Home | About Florida MEP | Upcoming Events | Success Stories | Partners & Resources | News | Board of Directors Contact Us | Enterprise Transformation | Performance Based Training | Supply Chain Management | Innovation Pelican Wire Naples, FL - Recently, Pelican Wire Company, Inc. (Pelican Wire) a small manufacturer in Naples moved all of its operations from four locations, into one centralized building. When planning for the move, management at the company that manufactures custom insulated wire for a number of applications including use in military helicopters realized that consolidating everything under one roof would be sort of like moving four different people and all of their belongings into one apartment. Where others may see a problem, Pelican Wire officials saw an opportunity to reassess how they conducted their manufacturing processes and look at ways to streamline operations while improving sales and saving money. To help identify areas to make changes and provide the necessary training to produce positive results, Pelican Wire called on the Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) to help implement Time Wise Principles of Lean Manufacturing. Working with staff and management, project managers for the Florida MEP facilitated a Time Wise Value Stream Management System (VSMS) session which literally mapped the flow of work from beginning to end of production line of a product for one of Pelican’s main customers. "We chose this particular area because the product had to go through most of the manufacturing steps that their products typically take," said Ferguson. "Using VSMS we identified about a half dozen areas where we could make changes, eliminate steps and improve productivity and quality." "Implementing Lean Manufacturing has contributed to sales retention, a $500,000 sales increase, cost savings of more than $200,000, and an addition of 14 new employees," said Bob Ferris, Pelican Wire manager of operations. "The work we did with the Florida MEP also helped us adapt to these changes. Sometimes when you add staff and increase the workload you have an issue meeting demand. Thanks to the Lean Manufacturing and hard work of our employees we haven’t had those issues." 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 1-800-MEP-4MFG.