This case examines Dowling Flexible Metals. A small tool and die shop it has rapidly expanded. It employs thirty machinists and a full time design and engineering department. Initially its competitive advantage was the ingenuity that developed because machinists were designing the parts. With the addition of the engineering department this hands-on design has been lost. Errors are occurring, deadlines are being missed and costs are rising. The firm must abandon its expansion plans and rediscover its ingenuity; its competitive advantage. 5 pgs. No bibliography provided.
