This article will appear in the Sep/Oct 2024 issue of MiMfg Magazine. Read past issues online.

Through its relentless pursuit of innovative solutions in the magnetics industry, Storch Products of Livonia has provided manufacturers and consumers with enhanced safety and efficiency, all while helping to move the industry forward.

With a “grow or die mentality,” Storch’s dynamic culture has driven the company’s ability to continually evolve, adapt to their customer’s needs and become an industry leader. Because of all this and more, they were recognized as the 2023 Manufacturing Innovation Excellence award winner.

Storch is the go-to source for creative magnetic solutions — whether that is moving metal, pulling metal out of products such as foods and pharmaceuticals, removing plastic pellets off the shop floor, integrating magnets into conveyor belt systems or providing other solutions to meet customers’ needs. As the Storch teams conceptualize safe and environmentally friendly solutions for customers, they also place a priority on helping them minimize downtime and prevent costly repairs, says President and CEO Matthew Carr.

Carr, who refers to Storch as an “innovation center,” says they take the skills they have honed over the past 72 years and then meld the creative minds of veterans and new team members together to come up with products that no other manufacturer has even considered yet.

“The secret sauce for us is simple,” Carr says. “We have folks who are open-minded. We have goals built into our core values, as we have a ‘grow or die’ mentality. I believe we really have buy-in now with the people who are in the right seats here at Storch.”

Mechanical Design Engineer Connor Papora adds that continuing to innovate is essential for the growth of the company and the industry in Michigan.

“As the manufacturing industry is evolving, our customers are evolving along with it, and we have to adapt in order to provide them with good products,” Papora says. “We’re not afraid to go after new ideas and do things that are outside the box, which many other manufacturing companies might not do.”

As new technologies and artificial intelligence progress, companies must be willing to innovate to meet their customers’ needs, Sales Manager Andrew Gron adds.

“I think innovation takes place here at Storch because we don’t settle for the status quo,” he says, “Whether that means that we’re not going to accept having flat tires in our own parking lot or we’re not going to accept getting dust on our desks.”

As the Storch team produces engineered magnetic solutions, both in the form of customized projects and bulk magnet sales for a variety of industries, they remain focused on building innovative products that enhance safety and environmental protection. A primary example of this innovation is their SuperMag Magnetic Sweeper, a powerful yet “green” machine that pulls metal debris off roadways and floors, helping to keep workers safer and preventing flat tires.

“With the SuperMag, we’re pulling metal debris up off the shoulders of highways,” Carr says. “We’re making the road lanes safer for all pedestrians, including first responders who use those shoulders of the freeways.”

Papora says a key to Storch’s processes is getting a very good understanding of customers’ problems, and then customizing innovative solutions for them.

Gron says he sees customers’ pain points first-hand when he visits their locations.

“It’s interesting to be able to bring back what I saw, relay the information to the team, and then work with the team to come up with a concept to relieve that pain point,” he says.

These standards of collaboration and teamwork have been integral to Storch’s longevity and its ability to maintain a positive internal culture, as illustrated by Build Manager Claire Kelly’s experience.

Kelly entered the field because she thought it sounded fun — but it became much more than that.

“I actually ended up loving it, and it ended up being a passion,” she says. “I feel like we have a really good group of people. It can be hard for women in male-dominated trades to find people who are willing to cooperate with them or listen to them. But here, everyone is always accepting, and they just view me as who I am here.”

By creating outstanding products that keep consumers, drivers and employees safer, Storch has been recognized near and far for their impact in many industries around the world and MMA is proud to recognize Storch Products with the 2023 Innovation Excellence Award.

The Manufacturing Innovation Excellence is part of the annual Manufacturing Excellence Awards which celebrates the leaders and products that are pushing the industry forward. Learn more about the awards program and gala.

The 2023 Manufacturing Innovation Excellence Award was sponsored by Interactive Training Systems Inc. Visit online: interactivetrainingsystems.com.