Lebanon Gasket
Lebanon Gasket Company | October 24
2012
| | Creating a Lean Enterprise |
CREATING A LEAN ENTERPRISE:
THE CASE OF THE LEBANON GASKET COMPANY
I. Summary of facts * Lebanon Gasket Company’s Topeka, Kansas Facility began operation in 1979. * The company had operated in using mass production. * In January of 2004 LGC had about 109 employees. * The LGC Topeka plant relies on two main manufacturing processes – injection molding and extrusion molding. * The injection molding process has three main product families- OS1, TX4 and KC13, more than 100 product models are produced across these three product families. * The extrusion molding process has two main product families-LX22 and KB8, more than 75 product models are produced across these product families. * LGC hired Tom Walsh as the plant manager of its Topeka Facility in January of 2004. * Tom Walsh has 20 years of experience as a manufacturing engineer; his knowledge in accounting is very limited. * Walsh’s job at LGC was to turn around the plant that had been suffering from declining profits and margins, excessive waste and inventory levels, unsatisfactory on-time customer delivery performance, and shrinking market share * The plan to achieve this was to focus on one core strategy, “Operational Excellence”, by focusing on a lean production strategy. * 18 months later the LGC, with Walsh and his co-workers had accomplished many goals related to the plans lean transition. * Implementing the lean approach dramatically changed the goal of the Topeka plant’s manufacturing processes and the routings for all of its products. Previously, the goal of the plant’s mass production process was to achieve the lowest possible cost per unit by maximizing employee and equipment productivity. * Even after a successful transition in the plant’s production strategy, the profits continued to decline. * The Financial and
2012
| | Creating a Lean Enterprise |
CREATING A LEAN ENTERPRISE:
THE CASE OF THE LEBANON GASKET COMPANY
I. Summary of facts * Lebanon Gasket Company’s Topeka, Kansas Facility began operation in 1979. * The company had operated in using mass production. * In January of 2004 LGC had about 109 employees. * The LGC Topeka plant relies on two main manufacturing processes – injection molding and extrusion molding. * The injection molding process has three main product families- OS1, TX4 and KC13, more than 100 product models are produced across these three product families. * The extrusion molding process has two main product families-LX22 and KB8, more than 75 product models are produced across these product families. * LGC hired Tom Walsh as the plant manager of its Topeka Facility in January of 2004. * Tom Walsh has 20 years of experience as a manufacturing engineer; his knowledge in accounting is very limited. * Walsh’s job at LGC was to turn around the plant that had been suffering from declining profits and margins, excessive waste and inventory levels, unsatisfactory on-time customer delivery performance, and shrinking market share * The plan to achieve this was to focus on one core strategy, “Operational Excellence”, by focusing on a lean production strategy. * 18 months later the LGC, with Walsh and his co-workers had accomplished many goals related to the plans lean transition. * Implementing the lean approach dramatically changed the goal of the Topeka plant’s manufacturing processes and the routings for all of its products. Previously, the goal of the plant’s mass production process was to achieve the lowest possible cost per unit by maximizing employee and equipment productivity. * Even after a successful transition in the plant’s production strategy, the profits continued to decline. * The Financial and