CASE: CUSTOM FABRICATORS, INC.—FROM LEAN MANUFACTURING PARTNER TO CONTRACT MANUFACTURER
As Ben Lawson, CEO of Custom Fabricators, Inc., drove back to his home in South Indianapolis, he thought about the day.
I’ve done a lot of business with Orleans Elevator in Bloomington over the years but just wonder how long this will continue. I have much invested in my manufacturing plant located right next to their plant, but now that United Technologies [the parent company of Orleans] is all into this FreeMarkets Internet purchasing system, I just wonder how long they are going to be interested in keeping me in the supply-chain loop.
It’s been a good business over the past few years. I was in the right place at the right time when Orleans got into just-in-time and lean manufacturing in the late 1980s. Initially, I was just making the control panels for the elevators. It was interesting to walk into a new building, get on the elevator, and see my company’s handiwork in that......
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Approximate Word Count: 1737
Approximate Pages: 7 (260 words per double-spaced page) |