Two suppliers were recognized as IPR Robotics Suppliers of Excellence for 2013.

IPR Robotics, Inc. whose expertise is in robotic end of arm tooling and robot transfer units, has recognized two of its suppliers for excellence. Both are Michigan manufacturers. IPR Vice President - North America, Dan Peretz, explains the award, "Because we recognize the vital role that our suppliers play in our success, we initiated our annual Supplier Excellence Award program in 2013.

" Two suppliers were recognized as IPR Robotics Suppliers of Excellence for 2013. They were each presented with a customized plaque which was hand-delivered, along with a basket of treats for their entire team, by VP - North America, Dan Peretz and Director of Operations, Roberta Zald. The suppliers were also recognized in IPR's e-newsletter and on their website. Blades Enterprises, LLC of Novi, Michigan was chosen because of their consistent ability to provide expertly Waterjet cut and machined parts on-time and on-budget. Started by Edward Blades in his garage in the early 1990s, the company has grown into a 13,000 square feet facility. Daniel Blades, Chief Operating Officer, is grateful for the recognition. "My father taught me to never take advantage of any customer for small gains and to always look at the bigger picture for larger gains," he explains. "We take pride in our work and treat all our customers like family," he says of the company his father founded. "We stick together and learn and grow from one another and strive for the common goal of quality. We simply want to be the best at what we do and focus on our strengths to lead the way." Pentech Industries of Roseville, Michigan was also selected as an IPR RoboticsSupplier of Excellence in 2013.

Pentech Industries provides three and five axis machining services to IPR. Established in April of 2001, one of Pentech's strengths is the ability to foresee potential issues and come alongside its customers as a second set of eyes on their behalf. "Our goal is to become an extension of our customers' fabrication, machining and sub-assembly requirements," says Dave Vernier, President of Pentech. "We train our personnel according to each of our customers' needs so that we become an arm of each customer's business. In short, we put ourselves in the shoes of our customers," says Vernier. "Having been one of the principals of a large integrator for over 25 years prior to Pentech, I lead a team that knows the needs of our customers and the needs of the end user. Our values are probably typical to any other business, and that is to provide our customer with a quality part, with an on-time delivery, for a fair price. The thing that makes us different is how we go about consistently doing that." Peretz stresses the value that IPR places on the strength of Michigan manufacturing. "We're a Michigan manufacturer, and we appreciate other Michigan manufacturers like Blades Enterprises and Pentech Industries," He states. "It's because of our confidence in them and their ability to consistently deliver quality parts that we can deliver the exceptional quality and value we're able to relentlessly deliver to our customers. We appreciate their fine examples of excellence!"

Located in Troy, Michigan, IPR Robotics, Inc. is a cutting edge designer and builder of robotic end of arm tooling and robot transfer units. The ISO 9001:2008 Certified company provides everything related to the Hands and Feet of robots. Their build team is skilled and capable in the areas of fabrication, welding, assembly, electrical, pneumatic, testing and validation. For over 25 years IPR has been delivering complete solutions for robotic system integrators and customers direct in multiple manufacturing industries, including foundry, automotive, aerospace, appliances, food processing, plastics, and others.