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MEP Success Stories from Rhode Island

Lean Training Leads to Waves of Positive Change for Fitness Equipment Manufacturer

Reported Year
2022
Through steady growth for several decades, the company had handled some unusual peaks in demand, such as after a WaterRower was featured in popular Netflix series. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharp increases in sales of the easy-to-use at-home fitness equipment rolled in at the same time as waves of supply chain issues and worker shortages. At

Mahr Inc. Sees Measurable Results from Relationship with Polaris MEP

Reported Year
2022
Mahr Inc. has experienced consistently strong growth in the last years. They needed help finding new quality candidates to meet production rates. The company also was looking for some specific upskilling as well as leadership training to enhance the skills of current team members and assist in employee retention.

Polaris MEP Helps Downeast Coffee Roasters Brew Efficiency Through Lean Process Improvements

Reported Year
2021
“We thought we were doing a really good job,” said VP of Sales and Marketing Michael Kapos, “and we were. But you can always make a process better.” The manufacturer was growing its footprint, aiming at the New Hampshire market and expanding grocery sales. Downeast was considering a major investment to bring production of their cold brew in house

Digital Marketing Leads to Physical Expansion for Orbetron

Reported Year
2022
The team had approached marketing with the same attitude they took to solving customer challenges — Orbetron’s owners rolled up their sleeves, created a simple website themselves and drove growth primarily from personal networking. Magazine advertising had been expensive and disappointing. As CEO Roger Hultquist said, “For us to expand our business

Lean Manufacturing Kaizen Increases Poultry Processing by 50%

Reported Year
2021
The farm was experiencing success and growth; however, the chicken processing workflow took far too long to complete and labor shortages were an issue. Associates were spending more time handling the chicken than processing it, creating significant time and motion waste, increasing the time it took to process the chicken. Founder Patrick McNiff had

TAG! Sign Manufacturer Finds Kaizen is “It” for Transformation And Growth

Reported Year
2021
Tags produced at the North Smithfield, RI, location made up roughly 15% of the NMC revenue on an annual basis. The team wanted to be ready to take on more work, however. “We’re in a small building, and the company’s growing,” said Plant Manager Brandon Castaneda. “Even through the pandemic we’ve seen nothing but growth. Where are we going to put

Packaging Process Kaizen & Kata Lead to 70% Increase in Output for Asian Food Manufacturer

Reported Year
2020
Chi Kitchen had enjoyed swift success and growth of their fermented vegetable products, mostly Kimchi. As time went on, the team found it difficult to scale processes and workforce to produce the desired quantity of product. After CEO or, as Chi Kitchen calls it, “CHI-EO” Luong attended a Polaris MEP “One Day Lean” workshop, she recognized the
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