Elkay Manufacturing,Water Cooler Facility

(200 employees)

Savanna, Illinois- market leader in the manufacture and assembly of drinking fountains and water coolers for the commercial building market

www.elkay.com

“As you work your business day in and out, you get so used to things that you don't see them anymore.  IMEC gave us the ability to look at our business with fresh eyes.”

Mick Dietrich, Production Manager

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Situation

Striving to stay competitive from a U.S. manufacturing base, Elkay Manufacturing’s Water Cooler Facility is focused on controlling operating costs. Following a strategic planning process to identify areas of focus for 2012, the company asked IMEC to complete a free lean assessment, which led to an E3 (Economy, Energy & Environment) Review, three key areas in which Elkay’s executive team was looking to drive efficiencies.

IMEC Solution

The E3 Review involves a hands-on assessment of production processes, recommendations for improvement and assistance with implementing energy-saving projects. For Elkay, the process started with value stream mapping to identify specific process flow areas and root causes of waste within the facility. IMEC spent several days on site assessing various aspects of the company’s operations, calling on support from energy and environmental experts at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Energy Resource Center. The end result was a list of specific action items in each area: Economy, Energy and Environment.