Article Abstract:
Small Size, Big Business
General Casework Inc.
By Karen Koenig
Imagine a 13,000-square foot factory that is able to do 20 jobs simultaneously with only four employees. Imagine a company that is on track to break $2 million in annual sales after only being in business for two years. Imagine creating customer-specific products without making major changes to the production process.
Steven Johnson, President of General Casework, has made this a reality at his Colorado-based company by using highly productive technology in his cabinet manufacturing business. Automated machines and robots have helped General Casework to streamline its operation for maximum efficiency. The result is a higher quality product, produced in less time, and specifically tailored to meet customers’ high standards.
In this article, offered by Save Your Factory, you can see how automated machinery manufactures cabinets in less time and at lower costs than offshore operations that depend on low cost foreign labor. The General Casework factory is almost completely automated, including material handling equipment, packaging systems, and piece identification. At General Casework, when a job is put into production, the standard turnaround time is only four days, and, on average, 15 to 20 jobs are in progress during the course of the day. “Our consistency in price, quality and lead times — that’s what gets us the repeat business,” says Johnson.
At General Casework, “everything is made to order to the customer’s specification, not off-the-shelf,” Johnson says. The reason is because automation and industrial robotics can make the production line more efficient and flexible. The material handling equipment, for example, can easily change its operation without delaying production. This allows greater flexibility in what can be created and how quickly General Casework can respond to market demands.
Save Your Factory applauds General Casework’s success as a shining example of how lean manufacturing practices and robotic automation can streamline production processes to make North American factories more competitive against foreign companies who rely on low cost labor. Johnson’s business plan demonstrates that there is a genuine alternative to offshoring that will make companies more economically viable compared to moving operations overseas.
Johnson’s next step is to add another robot to his production process. “The robot will be able to scan the bar code, pick up the parts and place them on the [various] machines — without human intervention. It’s how we can grow, without adding a lot of people” he reports. To learn more about General Casework’s business model or to read other articles on robotic automation, click here.
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