Metcam President Bruce Hagenau recently went on Supply Chain Now Radio to discuss lean manufacturing, Kaizen, tariffs and more.

Good stories should be shared. Metcam’s Bruce Hagenau recently went on Supply Chain Now Radio to tell the unique story of the 2018 Georgia Manufacturer of the Year.

In studio with Georgia Manufacturing Alliance CEO Jason Moss and SCNR‘s Scott Luton and Greg White, the company president and co-owner discussed his professional path, Metcam’s 30-year evolution, its core principles and new initiatives, as well as present industry challenges.

• Hagenau on being leaner:
“Our paint lines were always getting clogged up, where it was difficult to maneuver the material properly. So our personnel went through a couple of Kaizens and really made massive improvements in how their work centers laid out and how the product flowed. I get chills just thinking about how that employee-driven, bottom-up sort of activity [makes us better]. That’s what I want to see happening… that kind of ongoing thought process and culture of improvement.”

• And meaner (i.e., more competitive):
“We’ve got these award-winning environmental, information and quality systems, and we’re using those to support OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) successfully. But what else can we do with that? We can use this great investment in other ways. So we began about four years ago looking at opportunities to help entrepreneurs that had sheet metal-intensive products.”

• And greener:
“We are still, I think, the only independent sheet metal fabricator in the Southeast that is ISO 14000 [certified for environmental management]. How that leads to sustainable practices, that greener element is very important to me. We eventually became one of only 15 companies in the state of Georgia that has received the gold level partnership with the Department of Natural Resources, and that includes Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines and Lockheed Martin.”

To listen to the Supply Chain Now Radio show, please CLICK HERE.