Adaptive produces its LED building blocks at a company-owned plant in Malaysian in order to contain costs, assure timely supply and drive technological innovation. All core display panel modules are assembled at Adaptive's Milwaukee headquarters.

"Now our Jackson facility extends our philosophy of modular manufacturing specialization to large board production," said Bob Radder, vice president of global operations. "By having a dedicated facility designed from the ground up for large display and billboard production, we can be more efficient in every aspect of production and delivery. Our $1.5 million initial investment and additional $200,000 in tooling and process equipment support true flow manufacturing on a massive scale. At the same time, removing large display assembly and testing from Adaptive's Milwaukee facility helps make it all the more efficient.”

Adaptive plans to operate one shift initially, capable of producing all of its large displays for the transportation and plant automation industries. In addition, Adaptive will have the capacity to produce approximately 40 full-color, graphics-based Excite digital billboards a month. These innovative boards feature Digital Video Interface (DVI) architecture to harmonize with industry connectivity standards, an innovative micro-cabinet design for virtually maintenance-free performance with no onboard air conditioning required, and a unique Web-based content management system that redefines flexibility and convenience for users and their customers.

"In addition to enabling cost-effective, quality production of state-of-the-art digital displays and billboards, the Jackson facility offers us other key advantages," said Radder. "Purchasing is cheaper than leasing in the long run, which will allow us to invest more heavily in technology over time. Plus, the site offers us a lot of flexibility to easily and cost-effectively grow with our business. The plant layout and the 5.6-acre site will easily accommodate continued expansion. The 7,000 square feet of office space will help us continue to attract the quality engineering and operational professionals required to keep us at the forefront of the LED communications industry."