Precision engineering
BUFFALO TWP — Donald Oberg was working for a company manufacturing metal parts in the late 1940s when he realized tungsten carbide would be more effective for the job than steel.
However, his bosses at Allegheny Ludlum would not change their methods using high-speed stamping dies — metal tools used to shape other metal in pressing operations.
"He couldn't convince Allegheny Ludlum to do it," said Dave Getty, manager of corporate communications for Oberg Industries.
Spurred by his belief in a new process, Oberg quit in 1948 to form his own company, setting up shop in Tarentum.
He pioneered the use of tungsten carbide in stamping dies.
Oberg Manufacturing, the company's first name, eventually became an international tool and die manufacturer.
"It really revolutionized the industry," said Neil Ashbaugh, market development specialist for Oberg Industries.
Carbide has about 10 times the wear resistance of high-carbon, high-chrome steels, giving Oberg long production runs before die servicing is required.
The carbide parts were also more consistently well-made.
The company name was changed in the 1980s to Oberg Industries to reflect the variety of industries it serviced.Today, Oberg has five plants: two in Buffalo Township, one in Chandler, Ariz., one in Tecate, Mexico, and one in Costa Rica. It also has sales and service offices in Europe and Asia.The corporate office is on Silverville Road in the township.Oberg clients are spread out over more than 40 countries.The company's line of manufactured parts also has greatly expanded, making it far more than the original tool and die company it started as 60 years ago.Much of Oberg's business involves manufacturing the tools that create parts used in numerous industries, such as aerospace, medical, automotive and construction."It's a wide spectrum," Ashbaugh said.One of Oberg's precision carbide stamping dies produces grid straps that locate fuel rods in nuclear fuel assemblies.The company makes precision metal components ranging from rotors for electric motors used in fighter jets to metal implants for patients.
Oberg also makes components for drilling machines used in oil and gas exploration."We're continuing to reinvent ourselves," Getty said.Other medical parts manufactured include needles, custom-made instruments and pacemaker and stent components.In addition to tungsten carbide, Oberg uses aluminum, titanium, zirconia, magnesium, stainless steel and other metals and alloys.The company not only manufactures metal parts, it has expanded into making precision-engineered plastic parts.Oberg offers five manufacturing processes: stamping, machining and grinding, automation and assembly, reel-to-reel plating and tooling.Stamping uses a device to form raw materials into parts meeting required specifications. Along with prototype stamping, Oberg does rivet and laser welding.Hydroforming is another stamping process in which a high pressure hydraulic fluid is used to shape complex forms.Machining is a collection of processes using powered machine tools, such as drill presses, to shape metal or plastic by removing excess material.Reel-to-reel, or continuous, plating unwinds unplated material from a feed coil before conveying it through a series of processing stations and then recoiling it.Reel-to-reel plating is used for material that will become an electrical connector for automotive or computer uses.Tooling is manufacturing parts used to make product components.
The first step of Oberg's manufacturing process is the design of the component.Employees often work with clients in developing prototype parts, helping them solve manufacturing problems.Prints and programs are developed to delineate how the raw materials are transformed into the end product, whether it's a component for a die, vehicle part, medical instrument or appliance.The materials can be sawed, ground by various methods, wire cut, altered by precision machining or turned by lathes.The manufacturing process can involve any combination of the above methods.Ten years ago, the company produced a couple dozen die sets, with hundreds of parts in each, a year.Individual parts production not associated with dies and die-stamped parts has greatly increased.Oberg's equipment is capable of precision grinding components to within 0.00002 of an inch, or 1/150th the diameter of a human hair.Eric Oberg, Donald's son, is the chairman of the board of directors of the company, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary later this year.His sister, Karen Oberg, divested her interest in the company in 2007.Bob Wagner is Oberg's chief executive officer and president.The company offers stock options for all of its employees.
The company also has an apprenticeship program requiring 9,000 hours of classroom and on-the-job skills training to complete.Dave Rugaber, Oberg vice president of manufacturing and operations, said one of the company's strengths is adapting to new technology to continue growing, a trend he does not foresee ending anytime soon.Ashbaugh agreed, saying the company is thriving at a time when people keep using the word recession to describe the economy.Rugaber said the biggest change he's seen in the industry over the years is technology significantly speeding up manufacturing processes.The mix of technology and human skill is the key to Oberg's success."It's Old World craftsmanship coupling with technology," Ashbaugh said. "Oberg won't skimp on quality."Ashbaugh stressed the partnership of people and machinery, pointing to one machine in particular."We're not taking the robots and displacing people," he said.After its 1948 inception, the company flourished. Donald Oberg moved his company to Buffalo Township."He quickly outgrew his shop," Ashbaugh said.Oberg began expanding in the 1950s and 1960s.
In the late 1970s, Oberg became a major supplier of tooling to produce metal cans.A second Buffalo Township plant was built in the 1980s. Today, the Silverville Road site has more than 210,000 square feet, while the North Pike Road site has 105,000 square feet.In 1997, the company had gross revenues of more than $80 million. It now earns $125 million annually.Despite his death in 1992, Donald Oberg's influence is still felt in the Silverville Road facility.Some of the original wooden signs posted from day one remain. One states: "If it's almost right ... it's wrong."The founder was not just a stickler for quality manufacturing, he also insisted on a clean working environment.The plant remains pristine with shiny floors and mark-free walls. Workers are responsible for keeping their own stations clean.About 40 companies, including Penn United, were started by people known as Oberg alumni. After working a stint for Oberg, a number of people have used their experience to form new companies."Don's thinking changed the culture of the community," Ashbaugh said. "He definitely made an impact."
