PBN Manufacturing Awards 2024
OVERALL EXCELLENCE AT A LARGE MANUFACTURER: Tanury Industries
FAMILY IS AMONG multiple aspects as to how Lincoln-based Tanury Industries continues to thrive. Only 13% of family-owned businesses remain in the family for more than 60 years. Tanury – founded in 1948 by Frederick Tanury, father of current company board Chairman Tom Tanury – is among the rare family-run businesses that have stood the test of time. In all, eight Tanury family members work for the company and CEO and President Michael Akkaoui is Tanury’s nephew.
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“I think what really sets us apart is the family environment … and the culture within the company,” Tom Tanury said. “The loyalty and dedication of the family members who work here have demonstrated a unique set of skills and qualities.”
In the company’s early days, Tanury served the state’s then-vibrant jewelry industry. But Tanury has learned to adapt as the market has changed since the company began operating close to eight decades ago.
Today, Tanury applies diverse coatings – including electroplate, physical vapor deposition and Cerakote – to raw metals and plastics for industries such as aerospace, firearms and defense, electronics, medical instruments and giftware. While Tanury’s revenue grew by 7.4% from 2021 to 2023, Akkaoui called 2024’s anticipated 26% revenue increase over 2023 “phenomenal but an anomaly.”
“The diversification of our business in technology and in new markets really strengthened the company for decades; it’s a big part of our success,” Akkaoui said. “We continue that diversification today.”
Akkaoui also said Tanury is “very labor intensive” and looks for factory workers who want to advance their careers. As soon as employees come through Tanury’s doors, they see the culture from within and “want to be a part of it,” Akkaoui said.
Employee retention is also critical in Tanury’s success. With a robust training program for employee advancement, Tanury, which has 215 full-time employees, has an annual employee turnover rate of less than 2%.
Along with the company’s dedication to employee safety and training, including cross-training and lean manufacturing practices, Tanury employees get a paid day off on their birthdays. Tanury’s profit-sharing plan funds each employee’s 401(k) equally, and owners are excluded from the plan.
One of Tanury’s applications, Cerakote, can be applied with more accuracy and consistency by using robotics, which the company utilizes on sufficiently large orders. A ceramic spray coating with high wear and temperature resistance offered in multiple colors, Cerakote is used in the gun and aerospace industries, and on plumbing fixtures and jewelry, Tom Tanury says. Three years ago, Tanury built a facility, adding new equipment and more employees to address its growing Cerakote market.
The PVD coating – environmentally friendly by company standards – is added to lighting, plumbing and door hardware, cigarette lighters and jewelry to enhance durability and protect against corrosion.
“When the PVD technology first started, we could make only black or gold coatings; now we have the world’s largest color palette for the technology, with every color in the rainbow except for red,” Akkaoui said.
Akkaoui believes that Tanury’s NADCAP and AS9100D certifications help separate the company from the rest of the pack. Utilizing these certifications, Tanury can seek more defense-related and government-related work, Akkaoui says
“We are also a Federal Aviation Administration-certificated repair station for our work in the private jet industry and we have certification through the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for handling firearms manufacturing,” Akkaoui said. “All of these certifications provide a basis for why customers want to do business with us.”
With 95% of Tanury’s business coming from the private sector, the company is eager to grow its government business. Three companies, including Tanury, and the University of California Irvine received a $9.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The four-year grant aims to lower the cost of green hydrogen.
Tanury’s role in the initiative, Akkaoui says, is to build equipment that will allow manufacturers to move forward with their intellectual property related to generating hydrogen.
