While some businesses saw an economic slowdown in the last year, Ipsen USA took advantage of rare downtime by completing several operational projects focused on continuous improvement.
The initiative resulted in a nearly 20 percent increase in floor capacity for new furnace builds during what could be a record-setting year for Ipsen’s Vacuum Technology Excellence Center.
“We adjusted operations to not only benefit our shop workers, but also our customers through more efficient production processes,” said Ipsen USA President and CEO Patrick McKenna. “With the anticipated production spike, we will need the extra space and productivity in the coming months.”
The projects were conceived with one goal in mind — operational excellence. Inspired by lean manufacturing techniques, the projects included:
- Analyzing, organizing, and adjusting stockroom inventory so that levels are true to demand.
- Improving workflows, and forming dedicated storage and staging for an electrical wiring cell.
- Redesigning the shop floor layout to streamline operations from receiving through final assembly.
Ipsen plans to increase available floor space beyond the additional 20 percent by the end of this year as more micro-projects are finished.
Ipsen is a global leader in heat-treatment solutions with more than 10,000 operating systems in 70 countries. Through its global excellence centers in vacuum and atmosphere technology, Ipsen continues to deliver innovations that advance thermal processing while helping customers achieve their goals. Focused on performance and quality, Ipsen supports commercial heat treaters and customers in many industries.
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