Based in Deerfield Beach, Fla., the company offers an array of services, including in-plant stores that provide on-site personnel, warehousing and materials management to meet customers' production and engineering requirements. Dependable also provides an automated inventory-replenishment system for efficient materials and inventory management, processes logistics and international shipping documentation, creates custom labeling to meet bar-coding requirements and supplies customized kitting solutions.

Currently, the company is focused on keeping inventory levels high enough to meet the needs of loyal customers, said vice president of sales Bill Miller. Executives say they see an increasing need for quality assurance, and to that end the company is maintaining its ISO 9001:2000 certification. Executives also say customers are showing increasing concern about the quality of products from China.

"Everyone is putting the emphasis on quality since the Chinese market opened up, and this has been one of the biggest areas of concern shown by our customers," Miller said. "We are putting our efforts back into the U.S. manufacturers and the Americas marketplace [North and South], and focusing our sales efforts there. We're shying away from the Chinese market."