March 12, 2008 was a very good evening for William Demmer. First, he was the recipient of the Entrepreneurial Award for Manufacturing. And then, at the end of the evening, it was announced that he had also been awarded the title of Master Entrepreneur for 2008. To make it even more meaningful, Demmer’s family, including his father, company founder John Demmer, was there to share the honors.

In fact, it’s been a very good year for Demmer and the corporation he heads, the Demmer Corporation. From December of 2006 to December of 2007, the employee force grew from 350 to 1,500 with total sales increasing tenfold and now approaching $600,000,000.

In accepting the awards, Demmer said, “The success of Demmer Corporation is a team effort; if we’re not a team, we’re nothing. And we couldn’t have done this anywhere but Lansing. It’s a wonderful community with a strong work ethic.”

The Demmer Corporation was founded in 1951 with the focus of designing and building tools, dies and special machinery. With a growing capacity to build larger special machines and medium to large automotive stamping dies, the company grew in size and complexity. By the late 1960s, the primary customer base was the automotive industry, accounting for 90 percent of its yearly sales with the aerospace industry making up the remaining 10 percent.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the company diversified into military land system components, and, by the end of the 1990s, Demmer Corporation was an industry leader in the production of heavy components for military tanks, recovery vehicles, personnel carriers, mine roller systems (mechanical minefield detectors), appliqué armor systems (extra plates mounted or welded on top of the hull or turret of a vehicle), prototype hull systems and large welding fixtures for related components.

With the advent of the new millennium, the company downsized both its company offerings and customer base and began to support customer needs for product development (including ballistic hull design and build, armored door development, appliqué armor development and various ballistic ceramic and metal applications) and rapid prototypes. This development support evolved into production projects for Demmer Corporation.

According to William Demmer, the investment that the company has made to support its military production has the potential to increase its yearly sales volume; another market that has good potential is in the aerospace tooling market. Recently purchased robotic equipment has proved to be more efficient than had even been hoped and has propelled Demmer Corporation into industry leadership in developing robotic capability for ballistic welds. The company sees good opportunities for future growth in its military customer base while focusing on stamping and assembly opportunities. They are also working with a NASCAR group to design and build a common chassis and body system for entry-level racing teams. In addition, they are looking to the heavy truck business for opportunities.

Currently, Demmer Corporation operates in nine separate plants on six sites, all but one located in the Lansing area (the one remaining is located in Petoskey) and comprising over 1,500,000 square feet.

In addition to developing skilled tradesmen, the company is also training people in LEAN manufacturing systems, Total Quality Management and immersing people in process improvement. LEAN manufacturing is defined as the production of goods using less of everything compared to traditional mass production: less waste, human effort, manufacturing space, investment in tools, inventory, and engineering time to develop a new product.

A Lansing native, William Demmer graduated from Sexton High School and went on to Michigan State University where he received a degree in mechanical engineering. He began his career at Demmer Corporation upon graduation from MSU in 1970, although, as he said, “I grew up in the business and worked there through high school and college.” He is currently a member of the Lansing/DeWitt Rotary Club, Lansing Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Manufacturers Association (where he is a board member), the Lansing CEO Roundtable, an Advisory Board member for the MSU Engineering School/Eli Broad Business School Joint MBA Program, a member of the Association of the U.S. Army, a board member of LEAP Inc., the MSU Alumni Association, the Lansing Power Squadron and the Michigan Tooling Association. He is also a member and supporter of many conservation, hunting and fishing organizations.