Arizona MEP: Arizona Manufacturing Extension Partnership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 11, 2005

For more information please contact:
John Little
Director of Operations
Tel: 480-874-9100

YESCO Signs on With Arizona MEP for Quality Improvement
Lean Implementation Speeds Up Production and Deliveries at Company's Chandler Division
Chandler, AZ - Known for it’s larger-than-life neon signs like “Vegas Vic” a 75 foot tall neon cowboy who stands over the Las Vegas strip, the Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) is a national leader in the sign making industry. And with the help of the Arizona Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Arizona MEP), YESCO's Chandler division is lighting the way for internal improvement and quality upgrades.

Producing thousands of signs a year, the 85 year old company is constantly looking for ways to hold on to their slot as a leader in their industry and stay one step ahead of competition while providing the exceptional quality and service YESCO has become known for. In doing so, YESCO called upon the Arizona MEP to take a closer look at operations, specifically its Chandler division, which was not performing to its full potential and was struggling to meet customer deliveries on time.

The Arizona MEP helps small and medium sized manufacturers implement Lean Manufacturing (Lean) techniques. Lean utilizes simple but effective methods to identify wasteful processes, reduce inventories, clear shop floors and streamline production methods, all with a goal of decreasing costs and increasing productivity.

“We conducted Lean Training for key operations employees and brought awareness to areas where production flow could be improved both on the manufacturing floor and in the business office operations,” said David Johnson, Arizona MEP director of operations. “We used Lean techniques like Value Stream Mapping to assess the cycle time between each manufacturing step to find ways to make the most efficient use of time and then map out a new manufacturing process."

Paul Gullo, YESCO’s Chandler division manager said going through the Value Stream Mapping and other Lean techniques helped reduce the company’s customer order cycle time, bringing orders to the shop faster and increasing on time deliveries.

Gullo said overall productivity showed a jump of 34 percent within 30 days of the Lean training and the company has also freed up more than 2,400 square feet of production space that can now be put to other uses. Other operational changes included reducing by 250 feet the distance fabrication team members travel throughout the production process and moving the letter fabrication operation 150 feet closer to the loading dock.

“The results of the Arizona MEP training and education work done with our company have been everything we wanted,” said Gullo. “The Lean training is exceptional, enabling us to move forward quickly and make significant improvements. We're extremely confident that we now have the tools and processes in place to perform at the highest level.”

The Arizona MEP is an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the U.S. Department of Commerce. The national MEP is a network of manufacturing extension centers that provide business and technical assistance to smaller manufacturers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Through MEP, manufacturers have access to more than 2000 manufacturing and business “coaches” whose job is to help firms make changes that lead to greater productivity, increased profits, and enhanced global competitiveness. For more information on the Arizona MEP program call 480-874-9100.

-END-

####