Now retired three years, he still keeps his hand in, guiding visitors through the factory while relating the company's history. We walk past a large, empty, and today, very wet courtyard surrounded by modern industrial buildings. We step into an open manufacturing space. This machine is longer than a living room. It does all of the stamping, crimping, fitting and assembly operations.
Tiny parts seem to dance, every few inches, down a line on posts.
Two men watch the modular progression attentively. Had I known the flash of my camera would cause such a strong reaction, I would have warned them in advance. They snap off the line, thinking that something is seriously wrong. It starts again immediately only to be shut down again as Pony shows me how, if anything breaks the beam read by the electronic eye at the other end of the machine, it quits so that no one can get their hands caught. Pony explains that this assembly machine produces 2,000 units per hour.