ATAC project success stories
Projects by Program Area:
Click on the company name in the table below, or, scroll the page for a complete project success story listing.
| Lean Continuous Improvement/TWI | Quality Management Systems | Six Sigma | Business Growth |
| AmTech (August 2010) |
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| Union Foundry Company (July 2010) |
Seoil-America (August 2009) |
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| Hoerbiger Automotive Comfort Systems, Inc. (April 2009) |
Marshall Precision Manufacturing, Inc (July 2009) |
Aflac (March 2009) |
Quality Filters (November 2008) |
| Aflac (March 2009) |
Muskogee Metalworks |
Boise Inc. (Feb. 2008) |
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| AU Libraries (December 2008) |
SEA Wire & Cable Inc. (Jan. 2008) |
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| Automatic SMP (August 2008) |
Helispec, Inc. (March 2010) |
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| TWI Sustaining Lean Benefits (June 2008) |
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Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. |
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| Wedge Manufacturing (March 2008) |
| 2010 Project Success Storiess | |
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The journey to becoming a Lean Enterprise may require several years of an organization’s dedication and disciplined actions before broad significant bottom line gains are attained. Such is the story of American Technologies Inc. (AmTech) of Alexander City, Ala. which is seeing production increases of more than 41 percent and profits being made when sales volume is not growing. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature. |
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Union Foundry, a division of McWane Inc., has been a manufacturing mainstay in Anniston, AL since 1912. Boasting annual sales of about $75 million, Union Foundry is among the leading manufacturers of cast pipe fittings and accessory components. In 2007, the company began working with Auburn Technical Assistance Center – the ATN Center at Auburn University – applying Lean Continuous Improvement (CI) to its operations. To date, Union Foundry has spread CI into multiple areas of its operations through the application of Lean training and Rapid Improvement Events in the manufacturing process. Additionally, ATAC has provided company leaders with strategy planning and CI initiative coaching assistance. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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2009 Project Success Stories
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| Helispec Inc. (March 2010) |
In a region that is economically stressed, being a contender in the international aerospace arena might be considered a pipe dream to some, but to Helispec Inc. of Brantley, Ala., it is a reality. With assistance from the Auburn Technical Assistance Center (ATAC), the Alabama Technology Network Center at Auburn University, Helispec has attained AS 9100-2000 registration and is now qualified to compete for and attain a variety of industrial and governmental aerospace business contracts. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature. |
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Already a key supplier to Hyundai Motor Manufacturing of Alabama, Seoil-America of Tallassee is moving into expanded markets, thanks in part to its recent attainment of
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Marshall Precision Manufacturing, Inc
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Being able to compete among the giants is a major challenge for many small businesses operating in today’s volatile manufacturing environment, but Marshall Precision Manufacturing Inc. of Guntersville, Ala. has become a contender by achieving AS 9100 certification. Partnering with the Alabama Technology Network (ATN) and its centers at Auburn University and Rainsville, Ala., the small precision machining and fabrication operation is among some 15 Alabama companies who took advantage of a three-year training grant -- administered through the AU-ATN center -- to assist suppliers to The Boeing Company. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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While many firms are sitting on the sidelines waiting for the current economic slowdown to take a positive turn, Hoerbiger Automotive Comfort Systems Inc. of Auburn, Ala. is using the opportunity to strengthen its competitive position. Hoerbiger, which manufactures hydraulic lift cylinders for convertible tops and trunk lift gates for a number of the top automakers, has embarked on a Lean Enterprise Certification Program (LECP) with the Auburn Technical Assistance Center (ATAC). Click here for pdf file of complete project feature. |
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Quickly and accurately processing transactions is crucial in the insurance business. For industry icon Aflac, who handles billions of dollars annually in policies and claims for its more than 400,000 U.S. payroll groups and 40 million insured individuals worldwide, having a system to ensure speed and accuracy is vital. Aflac has partnered with the Auburn Technical Assistance Center (ATAC) of Auburn University’s College of Business to help. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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2008 Project Success Stories
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The author/cartoonist Ashleigh Brilliant wrote, “the closest we will ever come to an orderly universe is a good library.” the Auburn University Libraries are taking that philosophy to heart and have launched a continuous improvement initiative that in the realm of academe and libraries is quite likely a cutting edge endeavor. Enlisting the continuous improvement expertise of the Auburn Technical Assistance Center (ATAC) at AU’s College of Business, Auburn’s libraries are going Lean. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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To help small and mid-sized manufacturers grow top-line sales, the Alabama Technology Network (ATN) has partnered with the Eureka! Ranch, a leading innovation group that has helped companies like Nike, American Express, and Walt Disney to generate business-building ideas. Auburn Technical Assistance Center (ATAC), the ATN center at Auburn University, has aligned with Quality Filters Inc. of Robertsdale, Ala., where ATAC’s assistance in implementing Eureka! Winning Ways has helped this 26-year-old firm expand into a profitable niche market that presently accounts for about 15 percent of the company’s sales and shows a potential for doubling over the next few months. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature. |
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Sustaining continuous improvement is the business philosophy for Decatur, Ala.-based Automatic Screw Machine Products Company (Automatic SMP) and since 2005, the company has partnered with Auburn Technical Assistance Center (ATAC) for its guidance and expertise in leading, implementing and sustaining lean processes. Working with Automatic SMP on a variety of training and coaching programs, ATAC has helped the fi rm improve processes, quality, performance, and equipment reliability. Automatic SMP recently reported progress achieved in its Cross Drilling area that suggests the benefi ts achievable through adopting a business philosophy of continuous improvement. |
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Muskogee Metalworks
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Attaining AS 9100 quality certification has required a long-term commitment from Muskogee Metalworks, but achieving this milestone in July brought with it the capture of another long-term dream. the small, 26-employee manufacturing firm owned by the Poarch Creek Indian Enterprises in Atmore, Ala., also is now recognized by the Boeing Company as one of its certified preferred suppliers – a designation granted only to firms who have undergone the aerospace giant’s rigorous evaluation and supplier mentoring/training program. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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Sustaining a continuous improvement initiative is arguably the most difficult undertaking in a Lean Enterprise. By resurrecting a training method developed to sustain the United States’ industrial might during World War II, Auburn Technical Assistance Center (ATAC) is showing companies that going back to the basics is exactly the catalyst needed to maintain continuous improvement and maximize their investment in Lean. Manufacturers are finding that TWI provides a proven way to promote, create and sustain standardized work; define and develop consistent work procedures; and do so through a system that fosters rapid training; consistent results; immediate efficiency in job performance; improved employee morale; increased productivity; and reduced waste and rework. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.
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Sikorsky is a pioneer in the aviation field of vertical flight, and its commercial and military helicopters are found in service worldwide. Two models among the firm’s Seahawk family – the maritime version of Sikorsky’s military Blackhawk helicopter – are built at the company’s Troy, Ala. manufacturing plant. Auburn Technical Assistance Center is working with Sikorsky’s Troy plant to implement lean manufacturing techniques that are proving to produce significant efficiency improvements and cost benefits as the company ramps up production to meet heavy customer demands. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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Community Festivals Best Practices |
Nearly 100 event planners from throughout the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee participated in Auburn Technical Assistance Center’s (ATAC) eighth annual Community Festivals Best Practices workshops. ATAC hosted two separate events this year -- one at Auburn University in January and another in February at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham. the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel provided support to this year’s events. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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Wedge Manufacturing
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Wedge Manufacturing began operations about 10 years ago as an in-house machining department of Integrated Medical Systems (IMS) in Birmingham, Ala. When Wedge became its own entity about one year ago, management recognized the need to enhance business capacity, and to do so, knew that it had to embrace the Lean philosophy of continuous improvement. Since beginning its Lean journey with Auburn Technical Assistance Center last fall, Wedge has more than doubled its production capacity, reduced overhead and is adding more jobs. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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Boise Inc. manufactures a wide range of specialty and premium paper products, containerboard and corrugated products, imaging papers for office and home, printing and converting papers, newsprint and market pulp. the company has partnered with Auburn Technical Assistance Center (ATAC) for a number of years to provide Six Sigma training for green belt and black certification. Its in-house continuous improvement projects have resulted in millions of dollars in bottom-line cost savings and process enhancement applicatioins. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature. |
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SEA Wire & Cable Inc. is a leading supplier of wire, cable, tubing, termination sleeves, cable ties, EMI/RFI backshells, mil-spec connectors, and other cable assemblies for the aerospace and military markets. the company is headquartered in Madison, Ala. with offices worldwide, and plans to double the size of its Madison facility over the current year. With training assistance from Auburn Technical Assistance Center and the Alabama Technology Network, SEA Wire & Cable is building its defense and aerospace business on a commitment to quality. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature. |
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2007 Project Success Stories
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Jo-Ann Stores Inc.
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Jo-Ann Stores Inc., a leading national specialty retailer of crafting, decorating and sewing products, involved students through the Auburn Technical Assistance Center’s student outreach program in the continuous improvement effort at its Opelika, Ala. distribution center. the students are credited with garnering a near 100 percent efficiency improvement for the company in total throughput and overall quality. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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Bush Hog®
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the name “Bush Hog®” arguably is the defining moniker in the world of rotary cutters. Even though the company is an icon in its market, Bush Hog® management understands that to remain the legendary giant, it has to continuously improve. ATAC has partnered with Bush Hog® to implement Lean manufacturing as its continuous improvement program companywide. Ultimately, the training will involve all of its 850 employees. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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AmTech
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American Technologies Inc. (AmTech) partnered with ATAC to launch a Lean Manufacturing program even before combining its two plants in Montgomery and Kellyton, Ala. into a single location in January 2006. Today, the company, which manufactures wiring harnesses and controllers for buses and medical equipment, is implementing kiazen (continuous improvement) events as a consistent component in its mission to become more productive and efficient. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature. |
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Standard Furniture
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Standard Furniture -- an Alabama-based manufacturer of designer home furnishings -- believes that staying competitive requires a long-term commitment to continuous improvement. the company launched a Lean Manufacturing program in its Bay Minette and Frisco City plants about three years ago. the firm recently expanded its Lean philosophy to include Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) on a company-wide basis. ATAC has partnered with Standard Furniture to assist the company in its training and implementation of Lean and TPM. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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Patterson Machine
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Patterson Machine Inc. of Union Grove, Ala. completed the stringent AS 9100 certification requirements in only eight months, and thus, is among an elite lineup of small company suppliers to the Boeing Company. ATAC partnered with Patterson Machine to facilitate and guide the company through the certification process. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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Curtis Company
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Montgomery, Ala.-based Curtis Company achieved ISO 9001-2000 certification and now stands among top companies who practice a business culture of excellence in product delivery, customer service and quality management. Click here for pdf file of complete project feature.
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More Information Links
Contact for More Information:
Mitch Emmons; 334.844.3881; emmonmb@auburn.edu
ATAC Affiliations
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