Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed is a global checkweighing and inspection systems manufacturer, and is part of the Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection Division. Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed builds checkweighers, combination checkweighers and metal detection systems, and other end-of-line inspection systems.
Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed operates out of Ithaca, N.Y., and has been in the checkweighing and inspection business since the late 1960s. In 1981, Hi-Speed joined Mettler-Toledo, a manufacturer of weighing solutions for laboratory, industrial and food retailing applications.
While most companies have been hit hard by the economic downturn, Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed has been chugging along nicely. “We cater to almost any market – food, chemical, pharmaceutical and transport,” Business Development Manager Mark Feher explains. “We’re so diverse, a downturn in one sector can be offset by increases in our other sectors.”
Diversity City
Creating solutions in the food industry can be challenging given the continuous evolution of retail packaging and changing regulations governing package contents. That’s why Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed needs to keep its on toes with the latest technologies. Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed builds the conveyer belts that weigh packaged goods. “Our machines tell the plant employees if the net weight meets the label requirements,” Feher says. “Our customers need to know they’re getting the right weight, and they can trust us.”
As food packaging changes, so must Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed.
“Much of our innovation comes with the food packaging sector,” Feher notes. “As food packaging changes and evolves, we must change, too, and find new solutions. Our goal is to work in partnership with our customers to ensure their lines are always running efficiently and effectively while complying with standards, legislations and regulations like FDA, HACCP, Good Manufacturing Practice and retailers codes.
“We invest more in our R&D department than other companies,” Feher continues. “We’re constantly developing new solutions for our customers. We have the willingness to take on unique applications and create solutions.”
Keeping up with just the food industry is hard enough. Mettler-Toledo has its hands in metal detection, X-ray and vision inspection, as well. The company recently acquired a vision inspection company to add to its services. “This acquisition has increased our repertoire of inspection capabilities,” Feher adds.
The pharmaceutical industry has provided its fair share of challenges for Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed. “With the new laws, we have to be able to determine who the identifier is on all packaging,” Feher explains. “Track and trace has become very big in the pharmaceutical industry. We’re already incorporating vision inspection in some areas.”
Feher and Balanced
Even though he’s only been at Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed for four-and-a-half years, Feher has 10 years of experience in the industrial weighing industry. “I moved out East and got a job at Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed,” Feher says. Now, he uses his leadership skills and experience to keep Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed at the top of its game.
“I make sure there’s consistency across the product line,” he states. “We distribute all over the world so consistency is very important to us. That includes service, parts and warranty.”
Another way Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed is consistent is with its donations to United Way. Through giving, volunteering and advocating, the company helps the organization through its golf tournament and other activities. Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed also is a Pacesetter in its home county of Tompkins.
According to the United Way of Tompkins County, Pacesetters are selected employers who accept the honor of “setting the pace” by conducting their United Way corporate and employees’ campaigns earlier than the traditional mid-September timeframe.
Companies that start campaigns early serve as models for the rest of their communities. Pacesetters set the example for employees and corporate giving but also for enthusiasm and leadership in supporting health and human service programs.