Fralock’s Growth Strategy: Uniting Acquired Businesses With Aptean Discrete Manufacturing ERP Made2Manage Edition

Engineering solutions provider Fralock’s components are found in spacecraft, medical devices, semiconductor tools and defense systems—mission-critical applications where failure isn’t an option.

But while Fralock’s products meet the highest standards, its operational systems were a different story. After years of acquisitions, the organization had grown into a collection of businesses, each with its own practices, systems and data silos. Turning that disparate group into a single, integrated enterprise was a strategic imperative.

The solution? Move to Aptean Discrete Manufacturing ERP Made2Manage Edition, a cloud-based platform built for manufacturers like Fralock, where operational precision and control are non-negotiable.

Inconsistent Practices and Frequent Outages Blocked Fralock’s Growth

Bringing Fralock’s acquired businesses together as a single, high-performing operation started with fixing its fractured infrastructure.

The business’s journey toward standardization began with hard truths. The company’s acquired entities were using different versions of the same on-premise ERP software, meaning there were inconsistent business practices and no shared reporting.

Legacy hardware also brought frequent outages, and with limited IT resources, maintaining Fralock’s operational environment was becoming unsustainable.

"Our end goal is to be able to instantaneously tell us what our health is,” Brett King, IT director, said. “Having a standardized platform, and standardized reporting, was key in delivering that. But the platforms we had weren't accomplishing that."

Replacing Fragmented Systems With a Unified ERP Platform

For Fralock, a new ERP solution needed to support systematic growth and provide a single source of truth to meet the demands of a highly regulated environment. The business needed a partner who understood the regulatory complexities of its customer markets, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) compliance.

Before acquisition, the original Fralock—now one of five companies within the upscaled Fralock brand—had used Aptean Discrete Manufacturing ERP Made2Manage Edition for over 20 years. That made Aptean the obvious choice of partner for the company’s modernization project.

Early Wins: Better Decisions, Fewer Disruptions, Stronger Processes

Fralock’s move to Aptean's industrial manufacturing ERP is already delivering tangible operational benefits.

• Standardization across the business: Moving to a single ERP platform supports shared processes, unifies reporting and creates a consistent view of operations, which is essential for a company that spans multiple sites and industries.

• Reduced risk and downtime: With legacy hardware gone, Fralock has eliminated the outages that once disrupted operations.

  "We haven't had an outage since we've been in the cloud,” King explained. “Before it was a bi-monthly occurrence, and it took a day or two while we figured out what the problem was and then got the right resources to fix it."

• IT team freed from low-value tasks: The company’s move to the cloud also means its IT team can focus on value-added activities, rather than managing hardware and patching legacy systems.

  "Initially, the greatest benefit is going to be a singular platform, de-risking our environment, getting rid of all that legacy hardware and software and having it in a portable environment with guaranteed SLAs,” King sayid.

• Faster, smarter decision-making: As Fralock moves beyond standardization, the company can harness its ERP data to drive smarter, faster decisions, from advanced costing and profitability analysis to supply chain optimization.

• ITAR compliance: Aptean Discrete Manufacturing ERP Made2Manage Edition helps Fralock meet strict regulatory requirements, including ITAR compliance.

  "Aptean brought in a team that understands the complexities of an ITAR environment," King says. "We didn't have to explain why we can't put data in certain places—they already understood."

• Greater control of production and supply chain performance: With Aptean’s discrete ERP, Fralock can move beyond reactive firefighting to improving production management, availability of materials, on-time delivery and cost control.

• Investor confidence: By unifying its operations and standardizing reporting, the organization is better equipped to provide timely, accurate performance data to investors, strengthening transparency, accountability and trust.

King credited Fralock’s progress not only to industry-specific ERP software, but to the way Aptean has helped the organization modernize its processes.

"A lot of times, the same person has done it the same way for 25 years, and it's not the best way," he explained. "Bringing a company like Aptean, who has expertise to really change your processes and impact your business as a whole, through education and training, was invaluable."

Fralock’s Next Step: Greater Efficiency and Innovation

The move to Aptean’s cloud-based discrete manufacturing ERP software is just the beginning. With a robust digital foundation in place, Fralock is focused on using its ERP platform to drive continuous improvement.

"I always use the ‘crawl, walk, run’ philosophy,” King concludes. “We're ‘crawling’ at the moment. A standardized platform will allow us to look at our manual processes and eliminate those, adding automation into it. That's probably the ‘walk.’ And then when we ‘run,’ we want to look at what's available in the cloud, and what that's going to bring for us."

And because Fralock has chosen to partner with a provider that prioritizes innovation, the business has recently been introduced to AppCentral, Aptean’s new all-in-one platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI). By connecting all Aptean solutions together in a universal datalake, this new offering streamlines end-to-end operations while also enhancing efficiency and strategic decision-making with smart functionalities.

Book your personalized demo to see how Aptean Discrete Manufacturing ERP Made2Manage Edition can unify your operations, improve visibility and underpin your business growth.