(USC: Overland Park, KS) -- In the business world, demand is good—unless you’re struggling to meet it. USC LLC, an agricultural equipment manufacturer in rural Sabetha, Kansas, was faced with a problem when customer orders for their seed treaters began to outpace the production line’s output. USC president Jim Renyer found the answer in Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC) and lean manufacturing.

USC’s 64 employees engineer, design, and manufacture agricultural products, including seed treatment equipment and accessories. The company was founded and operated in the small Kansas farming community of Sabetha by Jim and Andy Renyer, brothers and third-generation farmers. USC’s primary product offering is a high quality seed treater that is easy to use and affordable, delivering a value that ensures growing popularity with customers. Struggling to meet orders in a timely manner, Jim Renyer knew that to continue satisfying customers—as well as grow and penetrate new markets—USC would need to streamline and improve the production line.

That’s when MAMTC stepped in to help, according to Renyer. “We wanted to use lean manufacturing principles to improve our production line but needed help to put an effective program in place,” he says. “MAMTC not only recommended specific improvements but guided us through the entire process.”

A nonprofit organization that provides training and resources to help process-driven companies in the Midwest improve performance, MAMTC sent lean manufacturing expert Bill Hogan to lead USC’s production line improvement effort. The first undertaking was value-stream mapping (VSM) of the seed treater and seed wheel product lines, in which a map of the current manufacturing process was compared to a potential future map to reveal nonvalue-added steps and areas needing improvement. Using the results of the VSM as a blueprint, Hogan helped USC implement a cart system to move material more easily through production—from fabrication to welding and assembly. The participation of USC’s employees was critical to the entire process, from identifying areas needing improvement to installation of the new cart system.

“Bill [Hogan] worked closely with the people on the floor, incorporating their ideas into the solution. He ensured the production team’s commitment to the end result by listening to them and giving them an active role in improving the process,” says Renyer.

After VSM was complete, Hogan led the company through 5S training to organize, improve, and standardize the work environment for safe and effective operation. Several weeks were spent organizing the floor lines, locations, pegboards and other parts of the production facility to be more efficient. Applying 5S principles to workplace organization was essential to establishing the lean manufacturing processes that improved USC’s production line.

The results of MAMTC’s work with USC are compelling. Five months after introducing lean manufacturing to its plant, USC reduced lead time for customer orders from four months to three weeks. In addition, the company tripled its sales and reduced material costs by $150,000.

“Once we went into full production in January with the new system, we doubled our output,” says Renyer. “We went from building one and a half seed treaters daily to three, using the 5S flow pattern and our new cart system. This was done without adding any staff or infrastructure; basically, we achieved it with our newly organized work space. Now, in July, we’re building almost four seed treaters a day.”

The additional sales volume has enabled USC to hire seven new employees since January. The company invested nearly $1 million in plant improvements, including a robot and laser technology to improve manufacturing processes. Future goals include expanding the conveyor line and installing an automated powder coating system.

“The growth we’ve experienced in such a short period of time has been just phenomenal,” Renyer says. “We were willing to make the investment to change things and adapt our work processes throughout the company. I was amazed we were able to improve our production so much in a short amount of time.”