The Company
For over fifty years, Plastics One has served its customers with custom design and manufacturing of a full range of products and services including miniature connector and cable systems, insert and injection molding and tool and design engineering from their Roanoke facility. From improving upon existing hearing aid cords in the early 1950's to manufacturing cable assemblies used for medical diagnostics and treatment, Plastics One has continued to develop its ability to meet the myriad needs of its diverse customer base. Diversity is also a characteristic of its workforce. Approximately 200 employees representing many nationalities work in a time-sensitive, customer-oriented, quality-driven environment where training includes intricate hand operations used in the Connector and Cable Systems division and machine operations of 5 to 550 ton semi-automatic injection molding machines in the Custom Injection Molding division.

Currently, the Connector and Cable Systems (CCS) division has the most diverse product line - supplying the medical, audio, communications and control industries. By taking advantage of the on-site, state-of-the-art Tool Room and Design Engineering group, they offer their customers a complete package of part design, mold design, mold construction and mold maintenance. Component design with varied assembly techniques creates simple to complex inserts that are over molded with various molding materials to fit numerous applications. Further turnkey steps such as marking, packaging, and stocking provide a comprehensive service to their customers. In addition to full production runs, they are also able to provide small startup quantities based on the customer's individual needs, as well as maintain a number of molds that have declining, and often unplanned, demand.

Custom Injection Molding (CIM) produces a variety of products as well, from small inserts and gears to eye lens cases and fuel tanks for leaf blowers. The end use of these products requires a manufacturing process with high temperature, impact resistant molding materials as well as other engineered resins. Their experience with mold design and building and molding techniques allows them to accept existing molds from customers for production runs and to offer the same part design, mold design, mold construction and final product delivery as CCS. Small to large production runs are also possible.

Pre-Clinical (PCL) division provides what has evolved into in-vivo neuroscience research components. Researchers from pharmaceutical companies, universities and government agencies around the globe use their products and know Plastics One as the world’s leading source for these types of medical devices. The components include numerous designs and sizes of cannulas, multi-channel electrodes, osmotic pump connector cannulas, brain matrices, commutators, and cables. Most are standard and can be custom designed to fit their experiments.

The Situation
Plastics One has been interested in utilizing lean manufacturing techniques in its manufacturing operations for several years in order to reduce costs and increase profitability. In the past several years, GENEDGE ALLIANCE has provided six (6) workshops on the principles of lean manufacturing to company employees. These principles were adapted in a single work center with very good results. However, Plastics One management noted that continued improvements in the manufacturing operations began to wane. Senior management was anxious to continue the lean implementation process throughout the entire facility and permanently change the organization’s climate from traditional to lean manufacturing.

The Response
GENEDGE ALLIANCE project manager Steve Nattsas suggested that Plastics One increase its lean efforts in the Connector and Cables Systems manufacturing area to reduce work in process and lead-time. By using the CCS product line as the initial transformation focus, all personnel at Plastics One gained a first-hand view of how lean manufacturing can improve an organization.

The Results
A major result of the lean transformation in the Connector & Cable Systems division allowed Plastics One to sway a major customer’s desire to take their business to China. Because of their lean strategies, Plastics One reduced manufacturing costs, lead times, and improved product quality to a level that they were able to fully meet that customer's needs and spare them the cost of making an overseas investment. As a result, they retained all of their business here in America with sales retention of over $1.2 million.

The effort in Connector & Cable Systems has also paid off with:
Inventory reductions of $286,000.00 (15% reduction)
Labor cost savings of $63,731.00 (1% savings)
Sales increases of $400,000 (4% increase)
Sales retention of over $1.2 Million
Plant/Equipment investments of $400,000

Plastics One has also noted a marked increase in employee morale and performance as a result of focusing on lean manufacturing with this project. This successful and positive result led senior management to use GENEDGE ALLIANCE to implement lean manufacturing in the remaining departments of the plant.

Management’s Comments
David Wallenborn, President and CEO of Plastics One says, "GENEDGE ALLIANCE provided class room training first to bring the concept of lean to our employees. We then used an on-site consultant (Steve Nattsas) to help us implement our first cell and then guide us through the second. Once we got the hang of it we began doing our own value stream maps and setting up the process on our own with Steve's consultation. At the start, having Steve on-site and giving assignments for each return visit helped keep our initiative moving. Without Steve the transformation would have ground to a halt and not been successful. We found it key to have Steve available to help us keep moving."

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