| The Company
Kenmore Envelope Company, Inc. was founded in 1969 and currently
employs 90 workers at its Richmond, Virginia site. Kenmore converts
large, medium and small envelopes from all papers, with special
windows. They offer large format offset sheet fed, jet press and
enhanced flexo printing. Capabilities include digital pre-press,
die cutting and folding.
The Situation
At the time Kenmore Envelope (KE) was located in two separate buildings,
which were causing some logistical headaches. Traffic between the
two sites resulted in excessive material handling and manual transportation
of product and information. This multi-facility arrangement also
created a host of other issues including supervision, safety and
group dynamics. In order to address logistical issues, KE was in
the process of purchasing another larger facility for the consolidation
of operations. GENEDGE ALLIANCE’s assistance was requested
for laying out the manufacturing areas of the new facility.
The Response
GENEDGE ALLIANCE project manager Mark Oakes worked with KE's management
transition team to develop a layout that would be efficient and
lead to productivity improvements. The project included:
- Data gathering on machine dimensions, utility
requirements, and material storage requirements.
- Developing a relationship diagram highlighting
process and equipment placement requirements.
- Development of AutoCAD drawing(s) of alternatives
as developed by the team.
- Assisting the team with “marking the floor”
for equipment placement.
The Results
The final layout resulted in much better material flow than the
old two facility arrangement. Materials can now be easily moved
through the manufacturing process without the extra product wrapping
and non value adding steps previously required. The labor savings
alone were in excess of $5,000 per year. The new factory has much
better lines of communication and shorter feed back loops to serial
process steps. Additional benefits were garnered by locating into
a modern energy efficient building with improved scrap paper baling
facilities.
Management’s Comments
"By working with GENEDGE ALLIANCE's Mark Oakes and the relationship
chart he was able to provide, the needs of all departments were
addressed and the machinery layout and workflow issues resolved
for all of the outside contractors we used." – Rhett
Riddle, President
View their site! http://kenmore-envelope.com/ |
