Reaching 25 Years is Worth Celebrating
Leave a CommentJerry Lynch was a young engineer working as the Manager of Engineering for Hayward Industrial Products in Elizabeth. His wife, Debbie Lynch was an associate professor at a local college where she ran a culinary program. They began looking for an entrepreneurial opportunity, ideally one that might merge their expertise in food + engineering. It almost happened on Long Island where they found a marina with a boatyard and a spot for a small restaurant. They continued to look for their shot at a ‘mom & pop’ while working their day jobs. They looked at other marinas, an industrial hoist company, and even a few restaurants.
In his role at Hayward, Jerry would occasionally outsource engineering design work to a business in Union founded in 1962 by three Lebanese American siblings, the original Sigma Design Company. One day a retirement conversation turned into an offer, and in 1999, the Lynch’s bought Sigma Design Company from the Abrahams, the founders.
This year we celebrate 25 years in business, a business that bears little resemblance to the first tiny office in Union NJ. In 1999, it was a drafting and design business that was unfortunately seeing more and more design work being sent overseas. Jerry knew that a pivot would be essential to staying in business, so Sigma added design/build to its offerings. Sigma quickly outgrew its second space in Springfield, even after adding a trailer behind the building. We began to look for a larger manufacturing space.
In October of 2011, Sigma Design Company purchased a 20,000 sq ft building in Middlesex, NJ, a leap of faith and a move made during an unseasonal snowfall. The offices up front were a messy warren of smelly, fake wood paneling, and clutter. The dark manufacturing space behind it was cavernous. It had been a former book binding printing company. With the help of CLS Project Solutions, (their first project was our new space!) the office space was renovated. Jerry’s vision for the manufacturing space was to create self-contained manufacturing work cells for new products. We needed well-equipped, safe workspaces for machining, welding, a UL panel shop and assembly. To make any of that happen, we needed to recruit, train, and retain the best technical employees possible. Sigma has been very fortunate to have assembled one of the most creative and skilled engineering and manufacturing teams in the business. On March 9th, 2024, the Sigma team and guests gathered at a dinner party to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Sigma Design Company. Cheers to the next 25!
A local U.S. business contacted Sigma Design Company to inquire about manufacturing a better pop machine, here in the U.S. The company was finding it difficult to meet demand with their existing machinery and was desperate for design improvements. This project required the type of unique and custom problem-solving solutions for which Sigma Design Company is known. The Sigma team knew their design experience would create a machine with improved operator access and result in cycle time reduction, increased chip output, and reduced changeover time. After many months of discussion and hammering out the details, the customer was still reluctant to take that ‘leap of faith’. We get it. Companies come to Sigma Design Company to solve difficult and confounding design problems. Each one is a custom project and often not easy. Convinced that the snack machine had potential, Jerry Lynch, owner of Sigma Design Company said we seem to be at a stand-off here, let’s make this machine even though the customer was not yet all in and prove we have the skills they need.
Creating enough structural strength without sacrificing movement was an artistic and engineering challenge. Continuous testing of the stems; their geometry, and their ability to hold varying weights of blooms was one such ‘mystery’ that Sigma Design Company was able to solve for the artist.