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Service Areas | Lean Manufacturing
Henry Troemner Improves Productivity and Reduces Costs Through Lean and
Cellular Manufacturing
Henry Troemner founded Henry Troemner LLC, of Thorofare, New Jersey, in 1840. Their first products were weight balances. Today they are one of the world’s leading suppliers of precision weights and mass standards, and their commercial metrology laboratory offers comprehensive weight calibration and certification services. They currently employ 120 people, with $14 million in annual sales.
Henry Troemner was introduced to New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Inc. (NJMEP) by Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC), both National Institute of Standards and Technology Affiliates, upon their relocation from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. They indicated to an NJMEP Field Agent, Bucky Wellman, that they were interested in improving productivity and lowering their costs.
Over the course of a year, Bucky Wellman managed and facilitated 11 projects at Henry Troemner. Five Lean Manufacturing Workshops with Live Simulation projects and six Cellular/Flow Manufacturing projects were implemented at their facility with their manufacturing, office and management personnel, to assist Henry Troemner in achieving their goal. A total of 100 employees and five suppliers participated in this Lean Manufacturing program. Tim Swanson of TSG Associates, and an expert in Lean Manufacturing, implemented the program.
Savings have been realized as of July 2001. By applying the Lean and Cellular Manufacturing techniques, Henry Troemner reduced their costs by 20% and improved productivity by 20% in the departments that have been addressed so far. In addition, they have saved $75,000 on labor costs and reduced their lead-time by 50% from four weeks to two weeks. As a result, they are able to meet customer needs more quickly and maintain a competitive advantage in their industry. The company’s profitability grew and they “found capacity” to grow their business. John Rowley, Henry Troemner Vice President of Operations, stated, “Without NJMEP input we wouldn’t be where we are today.” Additional savings are anticipated.
“Our biggest gain has been from the training investment we made in our employees. It is hard to keep up with them now. Raising the bar on them has caused their expectation of management to go up,” explains Rowley.
NJMEP is continuing to work with Henry Troemner on other projects. To keep the positive momentum going, NJMEP is providing consulting support for Cellular Implementation as well as a New Product Design Project. The next step, then, will be to work with Henry Troemner’s Supply Chain. Rowley stated, “It has been a pleasure to work with NJMEP to identify opportunities within our organization for improvement. We have introduced and recommended them to our supply chain.”
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