One of the key elements on my American Lean Weekday podcast is the weekly interviews that I conduct with companies on their Lean Journey. These companies are from various industries and are all different sizes. I have interviewed leaders from family-owned businesses to multi-national organizations.
NeoTech in Longmont, Colorado is a contract manufacturer that primarily supports the Aerospace and Defense industry. NeoTech is the combination of Natel, EPIC Technologies added in 2013 and OnCore Manufacturing which was purchased in 2015. Locations include California, Nevada, Ohio, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Mexico, and China. The Longmont location has about 150 employees across multiple shifts.
These are some key points taken from my interview with the Business Unit Director at the Longmont, Colorado location, Jon Good.
- Starting in 2008 they made significant improvements, but they were unable to sustain their efforts because management wasn’t totally supportive. In 2018 they realized it was time to re-invigorate their Lean Transformation because of additional employees and the intense competitive nature of their industry.
- They now have management buy-in and have been on a consistent monthly basis for the last 2.5 years. The goal is to increase “ease of business and make the place easier to run,” according to Jon.
- Some of the initial struggles are people’s pre-conceived notions and time commitments.
- “We learned that it is easier to free up people using shorter, two-day events.”
- “Eliminating the count-back process saved the company $150,000 in the first year.”
- “Because we have many people involved in the events, I have seen some talents from employees I might not have seen before. If we get everybody involved, it spreads like wildfire.”
- “Make sure that you have management support and find a consultant that you can trust to keep you on track.”
To hear Jon’s interview please join us on the podcast at Americanlean.com episode five.
As always, it is an honor to serve you and I hope that you and your company are getting better every day!