Roesch, Inc.

(56 employees)

Belleville & Evansville, Illinois- manufacturer of component parts for leading OEMs in HVAC, white goods, fireplace and barbeque markets

www.roeschinc.com

www.icemaid.com

“IMEC takes time to listen to everyone's perspectives and they're very patient.  These projects have helped us take a big step forward in modernizing our business processes.”

Mike Koenigstein, VP of Manufacturing

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Situation

Before implementing an upgrade to its enterprise manufacturing software system, Roesch Inc. saw an opportunity to make some long-needed improvements to its make-to-order process and material management systems. To win more business from the increased demand for the comercial oven liners it supplies to rapidly expanding food giants such as Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell, Roesch needed the flexibility to meet tight production schedules.  To do so would require more significant changes to its own material acquisition process.

”“We literally entered everything manually, and sometimes more than once,” said Mike Koenigstein, Vice President of Manufacturing. “Order processing time was in minutes, but it took us several days to get raw material to the floor.We knew if we could make improvements to this process, we could get all of our key products out the door in days rather than weeks.”

Solution

Koenigstein turned to IMEC’s John Remsey, a specialist in efficiency and information technology, for assistance. Remsey worked with the Roesch team to map the entire order-to-production process, uncovering several steps that, if minimized or eliminated, would enable Roesch to gain greater control over its in-bound and out-bound value stream. The remaining process steps were then evaluated to determine if automation would improve them even further. Remsey counseled Koenigstein to have any sales or customer service staffer enter orders directly into the new software system, and trigger acquisition of the matching amount of raw material from supplier.

Utilizing funding support from the MidAmerica Workforce Investment Board, Training Within Industry (TWI) specialist Ed Huey also worked with Roesch’s supervisors to implement consistent work practices and problem solving methods.