Hamilton Caster
Industry
Manufacturing
Size
75 Employees
Expertise
Operational Improvement & Lean Six Sigma
Assignment
Hamilton Caster is a 102-year-old family-owned manufacturer of high quality, heavy-duty industrial casters. Similar to many privately held companies, however, the Company was frequently missing customer deliveries. While having millions of dollars of inventory on hand, they were often missing one or two key components that prevented assembling the final product for delivery. MainStream was engaged to implement solutions to drive improved results.
Actions
MainStream worked with senior management and production personnel to implement operational improvement initiatives in the Company's administrative offices and on the production floor and adopt Lean practices throughout the entire Company. Hamilton's President, Dave Lippert, commented, "MainStream did not act in a manner as most consulting organizations do. MainStream helped us learn new processes but also showed us 'how to fish' by teaching the techniques to become self-sufficient."
Results
By the end of the engagement with MainStream, Hamilton not only began meeting its delivery requirements but also established a 'quick ship' program that further cemented their leadership role in the industry. Results included:
Improving customer satisfaction ratings by 80%
Reducing direct labor by 30%
Reducing inventory by 80% - saving $917k annually
*After implementing MainStream's recommended operational improvement and Lean initiatives throughout their operations, the Company won the prestigious Ohio Manufacturing Association Award