White Industries | Precision CNC & design-to-cost

Context & positioning

White Industries machines high-end bicycle components: cranks, hubs, freewheels, bottom brackets, axles, pedals. Absolute premium positioning, zero retailer discounts, 100% word of mouth. Design on Fusion 360 with cost price calculated from the design phase. Project management on Trello.

Production flow

Raw material → CNC turning (auto-loading) → CNC milling
(modular robot) → Ultrasonic cleaning → Polishing or anodizing
(subcontractor) → Quality control on CMM → Assembly to order → Shipping

Workshop organization

High machine density. Automatic loading on virtually all lathes. Modular robot on milling machine. Conveyors at machine output. Remarkable frugal innovation: buckets of soapy water + ping-pong balls to cushion parts upon reception. Tooling supplied by an on-site service provider. Wire EDM for ratchets (very hard metals). Prusa 3D printer for rapid prototyping.

Production management analysis

Cost price known from the design phase = controlled pricing from the outset. Quality control at variable frequency depending on parts, on paper sheets or with CMM for new products. Heat treatment + grinding of sprockets. Raw material reduced to a minimum. Anodizing subcontracted (Sacramento) = partial loss of control over lead times and finish quality.

Strengths

• Cost price calculated from the design phase: fair pricing from the start
• Maximum turning automation = high productivity
• Wire EDM for complex geometries and materials: extreme precision
• Frugal innovation (ping-pong balls): example of industrial pragmatism
• No-distribution model = maximum margins, strong customer loyalty

Areas for improvement

• Quality control on paper sheets only for some products: no digital traceability
• Subcontractor dependency for anodizing (Sacramento)
• Ongoing SRAM crankset project: complex proprietary standard = project risk

Key takeaway

Integrating cost price from the design phase (Fusion 360 + simultaneous pricing) is a key practice that allows an SME to remain profitable without distribution or trade discounts. This is a concrete application of design-to-cost. Additionally, reputation and word of mouth can be sufficient to sustain a high-end industrial company.