Contact: Phyllis Levine at 845.896.6934 X3001 or by Email
EFCO PRODUCTS NEW HVTDC CLIENT
Poughkeepsie and Fishkill, New York, April 19, 2007 – Family-owned and operated food products manufcturer, EFCO Products, Inc. of Poughkeepsie is one of the Hudson Valley Technology Development Center’s (HVTDC) newest clients. Since January of this year, EFCO has undertaken an ambitious Lean Transformation initiative that is impacting the entire EFCO workforce of 72 employees. HVTDC Project Engineer Phil van Oss, states, “This is a major culture change for EFCO in that they are getting teams of employees involved in identifying and implementing operational improvements. We are training the entire staff from entry-level workers to the executives to think and work Lean. HVTDC’s role is to train the executive level in Lean Leadership that include ways to improve communications, supervisory skills, plus educate every staff member on how the culture of the company will change under Lean Operations.”
HVTDC welcomed EFCO Products (www.efcoproducts.com) as a reinstated client in April 2006. In the domestic and international baking industry, EFCO is a leading supplier of mixes, fruit and crème-style fillings, jellies, jams and specialty fruit products. For over 100 years, EFCO has been working with retail, foodservice and in-store bakery purveyors, as well as automated wholesale bakery operations. The company has been independently owned and operated by the Effron family of Poughkeepsie since 1903. EFCO’s current Chairman is Jack Effron, and the company’s President is Ira Effron
EFCO had previously worked with HVTDC to gain assistance in preparing and implementing bar cording in the manufacture of their food products. “While we’re still in the process of putting the bar coding system into place, we’re very pleased with the progress to date. We’re impressed by the way in which HVTDC has involved members from all areas of our company in that process,” comments Executive Vice President Steve Effron. “If you had told me in 2005 that HVTDC would come in and get everyone from machine operators to warehouse personnel to data providers into teams that would look at every aspect of our business, I would have been very surprised. That is what HVTDC is doing and we’re very happy with the involvement of our personnel and their acceptance of learning to operate our business differently for more efficiency and innovation. We’re pleased with unexpected improvements in areas of our operations that were already running well. We’re definitely seeing improved problem-solving through team efforts in areas we hadn’t expected and we’re really pleased.”
The objectives of HVTDC are to help companies and organizations work more efficiently, effectively and productively by streamlining daily operations. A leading business and technology resource center, HVTDC works with manufacturing, technology-based and other small to mid-sized companies and organizations to help them adopt new business practices in order to grow.
In 2006 Ira and Steve Effron learned a New York State Department of Labor grant could help them implement a Lean Training Program into their business. Steve Effron comments, “Our belief is that Lean Training will help us gain a globally competitive advantage.” In November 2006, EFCO was awarded $37,000 in financial support from a NYS DOL 37L grant. Since January 2007, EFCO’s management has been putting together empowered teams that are identifying steps for implementing Lean Training in every division of their business from manufacturing, distribution, engineering, quality assurance to administration and maintenance. HVTDC’s van Oss explains, “In the months ahead, our engineers will help the EFCO teams implement such Lean Tasks as 5S, Value Stream Mapping, Warehouse Utilization Study, and Pull/Kanbans.”
As part of HVTDC’s Value Stream Mapping training, EFCO employees will receive 5S training to accelerate the company’s product and service flow while achieving and sustaining clean, safe and organized workplaces. The five S’s equate to sorting items; setting remaining items in order; shining or cleaning everything; standardizing the first three S’s by implementing visual displays and control; then sustaining the gains through self-discipline, training, communications and total employee involvement.
“By the end of 2007, every employee will have gone through the Lean Training Program,” states Denise Watson, EFCO Human Resources Manager. “With guidance from HVTDC, our teams of employees are identifying and eliminating waste, plus they’re being educated and empowered to make creative decisions and changes in their work. Continuous improvement is encouraged so that our company is well positioned to meet the market demands of the 21st century.” In addition to the Lean Operations Training Program, HVTDC will provide a series of ten leadership training modules for designated EFCO employees and management until completion of the Lean Program in December 2007.
To learn more about HVTDC’s Lean 101 training, please contact Phyllis Levine at 845-896-6934x3001, via email at plevine@hvtdc.org, or visit www.hvtdc.org.