Home | About Maine MEP | Upcoming Events | Success Stories | Partners & Resources | News Releases | Board of Directors Contact Us | Enterprise Management | Performance Based Training | Supply Chain Management | Innovation Services Portland Company Fired Up Over Lean Manufacturing Jøtul may be the largest manufacturer of cast-iron wood and gas stoves, inserts and fireplaces in the world today, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t always room for improvement. Jøtul’s worldwide reputation for quality workmanship has certainly made the Portland facility a huge success, and more than 30,000 stoves, inserts and fireplaces are shipped each year from that location. "Business has increased steadily for the past several years," said Shawn Malloy, vice president of engineering and manufacturing, "and we have worked hard to stay ahead of the demand by constantly improving our production process while efficiently utilizing current personnel." Proper space utilization, quality and on-time delivery have also been high on the Portland company’s list of concerns. "We emphasize changes to the process that will reduce the needed production area space and warehouse storage space while utilizing standardized production processes, reducing handling of production components and increasing flexibility in meeting customers’ demands," Malloy said. In order to address those concerns, Jøtul’s management decided to become officially involved in Time Wise Principles of Lean Manufacturing. "We have always believed in Lean Manufacturing," Malloy said, "but we wanted to initiate a formal Lean implementation program." With the assistance of the Maine MEP, Jøtul, N.A., engaged in a Lean Manufacturing program centered on education and training projects that led to continuous improvement methods throughout the production area. The MEP project managers introduced Lean Manufacturing concepts to facility personnel that led to a desire to seek continuous improvement in the gas stove production process while, at the same time, improving quality, on-time delivery, and space requirements. Second, the company standardized work processes so employees can be utilized throughout the production process, and ultimately used the education, training, and implementation as a basis for applying continuous improvement concepts throughout other areas at Jøtul, N.A., and also to the Norwegian operations. "The results have been amazing," said Malloy. "We have reduced our manufacturing space from approximately 21,000 square feet to about 7,500 square feet. This has freed up enough space that we are now planning on moving two buildings to one building for both manufacturing and warehousing." When that move is completed, the Portland company will save approximately $285,000 a year. At the same time, Jøtul has negotiated with some of its suppliers to more efficiently send and package materials to the facility, thus reducing non-value-added time spent by employees sorting through materials for use in the assembling process. "We have also increased inventory turnover at our warehouse by between two and three times," Malloy said. "This means we have less money tied up in the warehouse at any one time and helps minimize the possibility that we will be stuck with obsolete stoves in the future." Finally, Jøtul's Portland facility has seen an increase in sales per employee, which is increasing the margin on each stove sold and enabling the company to minimize any increase in stove prices. "This should increase our market share and lead to an increase in the number of employees needed at Jøtul in the coming years," Malloy said.