State Industrial Products Corp. had opened what was to be its flagship manufacturing facility in 2009, but as the months passed, it just wasn’t being used like it could be. Under the leadership of CEO Hal Uhrman and Eric Kowalewski, the chemical manufacturing company’s vice president of operations, that was about to change.
The infrastructure was in place to grow and take advantage of all that the facility offered. With that and the vision, determination and guidance of Kowalewski, a new division was formed called State Contract Manufacturing. The goal of this division was to apply the lean principles and platforms that were in place and put them toward new ventures for contract manufacturing.
The effort paid off as a very large contract was secured with a major chemical company to manufacture industrial-grade floor wax. The key to making this happen was State’s ability to achieve efficiencies that would allow chemicals to be processed at greater speeds.
Work and material handling needed to be minimized in order to reach this ambitious goal. A capital investment was made that allowed for the design and construction of a floor wax focus factory where all aspects of this new operation could be centrally located.
A new customized computer system was developed to streamline the mixing process and an effort was made to create efficiency in the packaging and delivery processes, as well.
The new client and resulting volume has changed the manufacturing landscape at State Industrial Products. The floor wax focus factory increased annual manufacturing tonnage from 14 million pounds to 130 million pounds.
It’s just one of the areas where State has made great strides in the way it does business. Company leaders expect more of the same as the focus remains centered on continual improvement.
How to reach: State Industrial Products Corp, (216) 374-6320 or www.stateindustrial.com
