Therm-o-link Inc. produces wire and cable products for the automotive, marine, construction and appliance industries. They specialize in PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and XLPE (crosslink polyethylene) insulated wire. The 104,000 Sq. foot facility in El Paso, Texas employs 69 skilled workers—all of which recently participated in the first phase of a Lean Transformation initiative.
According to Troy Johnson, Vice President, Operations, the company name was created because years ago the company founder wanted his firm to “grow like a Texas weed,” so he told his first customer “make the check out to Weed Instrument.” Forty years later Weed Instrument has grown to provide a complex and diverse product line of highly engineered temperature sensing, fiber optic networking and nuclear qualified instrumentation.
Dunn Heat Exchangers, Since 1968, Dunn Heat Exchangers has been a leader in cleaning, repair, fabrication, design and testing of shell and tube heat exchangers and pressure vessels.
Dunn Heat realized that in order to be more competitive and to offer premier customer service, they needed to make some changes. They were experiencing a growth in sales, but production errors and bottlenecks resulted in significant amounts of wasted time and effort.
Humanetics is a world recognized manufacturer for a diverse group of industries including: cellular, telecom, satellite, communications, banking, printing, power supply, postal automation, airport automation, semi-conductor, ATM, defense, aerospace, computer, medical, and many others. Humanetics' South Texas facility was opened in November of 2003 in the city of McAllen, TX. This 100,000 sq. ft. facility has the capability to service all the metal fabrication needs of companies in this area.
For the past 75 years, the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind (SALB), a non-profit organization, has become San Antonio’s icon for training and educating both the blind and severally visually impaired, in addition to being a leader in manufacturing for the military and government agencies.
Westech Seal manufactures mechanical seals in Odessa,Texas. They experienced substantial growth over 14 years and wanted to implement new ideas to accommodate future expansion.
In particular, Westech Seal wanted to install a computerized production scheduling system, introduce new production processes, and incorporate lean manufacturing into all phases of their operations.
Carter BloodCare (CBC) is Texas’ largest blood center, providing more than 300,000 units of lifesaving blood components for patients annually. Their 16 acre main facility in Bedford, Texas is equipped to store, components locally before distribution to over 250 Texas health care organizations.
How did Carter BloodCare achieve process savings, cost avoidance, increase productivity, and create a more useful, efficient work space? They embraced a methodology that has been used in the highly competitive manufacturing industry for decades: By deploying Lean initiatives.
Garrett Metal Detectors, the Garland, Texas, based manufacturer of security and hobby related metal detectors responded quickly and effectively to mounting orders for walk through and hand held detectors that spawned from the 2001 terrorist attacks. The Company’s ability to successfully meet the demands of their customers came, in part, through the training and project assistance they received from the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC).
UEMC, Inc. is a woman owned, government contractor in San Antonio Texas. For 50 years, they have produced a host of products for commercial and military customers. Their 103,000 sq. ft facility employees 235 that specialize in contract sewing, fabric spreading, dye cutting, screen printing, and military packaging.