Die Manufacturer
SITUATION
Diversified, private holding company needed help to reduce excessive operating costs of its die manufacturing company.
DRIVER GOAL
- Achieve 5% EBIT run rate in the North American business within nine months.*
RESULT
- Reduced staffing levels by 25% through plant consolidation and increased efficiency.
- Reduced returns by 98%.
- Reduced die change time by 60%.
Case Study
Re-Cast Operation to Deliver Sustainable Profit Increases
An analysis of the operation determined that the leadership defined Driver Goal would not be possible to achieve within nine months, as requested.* However, the client decided to proceed and seek the benefits that could be achieved within nine months.
Issue
The President and CEO of a diversified, private holding company, active in aluminum, automotive finishing systems, air-conditioning equipment and adhesives, engaged The Highland Group to help reduce excessive operating costs of its die manufacturing company.
Highland Approach
An analysis of the operation determined that the leadership defined Driver Goal would not be possible to achieve within nine months, as requested.* However, the client decided to proceed and seek the benefits that could be achieved within nine months. Partnering with client teams, The Highland Group implemented a System For Managing the shop floor. The new processes streamlined production and trained personnel one-on-one in “day in the life” execution of the optimized operation.
Actions Taken
- Provided operators with clear expectations, checklists for machine operation, best practices, and frequent supervisor support to ensure success.
- Focused cross-functional resources (Inspection, Maintenance, Tool Room, Scheduling) to support daily execution of the schedule (right quality + right product + right time = right cost).
- Stabilized the core production process to realize near-term benefits and create a foundation for advanced solutions.
- Optimized project investment by prioritizing improvements in areas that directly improve downtime, scrap and rework in the near-term with minimal capital investment.
