168 | Business World Magazine |
June 2013
industry. Customers grew as did job orders
necessitating the establishing of a second lo-
cation in Warrensburg, Missouri by 1970,
but with the increasing burdens on produc-
tion, Stahl and his team ultimately realized
that the traditional manufacturing methods
could neither keep pace with demand or ac-
commodate the diversity of products in de-
gree sufficient to maintaining the quality
mandated by the company as well as its cli-
ents.
In order to achieve the desired effi-
ciency and quality, while reducing lead times
and inventories, the company implemented
a methodology which is described as cellular
manufacturing. The process calls for a com-
partmentalizing of production machines
and personnel which collectively share simi-
larities in their operational processes. In this
case, each casting cell is tasked with specific
jobs. For example, one cell would be dedi-
cated to producing an inboard V6 exhaust
pipe for Mercury Marine while in another
cell, the team is focused on producing the
40-pound brake housing required by John
Deere Company. Workers are empowered to
