Revitalizing Old Industry with New Innovations

Anchor produces a full array of industrial, architectural, and specialty paints. From its centrally-based manufacturing plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Anchor distributes product directly to customers around the world. Now in its third generation of ownership, the 80-person company works to earn the trust of its residential, commercial, and industrial clients by consistently delivering quality, service, and value.

Anchor's Chief Operating Officer, Justin Meade, is a third-generation member of the company who understands the paint industry is more competitive than ever. Big box stores have come to dominate the residential market, and Anchor needed an innovative strategy to tap those markets. For guidance, Meade turned to the company’s trusted advisor at the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance, part of the MEP National network.

The Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance advisor worked with Anchor executives to map out a strategy for implementing a company-wide culture of continuous innovation and improvement. Meade toured other Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance clients that had undergone a cultural transformation, gaining a solid foundation from the real-world examples. Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance trained Anchor employees in the fundamentals of Lean Manufacturing, using several Kaizen improvement events, 5S workplace organization activities, and Training Within Industry (TWI) projects to reform the company’s production processes and increase output efficiency. The improvements generated cost savings and enabled Anchor to maintain its customizing ability for small projects while also filling large-volume orders.

Anchor increased its focus on industrial clients, creating a mechanism for the development of innovative products. The new products and services help meet a variety of customer demands from climates and conditions around the world. Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance brought in experts to increase Anchor’s online presence and its ability to interact with new and existing customers, as well as engineers to enhance the company’s testing labs and improve quality control. Anchor found new niches to stay competitive in current markets with products that excel in weather resistance, durability, color retention, gloss retention, stain resistance and other significant performance criteria. The company is both retaining and increasing sales, adding new, high-wage jobs to support the growth.