Progressive Manufacturing Technology • Pflugerville

Progressive Manufacturing Technology • Pflugerville

By Teresa Pione Friday, 06 February 2009

Producing precision, machined components is like cooking, said Deepak Burman, president of Progressive Manufacturing Technology. Only in his recipe, the ingredients are ceramic, metal and plastic, the oven is a programmable machine and the specials of the day are parts for semiconductors, solar panels and medical equipment.

“You have to satisfy the customer,” Burman said. “If the customer is happy, they will give you more business, and when you have more business, the challenge is how can you make sure you’re doing the right thing with the resources.”

The company’s 25 employees range from mechanical, electrical, applied science, ceramic and industrial engineers to machinists, marketing and sales professionals. Though sometimes PMT engineers create designs for a product, more often clients like Samsung, Halliburton and Texas Instruments include the design with their orders. Engineers then send a wireless CNC program with the design to a machine and machinists continue operations. Finished products may end up underground supporting gas pipelines, in a hospital room adhering equipment or on a rooftop aiding in the capture of solar energy.

“Sixty percent of our parts go to semiconductors,” Burman said. “We’re heavy on the semiconductor, but we also serve other customers.”

A result of two merging companies, P.E. Ceramics, which was founded in 2002, and Progressive Engineering and Manufacturing, founded by Burman in 2006, PMT was established in July 2008. Encouraged by business incentives offered by the City of Pflugerville, the company moved to the current location at Verde Springbrook Corporate Center in August.

After many customers requested metal parts from P.E. Ceramics, which only made ceramic parts, and ceramic parts from Progressive Engineering and Manufacturing, which only made metal parts, the two companies merged. Burman said he can now supply the same customers with a greater variety while also expanding his client base with new products.

“Now we can offer the customer one-stop shopping,” Burman said.

As demands for semiconductors cycle up and down with the high-tech industry, Burman said he tries to minimize that impact by developing parts for other trades. While the company’s semiconductor pieces supply mainly the oil and gas industries in both the drilling and transporting of oil and gas, PMT also caters to the emerging energy field.

“The good thing about us is we are more diversified,” Burman said. “We’re not depending on one customer or one industry.

Ceramic versus metal

• Semiconductor ceramic products are more cost-effective, can reduce particle contamination and operate better under higher temperatures than metal products.
• Ceramic metal forming tools can be dramatically improved by replacing traditional materials with ceramic.
• Wear-resistant structural ceramics can be used for handling fluids or as valve components.

Progressive Manufacturing Technology, Inc., 828 New Meister Lane, Ste. 100, 380-1991, www.peceramics.com