More than 35 years ago, Bob Hinty began his career in manufacturing as a consultant with Coopers and Lybrand, today known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, a well-respected international consulting firm. With the experience he gained there from helping companies improve their manufacturing and production capabilities, Bob started his own small manufacturing company, Phoenix Sewing, in 1994.

In the same year, Phoenix began sewing and production for Vera Bradley, the noted manufacturer of women’s handbags and travel items. By 1997, Vera Bradley, which had experienced record growth since 1994, found its sales increasing beyond the capacity of their production facilities. The company called on Bob to solve their dilemma, making him their head of production. Bob supervised the training of over 200 local sewing personnel, expanding their sewing capacity to accommodate their continuously increasing sales.

In 2002, Bob built his second sewing company, Summit Production Systems. He also purchased an embroidery and screen-printing company, enabling him to offer his customers a broader range of manufacturing options. Bob’s third company, Mercury Manufacturing, started operations in 2005, and today, the three companies employ a skilled workforce of more than 600 people.

Summit now has a well-established reputation for excellence. Consider, for example, quality control. The company takes pride in its phenomenally low defect rate – less than two-tenths of one percent. To achieve this, in-depth training is critical, and all employees receive it. Furthermore, multiple people review each item for flaws at every stage of production, as an integral part of continuous quality control. To further monitor quality, products are subjected to hourly and half-hourly stop checks.

Other measures of Summit’s excellence include its short-run manufacturing capability and the time studies it can conduct for new products. Clients who send their work to Summit can rest assured that their products will be manufactured not only efficiently and cost-effectively, but also with the utmost attention to detail and workmanship.