Background
PAC Strapping Products (PAC), located in Exton, PA is a full service manufacturer and supplier of plastic strapping, steel strapping, strapping machines, strapping tools and accessories. The company’s strapping equipment and systems are designed for a multitude of applications and industries.
Situation
The plastic strapping accessory products PAC Strapping manufactures are traditionally sold a la carte. However, an initial pre-packaged, kit product they developed proved to be profitable due to the savings it provided to PAC’s customers. Frank DiSilvestro, PAC’s Director of Production Operations and Logistics, spotted an opportunity; while the kitting product had the potential grow sales and increase assembly efficiency, there was no dedicated team or structure to help facilitate the growth of this product.
Solution
DiSilvestro was able to apply the Lean Manufacturing techniques he learned from DVIRC’s experts to successfully support expanding and developing the new Kitting Department to upper management. Additionally, his Six Sigma Green Belt training proved critical in the execution of the project.
DiSilvestro used value stream mapping, which he learned through his training with DVIRC, to illustrate, analyze, and improve the steps required to deliver kitting product. Additionally, he was able to apply the Toyota way of thinking, and go through a mapped out kaizen event to streamline waste out of process. These tools helped DiSilvestro to streamline the assembly stations for the kit product by reorganizing the office floorplan to accommodate the new department. DiSilvestro modeled the physical kitting setup after one he’d seen at a medical devices assembly firm while participating in a plant tour, which was part of his Lean training with DVIRC. Finally, he developed key reporting and tracking tools and best practices to measure KPIs and department statistics.
The training I received from DVIRC paid off. We utilized a variety of Lean manufacturing principles, such as 5S. We had very confined spaces, so it was important to have a place for everything and that it could be sustained. During Six Sigma, we learned how to analyze and collect the data in a way that I could maintain my processes indefinitely. This has helped us identify customer pain points and bottlenecks in our processes. It helped us grow our service division tremendously.
Frank DiSilvestro, Director of Production Operations and Logistics, PAC Strapping
Results
With DVIRC’s support, PAC Strapping accomplished the following:
- 146% increase in sales year over year for kit products
- More than 22,000 kits sold in two years
- $2 million in kit sales in 2021
- 144% increase in revenue across all kit products
Contact us to discuss to find out how DVIRC can help develop, sustain, or explore growth opportunities through Continuous Improvement training, Lean training, or Six Sigma for your company.