Florida MEP: Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2008

For more information please contact:
Gene Lussier
Board Chair, Florida MEP
954-565-0047

INTEGRATED METAL PRODUCTS, INC. UNIFIES WITH HELP FROM FLORIDA MEP
Lean Transformation Includes Consolidation of Operations, Improving Workflow and Customer Delivery

LAKELAND, FL - Integrated Metal Products, Inc., a manufacturing service center, which provides metal products, machining, water-jet & laser cutting, welding, fabrication, and manufacturing services to defense, energy production, mining equipment, and other industries recently wanted to consolidate their four facilities into one large plant to improve their efficiencies and expand their operations.

“We felt that with the consolidation and designing of a new plant floor layout was the perfect time to reorganize, and implement operational and work flow improvements,” said Wayne Albritton, President and CEO of Integrated Metal Products. “At first, we tried to train internally on different Lean methodologies, such as Value Stream Mapping, but we quickly realized we did not have the resources to train our workforce and maintain the business at the same time. We chose to work with the Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Florida MEP) because we liked how they train our own people on the different concepts, then coach them through an implementation process.”

John Bankey and the Florida MEP team facilitated a Lean manufacturing training for 20 Integrated Metal employees.

“We demonstrated how Value Stream Mapping is an important tool in managing product and information flow. The team was able to come up with a well-organized plant layout based on this,” said Bankey. “We also trained them on Kaizen events, and 5-S implementation in the new plant. We worked on improving the flow and storage of components to improve customer delivery. In addition, we created a “pull” schedule from welding operations and developed visual indicators to monitor flow.”

“I believe the most dramatic improvement has been the 5-S plant makeover,” added Albritton. “It simply enabled the people in every department to use their creativity to design, plan, implement and maintain what we feel is one of the best operations within our industry in Florida.”

Results from Florida MEP’s training include a 25 percent increase in productivity and improved delivery times by 33 percent. Sales have almost doubled in the past year.

“The training John and the Florida MEP team provided has positioned us very well to face the current economic challenges in 2009,” added Albritton. “No one knows our business better than our own people, and Florida MEP gave us the tools to leverage that knowledge.”

The Florida MEP is an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the U.S. Department of Commerce. The national MEP is a network of manufacturing extension centers that provide business and technical assistance to smaller manufacturers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Through MEP, manufacturers have access to more than 2000 manufacturing and business “coaches” whose job is to help firms make changes that lead to greater productivity, increased profits, and enhanced global competitiveness. For more information on the Florida MEP program call 321-939-4000.

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