Metal Flow
By developing a trusted labor pool through Veryable, Metal Flow can respond day by day to shifting demand, maintain strict quality standards, and align labor cost with actual production needs.
Metal Flow Optimizes Quality Control Operations & Boosts Efficiency With On-Demand Labor
Metal Flow is a precision metal stamping company based in Holland, Michigan. The company produces complex airbag and fuel system components for the automotive industry, manufacturing up to one million parts per day for more than forty customers across fourteen countries.
Operating in automotive means operating in cycles. Production volumes rise and fall quickly based on customer schedules, new program launches, and shifting demand. That variability makes workforce planning difficult. Hiring too aggressively creates unnecessary fixed cost. Hiring too conservatively risks missed deadlines and strained production.
Metal Flow needed a way to respond in real time without compromising quality or overextending its core team.
Building a Flexible Extension of the Core Workforce
After connecting with the Veryable team at a Lakeshore Advantage event, Metal Flow saw an opportunity to introduce more flexibility into its labor model.
“Using Veryable lets us flex our labor quite a bit,” says Michael Hawkins, VP of Manufacturing. “With a flexible labor pool of about ten to fifteen percent, we’re able to adjust day by day, week by week. If we have a heavy workload off the presses or a heavy workload in quality, we can respond quickly.”
Supervisors post available work as needed and invite proven Operators from their established labor pool. Over time, Metal Flow built a repeatable group of Operators who understand the processes, know where to go, and require minimal ramp-up time.
“We’ve had some individuals that have been with us since we started with Veryable,” Hawkins explains. “They know what to do and what they’re looking for. It’s very important to build a relationship with them so they want to keep coming back.”
That consistency has allowed the flexible labor pool to function as a true extension of the team rather than a temporary stopgap.
Scaling Quality Control Without Sacrificing Throughput
Quality is central to Metal Flow’s operations. With safety-critical automotive components, defect rates must remain extremely low. Early program launches often require specialized inspection processes such as EPC or GP12, where parts must be sorted or inspected over a defined period to validate production capability.
These projects can last from one week to several months and often require immediate headcount increases.
“Having the flexibility to bring people in to handle those inspection criteria for a week to three weeks or even a couple months definitely helps,” Hawkins says. “We don’t have to pull people off regular production to do inspections, which means our throughput stays consistent.”
Veryable allows Metal Flow to scale inspection initiatives without disrupting press operations or reallocating skilled full-time employees. The repeatability of their labor pool also ensures inspection work is handled accurately and consistently.
Protecting Cost Structure While Staying Competitive
Before adopting a flexible model, absorbing production spikes often meant hiring ahead of demand. That approach increased fixed cost exposure and reduced agility.
“Once you hire somebody, you’re carrying that cost,” says Ed Ploeg, Director of Quality. “From a labor standpoint, not over-hiring is what gives us our competitive edge.”
By developing a trusted labor pool through Veryable, Metal Flow gained the ability to scale labor up when needed and scale back when demand slows. Instead of staffing for peak volume year-round, they align labor to actual daily requirements.
“The key we learned with Veryable was once we developed our labor pool, we could pull from those people when we needed them,” Ploeg adds. “Then we started realizing the value. We get our goals accomplished by doing that.”
An Agile Model for a Cyclical Industry
Today, when orders increase unexpectedly or new projects launch, Metal Flow can respond immediately.
“Orders drop in, and we’re able to respond quickly. That’s the key,” Hawkins says.
By maintaining a flexible labor layer equal to roughly ten to fifteen percent of its workforce, Metal Flow has created a model that protects its core team, maintains quality standards, and controls cost exposure in a highly cyclical industry.
With Veryable, Metal Flow has built a repeatable, scalable workforce strategy that supports both operational discipline and long-term growth.
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