NWMOC helps Wisconsin companies compete globally

Competing on a global level doesn’t mean that you have to be big. It’s a fact that more companies are learning each year, thanks to the efforts of the Northwest Wisconsin Manufacturing Outreach Center, headquartered at UW-Stout in Menomonie.

The NWMOC began in 1994 as a follow-on to Congressman David Obey’s Pilot Technology Transfer Project and is part of the Stout Technology Transfer Institute. UW-Stout’s technology transfer program enhances the ability of small manufacturing businesses to make use of changes in technology to improve efficiency.

Since its inception, the NWMOC has served more than 1,000 small and medium-sized manufacturers in 33 Wisconsin counties, created or retained over 2,800 jobs, and generated a total sales impact for these companies of more than $339 million. In 2008, NWMOC’s clients reported more than $54 million in impacts and created or retained 426 jobs as a result of NWMOC services.

Rooney Printing of Chippewa Falls is one local company that has directly benefited from the efforts of the NWMOC.

“Rooney Printing has been in business for some time, but we provided some assistance to them in the past year or so,” says NWMOC Project Manager Ted Theyerl. “We started talking with them several years ago about increasing output, reducing waste, and becoming more efficient. Lean manufacturing seemed to fit very well with the goals they had in mind, so we started talking about a year ago about how to approach implementing lean in their company, and specifically applying it to a printer.”

NWMOC representatives met with Rooney Printing several times to discuss the approach, and co-owner Dale Zwiefelhofer introduced the concept to his staff. The NWMOC provided a workshop on the concepts of lean, lean tools and terminology, then used a simulation exercise to show how to implement the concepts on a wasteful process to make it more efficient. At the conclusion of the workshop, NWMOC representatives identified several main causes and areas of waste at Rooney Printing.

One of the main causes of waste is looking for tools, materials and information. To reduce this element, the NWMOC facilitated a 5S workshop — a lean tool — with the Rooney Staff to clean, organize and visually identify important items used in the process. “This reduced the downtime looking for items and material, and increased the amount of productive time,” notes Theyerl. “We are still consulting with Rooney on what the next event will be, but increasingly it's looking for ways to reduce downtime associated with set-up and maintenance of the printing presses.”

Last month, Rooney Printing hosted an event to bring the Congressman up to speed on NWMOC efforts. The event also included testimony from two other NWMOC clients based in Chippewa Falls: Chippewa River Industries and Extrusion Dies Industries.

“I’ve been supportive of the program for a long time,” Obey says. “I frankly think it’s one of the hidden jewels in the state. They help companies recognize the little changes they can make in how they operate, which can make a huge difference in their bottom line and ultimate success.”

Above Image: Frank Borg, STTI Marketing and Public Relations Manager; Rep. Dave Obey; Dale Zwiefelhofer and Greg Leland, co-owners of Rooney Printing, a company assisted by the Northwest Wisconsin Manufacturing Outreach Center, headquartered at UW-Stout.

MOVERS

>> Timm Sandstrom has been appointed to the position of market president at Johnson Bank for Eau Claire and the surrounding communities.

>> Superior Mayor Dave Ross has been elected to join the board of directors for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.

>> Pamela S. Vruwink has joined the staff at Hawkins, Ash, Baptie & Co. LLP in Marshfield. Her focus is in the client services department.

>> RCU has named David Thoe as vice president of business loans and services. Thoe will be responsible for working directly with businesses in the greater Menomonie area.

>> Noah Wallace III has joined Silver Spring Foods in Eau Claire as Information Technology manager.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

EAU CLAIRE/MENOMONIE: In contrast to national occupancy trends, the occupancy rate for February 2009 in the Eau Claire/Menomonie area grew 2.3 percent from the year-ago period, and room revenue increased 9.3 percent, according to data from Smith Travel Research. While this area had an average daily room rate of $64.63 in February, the least expensive of 12 areas in Wisconsin, it was only one of two areas in the state to improve its occupancy rate from 2008. Local tourism experts cite the area’s value and proximity to the Twin Cities area as two factors; a number of the area’s lodging and hospitality facilities have also recently completed renovations or improvements. The occupancy rate for Wisconsin as a whole was down 10.7 percent for February 2009.