NEW CENTER STAMPING: Investing in Employees to Improve Production
The Center is considered our #1 training partner. They truly are a one-stop shop. By hosting classes for our supervisors, quality personnel, manufacturing engineering and supply chain, we ensure everyone reaches our goal of 40-80 hours of training for each employee every year. The catalog of courses is comprehensive, and the instructional value of The Center’s team is second to none. In addition, their flexibility and accommodations are excellent for a busy manufacturer where change is constant. The facilities, staff and location make it easy to use The Center for 90% of our training needs.
-- Tom Aepelbacher, President and CEO
New Center Stamping (www.newcenter.net), located in Detroit, Mich., employs 200 team members in their 320,000 square foot facility and 27 acres of land. They are a premier supplier of medium- to large-size Class “A” metal stamped components and welded assemblies for the automotive and transportation industries. Their large presses, combined with their complex assembly weld and surface finishing cells, produce nearly 250,000 parts per year.
Challenge
New Center Stamping (NCS) has been a longtime client of the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (The Center), sending team members to various courses throughout the years for skills training. During the COVID-19 pandemic, NCS was impacted greatly. Many of their long-term employees did not return, taking their knowledge with them, and attracting new talent was a significant issue. NCS needed to find a solution for attracting and retaining new hires. As a firm believer in the importance of professional development, investing in their team members was a great place to start.
Solution
New Center Stamping reached out to The Center to assist in developing a workforce solution. The Center’s experts worked with NCS to identify the essential skills lost due to COVID-19 turnover. The focus was initially placed on bridging the quality knowledge gap for two reasons:
1. The Center wanted to ensure NCS did not lose their IATF certification. Without this quality certification, NCS would put most of their sales at risk.
2. Growth opportunities. NCS was working on securing business from a new client, which required their team to understand and follow the new AIAG-VDA FMEA process.
New Center Stamping sent several employees to various classes at The Center, including Core Tools, AIAG-VDA Process FMEA for Practitioners and IATF Internal Auditor. In addition to quality training, NCS employees attended The Center’s Supervisor Skills courses, which led to increased employee engagement and input. Their participation in Lean and Six Sigma yellow belt classes also proved to be valuable. Thanks to The Center’s training and New Center Stamping’s commitment, they were able to retain their certification, strengthen their workforce and increase production.
Results
- Full-time equivalent employees increased by 25%
- Retained Sales: 13%
- New Sales: 5%
- Improved productivity by 10% in 2022 vs. 2021