JORDAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY: Best Practices and Lean Lead to New Growth
There is no way we could have reached this point without the help of The Center-West. While our company was eager to grow, help from The Center-West ensured that we were building on a solid foundation and not dramatically increasing waste as we scrambled to accommodate the increase in orders. We forecast milder growth in 2022, but we want to use this period to lock in our improvements and codify the new, efficient processes that we adopted over the last two years. With the help of Center-West we are confident we can do it.
-- Justin Johnson, President
Founded in 1949, Jordan Manufacturing Company (www.jordanmfg.com) is a third generation, family-owned business with three core capabilities: metal stamping and assembly; tool design, building and maintenance; and an ISO-certified facility. Each of these skills contribute to Jordan Manufacturing’s goal of satisfying customer requirements for quality, timeliness and value. In fulfilling those goals, they have built a business relationship that is personally rewarding for their employees and community. Located in Belding, Mich., they presently have 38 employees.
Challenge
In 2019, after several years of flat growth, Jordan Manufacturing started to reorganize the company to improve processes and increase the capacity for additional work. This new reorganization would lead to a marketing push to attract additional business from new and existing customers. Due to its involvement with the material handling/distribution business, Jordan Manufacturing saw a sharp increase in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through their relationship with the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center-West (The Center-West), Jordan Manufacturing was able to develop a leadership plan and hold a Kaizen that would allow for the company’s production needs while meeting the project goals.
Solution
With the results of the Kaizen event, and a new leadership team to implement them, Jordan Manufacturing worked with representatives from their shop floor management system to identify the best method to match new company processes with the best practices of the software. With a set of targeted solutions for production wastes, paired to new processes matched efficiently with their internal systems, Jordan Manufacturing saw an almost immediate improvement. Year-on-year sales grew almost 300% as customers shifted work to vendors who could demonstrate capacity for growth. Furthermore, on-time-delivery increased to 95% while parts per million fell dramatically. Customers have inquired about Jordan Manufacturing’s future growth plans and have expressed interest in bringing more work to them because of their performance over the challenging period of the pandemic.
Based on this new growth and the ability of the company to meet it, Jordan Manufacturing is currently planning to move into a new facility that is designed around the processes and results of our work with The Center-West.
Results
- Cost Savings: $300,000
- Increased Jobs: 15
- Retained Jobs: 20
- Increased Sales: $2,000,000
- Retained Sales: $8,000,000
- New Investment: $410,000