Davico manufactures customized replacement catalytic converters for the widest range of cars and trucks in the industry.   The company was started in 1987 out of one bay of a muffler shop, and now employs more than 35 professionals, the majority of them from New Bedford. 

The company has made workforce training a key priority as it continues to grow.  Davico worked with the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership and utilized a state Workforce Training Fund grant to implement lean manufacturing techniques to improve operations.  As a result of the training, the company was able to expand the parts it offered and start a second shift of employees that will grow to 12 by August.

“Davico is a terrific example of a company that was able to create new jobs as a result of workforce training grants,” said Healey.  “They employ locally trained professionals to manufacture complicated exhaust systems for all sorts of vehicles, from Range Rovers to Jaguars.

Davico has averaged 38 percent revenue growth over the last three years.   The company supplies automotive wholesalers in most regions of the country, and competes directly with larger firms in Tennessee, Indiana and California. 

“Lean manufacturing has made our facility very cost competitive with larger operations across the country,” said Raymond Surprenant, president of Davico Manufacturing.   “Our work toward continuous improvement allowed us to lower defect rates, increase product capacity, and provide a work environment that is safer and better organized.”   

Increasing its product line by 30 percent gave Davico the ability to win new customers the company otherwise would not have.  Davico is able to take advantage of the area’s skilled manufacturing labor, primarily graduates from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, and plans to continue adding more staff in the near future. 

Previous Inner City Investment Award recipients include The Charles C. Lewis Company, Worcester; Polar Beverages, Worcester; City Fresh Catering, Boston; Court Square Data Group, Springfield; Visualization Technology, Lawrence; City Lights Electrical, Dorchester; Mill City Environmental Services, Lowell; and Traditional Breads, Lynn. 

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