CLIENT SUCCESS: Gar-Kenyon Technologies
Naugatuck, Connecticut
25 Employees
Company Profile
Gar-Kenyon
Technologies, 2009 Manufacturer of the Year, has over 50 years
of experience designing and manufacturing precision engineered
hydraulic and pneumatic actuators, restrictors, shuttle valves,
check valves, flow fuses, breaking devices and other components for
the commercial and military aviation industries.
The family owned business is a long-term supplier to companies including Cessna, Bombardier/Learjet, Lockheed-Martin, Gulfstream, and Bell Helicopter. Their parts can be found in every kind of airplane made today.
It wasn't always as successful as it has become today. Started in 1954 as Gar-Precision Products, it was later sold to the New Haven Manufacturing Company and then fell into bankruptcy in the 1990's. In 2003 Steve Fournier, President and CEO, bought the company and moved it to Naugatuck, Connecticut. Steve, a former partner in a major accounting firm, knew little about manufacturing when he bought the company, but he knew a lot about how to turn a company around.
Soon after he acquired Gar-Kenyon, Steve purchased a 44,000 square foot facility and began transforming the company into a Lean, customer-focused business. He recruited talented engineering and manufacturing personnel and made investments in technology and equipment.
From the start, Steve made a serious commitment to continuous improvement. One of his earliest moves was to join the Supplier Excellence Alliance (SEA), a nationwide group of aerospace and defense suppliers who are dedicated to distinguishing themselves by accelerating their improvement effort. Gar-Kenyon is one of nine SEA companies based in Connecticut. In addition to supporting Steve's commitment to excellence, SEA has given Gar-Kenyon, a small manufacturer with twenty-five (25) employees, visibility with the larger companies.
Situation
By 2007 Gar-Kenyon was beginning to grow, but was also
experiencing growing pains. The biggest problem was on-time
customer delivery. It was only 50% because the CNC shop was not as
productive as it needed to be and because the company's suppliers
were not performing well. The average part velocity was too low and
overtime hours were high.
Steve's first experience with CONNSTEP, a Connecticut certified SEA Consultant, was when he brought them in to get the company AS9100 Certified. CONNSTEP's Charles Weiss helped Gar-Kenyon achieve this certification so when Steve needed help with Strategic Planning and Lean deployment, he turned once again to CONNSTEP. Charles Weiss referred Steve to Ray Snyder who then sent in CONNSTEP's John McCarroll.
Solution
CONNSTEP's John McCarroll helped Gar-Kenyon accomplish an
enterprise-wide Lean transformation. John began with an intensive
three day strategic planning session with senior management. Then
with the vision of operational excellence in place, John continued
working with the company to build Lean into the business strategy
and to identify the Lean tools that fit.
The outcome of the strategic planning workshop was a set of short, medium and long term strategies for continuous improvement. Management conducted customer feedback surveys and set the schedule of continuous improvement activities.
Gar-Kenyon's goal for 2008 was to double the output of the machine shop without adding new employees. CONNSTEP worked with the company to identify and implement the tools that would help them attain this goal. They performed Kaizen and focused their efforts on machine shop productivity, on-time delivery, average part velocity, and improving their supplier contracts.
Results
The upshot of Gar-Kenyon's enterprise wide transformation
from 2007-2008 were the following:
On-time delivery improved by 30% and
continues to improve;
Average part velocity increased by 99%;
Savings on set-up time by moving the
machine to the lathe area;
Improved machine up-time 30% by
instituting a scheduling board with daily board meetings to keep
priorities focused;
Reduced purchasing on outside machine
parts by $200,000; and
Reduced overtime
Gar-Kenyon was a finalist in the 2009 SEA Awards for "Most Improved Using SEA Metrics," with criteria including inventory turns, revenue per employee, on-time delivery and defects per million opportunities.
Sales increased in 2009 over 2008 and bookings are up substantially in 2010. Since Steve revitalized the company, Gar-Kenyon's revenues have increased by almost 60%.
CONNSTEP has been working with Gar-Kenyon for about three years and continues to work with the company, as Steve invites CONNSTEP back each year to assist with a tune-up to their strategic plan.
Next Steps
In addition to implementing continuous improvement
strategies, the company will focus next on workforce development
including standardized work and instructions. The company's goal is
to develop ten new products each year and to continue growing.