It has been an interesting journey in the growth and development of the SMI Composite LLC Brand and facility footprint evolution over the past 10 years. The birth of this business was brought upon by necessity rather than an absolute want. Before our launch/establishment in Jan 2014, the Mayco group was buying Carbon Fiber parts from a molder in the Carolinas and finishing these parts in one of our sister companies up in Detroit. The part quality and molded execution were not at the levels we deemed appropriate to grow and secure more CF composite molded business.
These finished parts at the time and before the launch of the SMI Composite brand (Est 2014), were being supplied to Chrysler and assembled on the Dodge Viper. The Mayco Group had previously finished a contract on the CF Camaro Mohawk Hood scoop as a tier 1 supplier to General Motors (2009-2013). The Mayco group had a lot of tribal knowledge on what it takes to mold and finish these types of parts, simply put we mold and finish jewelry for the automotive vertical.
Expanding Operations
Given the need to expand on our opportunities and control the quality of the molded part and the finished part, coupled with the tribal knowledge we already had in and around this vertical. This need found me (Shane Morse) looking for a place to land such a facility and develop our molding operation, with the vision at some point in time to expand upon the finishing and integrate the site to support 100% of the composite molding and finishing operation, commonly referred to today as the “integrated site”. Hence the birthplace of SMI Composites LLC in Comer GA.
Many folks ask why Comer, but I was looking for a rural area that we could quietly set up “off the radar,” that was not landlocked, and where we were not competing with ten other companies on the same street. Comer being close to Athens, allows us to leverage the University of Georgia and Athens Technical College as we further integrate the SMI brand into the local ecosystem, and have SMI looked upon as a key part of Madison County and the community around us. The level of interaction at the local and a state level has been incredibly supportive and pro-business, also paving the way for the SMI growth story.
Please note: None of this would have happened without our resolute staff at SMI in Comer and our Detroit-based SMI team, all with a laser focus on our customers/s and the execution of high-quality tools and parts at a competitive price point.
Over The Years
Below is a year-over-year road map that serves as some KPIs as to the growth and milestones achieved at SMI Composites over the last 10 years. Tough to summarize such growth into a few milestones!
Oct. 2013
- Purchase 2.5 Acres with a 10,000 sqft building, with an Autoclave and Clear room.
Jan. 1st 2014
- SMI Composites was founded, with 3 employees.
- March 2014 First Gerber cutter installed.
- May 2014, AS 9100 certifications achieved, continue to mold DOD parts and NSN for DOD and working on more solicitations with the DOD.
Dec. 2014
- 11 Employees
Dec. 2015
- 14 Employees
- Nov 2015 – SOR for Camaro Hp2 ZL1/1LE Rear Wing
- Jan 2015 – Start to transition Viper parts away from the supplier in the Carolinas and in source to SMI with finishing at a sister company in Detroit.
Dec. 2016
- 17 Employees
- Awarded March 2016 first GM job Camaro Hp2 ZL1/1LE Rear Wing, using our sister company up in Detroit to finish the part.
- As it turns out this is one of many GM programs and now our first program to stop in Dec 2023 (model run out).
Dec. 2017
- 21 Employees
- Purchase of the 85 Madico Drive building and Land 1.1acres, 8000sqft building.
- Total Sqft 18,000sqft
Dec. 2018
- 23 Employees
Dec. 2019
- 26 Employees
- (mid-2019) Break ground on the integrated site, the addition of 39,000 sqft connecting 45 and 85 Madico Drive, with a breezeway to support Autoclave expansion and 6 paint and bake paint booths.
- Total Sqft 57,000sqft
Dec. 2020
- 34 Employees
- (mid-2020) start to paint Camaro Hp2 ZL1/1LE rear wings (sourced from a sister company) and cycle some early pre-production parts on other GM-sourced programs.
- 2020 (Q4 Early) Ramp down sister company and turn on “integrated site” 100%
Dec. 2021
- 98 Employees
- Early 2021, close on the 185 Madico Building 20,000 sqft with 6.5 Acres of land.
- Finalize plans Q3 for the new 155 Madico building (back of 185 Madico, part of the 6.5 Acres), 45,000 sqft.
- SMI awarded the Gear Award, Georgia Supplier of the Year for under two hundred people.
- Total Sqft 77,000 sqft
Dec. 2022
- 189 Employees
- 155 Madico Build started in early 2022.
- Early 2022 Implemented 6S, Six Sigma, KATA, and TWI
- Building opening Oct/Nov 2022
- Late 2022 Expand our Autoclave molding capacity by +300%
- Total Sqft 122,000 sqft
Dec. 2023
- 255 Employees
- Transitioned departments to 155 Madico in Q1/Q2 of 2023 to the 155 Madico facility
- Built upon 6S, Six Sigma, KATA, and TWI and cascaded these into the workforce setting up a road map for our employees as they grow, we grow with a clear tech level tied to a skill level.
Dec. 2024
- +350 Employees (forecast)
- As we ramp up new parts (launch).
- Grow customers & continue to diversify.
- Grow the footprint.
- Build intrinsic value around the SMI Composite brand.
- As we continue our journey as a global leader in composite technologies.
With this growth, we have now developed a nice list of clients and will continue to expand on these clients, maintaining these long partnerships and adding to the customer diversification as we expand the footprint and build upon the brand and its intrinsic value it offers the marketplace.
SMI cannot wait, to share the next 10 years!
President Shane Morse
