VR industries, Inc.

Fred Pestana and Joe Oakes founded VR Industries in 1985 with three employees, a 6,000 square-foot building and a strong focus on building successful customer relationships. Today VRI employs more than forty people in an ultra-modern 35,000 square-foot facility and has the same commitment to building partnerships with satisfied customers. VRI is a full-service contract manufacturer, serving a diverse group of customers including electronic manufacturers of medical instrumentation, military electronics, oceanographic instruments, and commercial products. Products manufactured run from individual printed circuit boards to completely assembled and tested systems. They have found a niche market with small businesses that have small to medium volume runs. VRI’s efficient turnaround of these smaller runs has created both flexibility in production and a reputation for the high quality that customers appreciate and expect. Larger runs are also found to be competitive with in-house costs at many companies. The years from 1985 to 1995 were formative with management focusing on building customer base and reputation. Rapid expansion started in 1996 with ISO 9002 certification. This certification provided customers with a strong demonstration of company commitment to quality work and opened up a great number of new market opportunities. A new custom solder system was installed in 1997. FDA registration, also in 1997, opened up the medical instrumentation market. We continue to serve these markets today. By 1998 business had expanded to the point where a larger facility was required. The company moved into a newly renovated, 35,000 square foot space adjacent to their old area. In 1999 the Vantage Manufacturing Management System was installed to automate, coordinate and streamline all company activities with emphasis on lean manufacturing processes. Also in 1999, the company made a large capital investment in the future by automating our Surface Mount capabilities.