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MEP Success Stories from Arkansas

Bio-Tech Leadership Team Development Leads to Cost Savings

Reported Year
2025
Bio-Tech Pharmacal was transitioning to the second generation of ownership. Statistically, only 30% of family businesses survive into the second generation, 12% into the third, and just 3% into the fourth. On top of this, Bio-Tech wanted to increase employee retention.

Helena Industries Lab Sample Turnaround Cut by a Third Using Toyota Kata

Reported Year
2025
Helena Industries' West Helena, AR, plant sought to establish a culture of continuous improvement, empowering employees to apply scientific thinking as the basis for all continuous improvement. At the heart of their difficulties was the timely compilation of product batch tickets. Once batch tickets are sent to production, samples must be tested

KATA Assists Manufacturer in Breaking Down Silos and Boosting Sales

Reported Year
2025
During the closing of one of SMA's quarterly Strategic Planning meetings, Blant Hurt challenged the group to get all departments more focused on working together, eliminate silos, and pursue their own lean journeys. Interdepartmental silos create significant challenges within organizations by hindering communication, collaboration, and efficiency

Investing in Workforce Excellence Drives Continuous Improvement and Operational Success

Reported Year
2025
Green Bay Packaging required ISO 9001:2015 Internal Auditor Training to comply with international quality standards. Maintaining ISO 9001 certification is essential for the company, ensuring continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency. Regular employee attrition creates an ongoing need to train new internal auditors to

Driving Growth Through Innovation: Push Plastics' Journey to Success

Reported Year
2024
Push Plastic recognized the need to establish a quality management system (QMS) to ensure continued growth and maintain the highest standards of product quality. As the company prepared to scale its operations, they wanted to better understand the requirements and best practices of ISO 9001:2015 to guide their QMS development and implementation. To

Leader Starter Kata Provides Method and Framework to Success

Reported Year
2023
According to Vice President Doug Vick, "To be honest, we were quite happy with our operation. We only began exploring the Toyota Kata model out of curiosity and to maybe pick the brains of observers outside of our paradigm." For guidance Alweld's leadership turned to the experts at AEDC AMS, part of the MEP National Network™.

Leader Starter Kata and Training Within Industry Job Instruction Help Company Achieve Business Improvement in Less Than Eight Months

Reported Year
2024
The plant anticipated a need to increase its production capability due to continued strong demand for metallic stearate. The automated process of the business continued to be highly dependable, but there was a need to strengthen its leadership aspect to meet the changing labor dynamics. While lean manufacturing concepts had been introduced in early

Power Technology, Inc ExporTech Success

Reported Year
2023
Power Technology, Inc. was a small laser manufacturer that only exported to a couple of companies. Leadership felt the company needed a purposeful, strategic plan to export their products to more countries, and, more importantly, to the right countries. For help they turned to AMS, part of the MEP National Network™.

SMA Transforms Their Leaders While Transforming Their Business

Reported Year
2022
SMA, Inc., has grown both organically and through acquisitions for several decades. The company was experiencing some growing pains from a recent acquisition and engaged AEDC Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions, part of the MEP National Network™, to help them develop a strategic plan to help the leadership team focus and prioritize organizational
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