TAWAS PLATING COMPANY: Follow the Leader With ‘Leadership in Action’
MMTC is a vital partner to our competitiveness. They have helped us boost productivity well over 15% gain over a $300,000 in new sales, and map out our strategic path to gain even greater success. We couldn’t do it without them!
-- Kevin Jungquist, President-Tawas Plating Company & Tawas Powder Coating
Tawas Plating Company and Tawas Powder Coating, Inc. (TPC-www.tawasplating.com) opened their doors in 1954. TPC provides the automotive, medical, heavy equipment and other industries with zinc electroplating, nickel electroless plating, and powder coating services. Located in Tawas City, MI, TPC currently employs over 40 employees.
Challenge
After the Great Recession, Tawas Plating knew they had to make some changes. The TPC staff worked with the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC) to identify new markets to diversify into. TPC was successful at accessing the heavy equipment and medical industries. So far, TPC has diversified over 10% of its revenues to nonautomotive customers, and that diversification continues to grow.
Solution
In an effort to gain a better understanding of their company’s strengths and weaknesses, TPC executives Kevin Jungquist and Brian Plawecki partnered with MMTC to go through the Leadership in Action (LIA) Workshop. The LIA Workshop consists of an on-site 2-day assessment and a 3-day executive workshop. The on-site assessment analyzes all facets of the organization and includes a workforce engagement survey. The findings from the assessment and workforce engagement survey identified areas where an investment in time, effort, and money would have exceptional returns.
After the on-site assessment, TPC used the time spent in the 3-day executive Leadership in Action workshop to build a strategic action plan, addressing the areas identified for improvement as well as tactics to leverage their strengths to achieve greater success. The workshop left the team energized, with clear objectives. The findings from Leadership in Action pushed TPC to employ MMTC to accelerate the changes. MMTC helped train TPC staff on elements of Lean manufacturing techniques and how to apply those techniques to their operations.
Results
- More Than $300,000 in New Sales
- Named One of the “Michigan 50 Companies To Watch” in 2015
- Access to Two New Markets
- Improved Productivity by 15%