Ulbrich Precision Flat Wire
Westminster, South Carolina

THE OVERVIEW
Ulbrich Precision Flat Wire is a division of Ulbrich Corporation, which is headquartered in North Haven, CT, with facilities nationwide and in Canada, Mexico, and Ireland. Beginning in 1924, the company has transformed its manufacturing capabilities to reflect the times. Beginning as a scrap metal reselling business, over the years it moved to producing stainless steel cutlery, became a metal supplier for the aerospace industry, and then moved to creating precision strip metal from a variety of metals. It is a privately and family-owned business in its third generation of leadership. Currently, Ulbrich Precision Flat Wire creates flat wire for solar panels and medical devices, among other applications. Its precision wires are used in many different applications, including solar panels, medical devices, textile weaving accessories, capacitors, batteries and band saws. It has customers throughout North America, and also does a significant amount of export business.

THE CHALLENGE
Ed Treglia, division manager, was faced with a rapidly growing business that became harder and harder to manage. He needed to respond quicker to customers and understand customers’ needs more intimately.

THE SOLUTION
Treglia contacted Andy Carr, manufacturing specialist with SCMEP, who first performed a Competitiveness Review.  From there, he developed the idea of dividing the facility into “focused factories.” Each focused factory manufactures products for a specific application and is supervised by a separate manager. The facility was divided into four focused factories - medical, solar, diversified, and steel.

SCMEP was able to help Ulbrich cut consulting costs by taking advantage of grant funds from the Defense Economic Transition Assistance (DETA) program managed by the Small Business Development Center. DETA assists companies in adjusting to economic downturns caused by defense changes, base closures, global competition, and shrinking markets.

The first order of business was to begin training the facility’s 140 employees in lean manufacturing techniques. In fact, the entire solar focused factory will complete training of all its employees in 2005.

Next, Dwayne Robinson, SCMEP manufacturing specialist, led the medical focused factory employees in a 5s event, which lasted three days. Robinson had all employees go through the entire area to organize it and eliminate everything unnecessary to the process.

THE IMPACT
The 5s implementation in the medical focused factory led to improved workflow and a more organized space, according to Treglia. Routing of orders and paperwork is completed in a different, and better, fashion. “Our throughput remained the same, but work-in-process is better organized and we have less inventory,” said Treglia. “We saved time and we saved steps.”

The diversified focused factory employees - in the process of going through lean training - have been able to pull out unnecessary equipment and send it to the solar focused factory where it is most needed. The flow of that area was reorganized and streamlined.

“SCMEP was good for us, and they definitely brought a lot to the table with the latest training techniques. We’re so wrapped up in our industry, it’s good to have an outside view,” said Treglia.