Blog

This is a continuation of my blog titled Customer Service and the 5 Rules of Birk. The 5 Rules of Birk manufacturing convey basic principles we feel are fundamental to doing good business.  They are: 1 - Customer First 2 - Help Each Other 3 - Learn New Skills 4 - Communicate 5 - Have Fun BIRK RULE #2 –...

Quality of our products and processes along with an added emphasis on continuous improvement are the way of life here at Birk. Among co-workers the term “quality” is all encompassing and means delivering a degree of excellence at every step of the way. Key performance indicators play an integral part in ensuring our quality is not only acceptable but is...

In 2006, when Birk opened up its news 18,000 square foot addition to its existing building, it was decided that Engineering would move its offices from the front of the building to the new extension.  We had chosen the middle office at the rear of the new building because it was one of the larger rooms and we needed to...

Most companies have the desire to grow their customer base and revenues, but how you go about this venture must be very different for each and every company. Our company's story is a smaller version of the Bill Gates one, who started in a garage much like the owner Norman did. Every day was a challenge then, every order was...

The 5 Rules of Birk convey basic principles we feel are fundamental to doing good business.  They are: 1 - Customer First 2 - Help Each Other 3 - Learn New Skills 4 - Communicate 5 - Have Fun I will write about each one in successive blogs and it’s convenient the first one is about customer service, since that...

Birk Manufacturing’s vision is quite clear; to become the world leader in flexible thermal solutions by supplying our customers with the highest quality design support, manufacturing capability, and customer service while continuing to improve operations to lower prices and sustain competitive advantage. One of the key objectives to fulfill this lofty goal is the company-wide implementation of “lean” improvement methodologies....

Birk is an amazing place to work; we are a growing manufacturing company focused on continuous improvement and better serving our customers.  To help with this process I have implemented the "Rules" of Birk; the rules are posted throughout the building and are know by all.  These rules work great for Birk manufacturing and could be applied to any company. ...

We at Birk have invested heavily in Lean training and implementation over the course of the past year and the benefits can be seen throughout the entire company, from the office to the shipping bay.  These changes have helped us better serve our customers, which is our singular goal here at Birk.  These changes have also greatly improved our internal...

1. Q: How do I calculate what wattage I will need to reach the my operating temp? A: We here at Birk can help you with that.  There are many factors which go into a wattage calculation including: the heat sink material, the ambient room temperature in which the heater will be operating etc. We make custom heaters everyday so our engineers...

Q: What is the max operating temperature for your heaters? A: We manufacture 4 different types of Flexible heater here at Birk.  Each type of heater has a unique maximum temperature based on the insulating material used to build the heater.  Below is a list of the different insulators and their associated maximum temperature. 1. FEP Kapton - 500˚F 2....