The Hudson Valley Technology Development Center (HVTDC) congratulates Lamothermic Precision Casting Corporation for successfully completing their Value Stream Mapping and applying new techniques to grow and improve their business.

The Brewster, NY manufacturer, having embraced Lean for several years, looked to bolster operations last summer with the goal of identifying opportunities for improvement, eliminating areas of waste, defining root causes, improving process flow, and maximizing plant utilization. A quantified visual depiction of both its Current State process and an improved Future State process generated a renewed focus on Lean principles throughout the staff to make successful operational changes.

Conducted through facilitated work sessions led by HVTDC Senior Project Engineer, Phil van Oss, the Lamothermic staff diagnosed the most critical issues arising from production. Through a participative and interactive method, problems, root causes, and corrective actions were identified and described, and upon completion of the Future State map, an action plan was created with specific improvement activities for the team to implement.

Several months later, they have seen a significant return on investment, reducing cycle times and eliminating unnecessary day-to-day steps. They are producing with more efficiency and precision, eliminating redundancies, streamlining operations, and generating less waste with minimal rework. Most prominently, the company has seen employees take significant steps to bring Lean techniques to other areas of the plant as well.

Lamothermic can be proud of the improvements that have not only helped them achieve positive bottom line results but also demonstrate their commitment to use the very best technology, processes, and materials to provide quality investment casting for its customers.

For more information on Value Stream Mapping or other Lean applications, contact Business Development Advisor, Ralph Brown, at 914-393-9876, or ralph.brown@hvtdc.org.