Apollo Metals Improves Customer Service and Costs with Kaizen

Company Profile
Apollo Metals located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania employs almost 125 people. The company produces chrome, nickel, brass, and copper plated steel, as well as a variety of pre-polished and non-ferrous metals. Its products are available in sheets, strips, or coils in a wide range of gauges and widths and are available in a variety of bright, satin, antique and embossed finishes. These pre-finished metals are specification plated to guarantee uniform thickness of finish and to meet customer requirements for mechanical strength, dimensional stability, temperature performance range, as well as chemical, wear and abrasion resistance. These metals have applications for a broad range of mass produced products including appliances, automotive, lighting fixtures, giftware, decorative hardware and product trim of all kinds.

The key to their customers maintaining high-quality products is the selection of the right base materials. From complex technological through highly decorative applications, Apollo Metals helps a customer do just that. It also offers slitting, polishing, special enamel coating, protective plastic covering, and specialized, strippable coverings as the end-use warrants. Apollo Metals helps companies tailor each product to their individual, specific need.

Situation
To maintain its competitive edge and increase its customer service, Apollo Metals sought to build on two of its strengths:

1. delivering the highest quality, precision products
      and

2. maintaining the highest level of customer service.

The company identified two areas that could use improvement - the coil slitting and office areas. In the coil slitting area, the goal was to reduce set-up time by 10 percent for each for two lines, which would reduce internal costs and definitely contribute to growing the company's market position as a cost-effective supplier. And, in the office area, the target was to reduce order-entry time which would improve customer information and customer service by shortening lead times. 

Solution
The company contacted Dick Donati, Lean Manufacturing Manager at the Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) to educate the staff on Lean Manufacturing. Next, Dick conducted Value Stream Mapping (VSM) sessions to identify the opportunities for improvements in each area, charting the current states and future states. And lastly, Dick conducted two Kaizen Events to determine how to execute the changes the VSMs surfaced - it requires the company to build some work tables, to reconfigure the workspace, and to redesign the whole order entry process.

Results
Although Apollo Metals set a 10 percent reduction goal for slitter 2 and slitter 3, the Kaizen results averaged 14 percent per line. In addition, the company set out to reduce walking time by 10 percent per line, but achieved an average reduction of 22 percent for line 2 and 13 percent for line 3. The Kaizen Event in the office area reduced order processing time from 6.5 days to one day. In addition, MRC helped establish standard procedures and roles to ensure that the changes continue in perpetuity even if staff or their roles change. 

Testimonial
"We will be implementing these changes and are looking forward to our improved ability to add to our already excellent customer service by shortening lead time, improving the customer's ability to get information in a timely fashion, and in maintaining our cost-competitiveness."

Remco Blaauw 
President