HMMI Embraces Change

HMMI Logo

Results

Increased sales by $500,000; retained sales of $7M

Investments in plant and equipment of $2M

Retained 22 employees

Cost savings of $300,000

Testimonial

"MTS provided a fresh set of eyes into many issues. Their expertise and their ground-up approach involved all areas, from top management to the employees responsible for production. This gave the employees a great deal of ownership in these projects and a sense of success when the projects were up and operating."

- Matt Moeding, Vice President Operations

    About

    Horizontal Machining and Manufacturing Inc. (HMMI) is a fabrication facility with the ability to produce large structural weldments. Centrally located in Huron, South Dakota, the company has 115,000 square feet of combined manufacturing space and state-of-the-art indoor steel storage. It keeps a large selection of raw material on hand to meet customer needs in today's build-to-demand market. HMMI's 65 employees are dedicated to having quick response times, on-time delivery and superior product quality.

    Challenge

    HMMI needed to expand its manufacturing capacity and improve product flow to meet the growing demand for its large structural weldments. It acquired 50,000 square feet of manufacturing space and needed assistance in setting up the workflow to optimize product flow, equipment, employee time, and quality. The company met with South Dakota Manufacturing and Technology Solutions (MTS), a NIST MEP affiliate, to identify a comprehensive approach to their plant layout, material flow, and workforce engagement. HMMI was competing in a tight labor market and needed to ensure employees embraced the transition to the new system.

    Solution

    As part of the comprehensive plan, MTS initiated multiple value stream mapping projects at the plant. The projects integrated plant layout and Quality at the Source (QAS) methodologies, which created a system that could effectively meet the growing and challenging demands of HMMI's customers. Multiple teams of HMMI employees participated in the process of identifying problems and sharing their proposed solutions. Overall, their engagement with MTS resulted in retained and increased sales, and realized cost savings for HMMI.

    Results

    • Increased sales by $500,000; retained sales of $7M
    • Investments in plant and equipment of $2M
    • Retained 22 employees
    • Cost savings of $300,000