Manufacturer Achieves Critical Component of Its Strategic Plan through Training

ABOUT (Company profile)

Synray Corporation, a privately held chemical manufacturer, offers an extensive product line as well as uses its diverse manufacturing capacity to toll* produce products to meet exacting standards and confidentiality for other companies.  The thirty employee company, which was established in 1981, manufactures alkyd resins, polyesters and chemical specialties for deck paint, floor finishes and various coating as well as traffic paint.

As a result of its ongoing R & D, as well as the advanced synthesis lab, Synray is well positioned to meet future demands of the paint and coating industries.

THE CHALLENGE (Situation)

Increasing production output was essential to Synray’s growth as a company and for the expansion of its workforce. Achieving this was a critical component of the company’s strategic plan. The company needed to develop the necessary employee skills to support its objectives.

Synray wanted to continue to reduce its cycle time for customer delivery and implement the skills they acquired as a result of the LEAN training they had done with New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Inc. (NJMEP).  The company also wanted to implement training regarding the importance of safety in operations and the utilization of problem solving techniques at the operator level as well as improving the skills of chemical operators, and batch makers. Improving the supervisory skills of first line and above supervisors or lead personnel who have never received formal training in this area was also a top priority.

This new round of training would allow the company to become more competitive, and increase their sales by being able to offer better pricing or quicker turnaround times to its key customers who are in the high technology sector and need local suppliers in their supply chain.

MEP’S ROLE (Solution)

Peter Tepperman, CEO of Synray, explained, “The last time we worked with NJMEP was a wonderful experience for us. We received positive feedback from our staff. We implemented a number of changes and saw improvement. Employee morale is up so when we wanted to tackle this round of improvements we naturally worked with NJMEP again.”

Working closely with Synray, NJMEP developed a one year training plan to achieve the company’s objectives.  NJMEP also assisted in the application for and management of a Skills4Jersey grants which would save them considerably on training costs.

Over the course of the year, NJMEP conducted Lean, Leadership and Project Management training as well as Process Safety training for the company’s thirty employees.

RESULTS (Results)

When completing the independently conducted NIST Survey on the impact of the project 6-12 months after its completion, Mr. Tepperman reported:

• $250,000 in increased sales
• An overall cost saving of $250,000, with $27,600 specifically in training costs as a result of the dollars invested by New Jersey.
• Invested $250,000 in new processes and products
• Invested $60,000 in the company workforce with $28,200 being matching dollars for Skills4Jersey grant

Mr. Tepperman explained, “The training program has been critical in increasing our production output to meet the growing demand for our products. Initially it was difficult to get and maintain employee involvement however as the program developed employees participated with more cooperation and enthusiasm.”  He then added, “NJMEP did an outstanding job in supplying qualified and knowledgeable instructors that aided us, not only with their classroom capabilities, but also in the transition from classroom to implementation in our manufacturing operation.”

*An arrangement in which a company (which has specialized equipment) processes raw materials or semi-finished goods for another company. This is also called toll processing.  BusinessDictionary.com