Southern NJ Manufacturer Expands Production,
Gains Market Share with “Made in U.S.A.” Products

Pennsauken, NJ, November 17, 2011…

Pennsauken-based Macro Sensors is helping to revitalize New Jersey manufacturing. In the past year, the company expanded its facility, added new capital equipment and hired new employees throughout different departments. Rebounding from depressed sales two years ago due to the recession, the company projects record bookings this year, representing a 40% increase over 2009 sales figures. Based on sales projections, the company foresees adding more employees in the future.

Why this growth when other NJ manufacturers are struggling to yet rebound? While many companies reduced inventory and halted R&D to minimize costs, Macro Sensors, a manufacturer of highly accurate and rugged position sensors utilized in worldwide industrial and aerospace applications, continued to put stock on shelf and money into new product development. Now, as business turns around in different industries, Macro Sensors is prepared to meet renewed demand immediately, even if it is initially on a small lot basis.

“Because we already have raw materials on the shelf to immediately meet demand, we have been able to take market share from other competitors,” notes John Matlack, Global Business Development Manager, Macro Sensors. “Even as customers initially order small lots of 10 -12 sensors, many reorder and often in larger quantities.”

A global business with sales of approximately $5 million for 2011, Macro Sensors sells its sensors to original equipment manufacturers both domestically and abroad. The company’s sensors can be found in elevators as part of control systems that ensure the accurate landing of elevator cars at building floors as well as in ATM machines as measurement feedback devices in the paper bill detector to ensure proper currency dispensing. Macro Sensors linear position sensors are also approved for use in General Electric gas turbines where they are implemented for position measurement on governor valves, reheat/stop valves and many other control valves.

Even as many corporations move to outsource manufacturing, Macro Sensors keeps most of its production based in New Jersey. The company recently purchased a new state-of-the-art computer winding machine to facilitate greater in-house production while expanding operations at its Pennsauken, NJ facility. While a portion of assembly is outsourced, all sensors are manufactured with U.S. parts and shipped directly from the factory. It has been that way since the company established operations in New Jersey in 1994. With product and engineering resources on site, the company can quickly turn around orders, especially those with special requests. As customers often demand some specialization of some sensor attributes such as different electronics and housings to serve specific industrial applications, Macro Sensors can quickly address these requests and get parts out the door faster.

“We shortened the lead time by engineering and producing our sensors on site,” notes Matlack. “And as manufacturing and design takes place in our own plant, we have better control over quality and production.”

In 2005, American Sensor Technologies, a manufacturer of state-of-the-art pressure sensors, acquired Macro Sensors, creating a single domestic (NJ-based) source of both pressure and position sensing expertise. Based in Mt. Olive, NJ, AST, too, has experienced exponential growth in the past two years while remaining dedicated to manufacturing in the NJ area.