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A division of
Source One Distribution, the newly formed The
Millwork Co. is living up to its name as a top
panel processing source for branded restaurant
fixtures and components. |
A division of Source One Distribution, the newly
formed The Millwork Co. is living up to its name as a
top panel processing source for branded restaurant
fixtures and components.
Restaurant supplier Source One Distribution gives new
meaning to the term “fast service.” Less than a year
after owner Scott O'Hara first conceived a plan to make
Source One vertically integrated by bringing all wood
component manufacturing in-house, the company: created a
new division, The Millwork Co.; leased 70,000 square
feet of manufacturing and office space in a nearby
facility; purchased all new state-of-the-art machinery;
hired and trained 36 employees, then implemented lean
manufacturing techniques throughout the plant; and still
managed to ship 65 millwork packages in its first
quarter of startup to restaurant chains across the
nation.
Now in business for almost a full year, TMC has improved
its productivity and increased the number of shipments
significantly, to more than 100 restaurant packages a
month. The company manufactures branded store fixture
packages and millwork to well-known restaurant and
retail chains, including Quiznos and Cinnabon.
TMC works directly with customers, as well as with
Source One, for concept packages, explains Mark Bennett,
TMC director of operations.
“Currently, 95 percent of our packages are with Source
One [which offers the Restaurant in a Truck and Store in
a Truck trademarked concepts],” Bennett says. “Our plan
is to reduce that to 70 percent of our business during
the next year or so.”
He adds that TMC also is focused on expanding its sales
base through the development of its component business
to other millwork companies, such as closet and
specialty storage manufacturers. According to Bennett,
the expansion of the component business will help offset
any cyclical trends in the restaurant fixture industry.
He stresses, however, that TMC does not sell its
components directly to end users. “We're not in
competition with other millwork companies. We're doing
services for them,” Bennett says.
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The Millwork Co.
Albuquerque, NM
A division of restaurant supplier Source
One Distribution, The Millwork Co. designs and
builds store fixture packages and millwork for
well-known restaurant chains throughout North
America. In business for less than a year, TMC
averages 100 restaurant packages a month. In
addition,TMC machines components for other
millwork and storage manufacturers.
Three Keys
1. TMC’s implementation of lean manufacturing
has helped the company to significantly increase
its capacity while decreasing turnaround time.
TMC has been working with the New Mexico
Manufacturers Extended Partnership for value
stream mapping and lean manufacturing training.
2. Production has been streamlined into two
distinct machining lines for straight and
contoured components. Both lines feed into the
assembly area. Melamine panels are used
extensively, although TMC also has the
capability for high-pressure lamination.
3. TMC currently builds to forecast, although it
is looking to move more toward just-in-time
manufacturing to further reduce inventory.
www.s1dist.com |
Optimizing Plant Operations
Service is the name of the game. TMC has the
capabilities for machining straight and curved
components, including panel sizing, routing, boring,
edgebanding and assembly. In designing the optimal plant
layout for its needs, the company worked with
woodworking consultant Art Raymond.
“We designed [the plant] around having high volume and
fast turnaround. It's really paid off,” Bennett says.
“We're focused on zero back orders — 100 percent on-time
delivery.”
The plant is laid out in a U-shaped flow, which includes
two distinct machining lines feeding into a single
assembly area. This layout has enabled the company to
streamline its production process for lean
manufacturing, eliminating non-value-added steps and
labor. The New Mexico Manufacturing Extension
Partnership also has been instrumental in assisting TMC
with lean manufacturing training and value mapping,
Bennett says.
Two Paths to Processing
Using Microvellum software, engineers design and
download the CAD programs to the CNC machinery on the
shop floor. According to Keith Mercer, TMC manufacturing
analyst, the company is looking to implement an MRP
system to better track work-in-progress, as well as
finished goods.
Parts are machined in small batches and travel together
down the line. In the first step of the process,
straight parts are cut to size on a Mayer PS92
front-loading panel saw, available from Delmac Machinery
Group. The saw is capable of cutting one to three panels
at a time, with a maximum book height of 3.9 inches. It
has a cutting length capacity of up to 18 feet.
After sizing, parts are placed on a roller conveyor
system and brought to one of two DMG Busellato CNC
straightline edgebanders, a Flexa 300 and a Flexa 200.
TMC uses the Flexa 200 for applying 3⁄4-inch material,
while the Flexa 300 is used for applying wider material.
Both machines feature: an end trim unit, a top and
bottom bevel trimming unit, a corner rounding unit, and
a top and bottom profile scraping unit and buffing
station. The Flexa 300 also has a pre-milling unit and a
top and bottom rough milling unit. The company uses
primarily Doellken-Woodtape banding on its products. A
Thomas conveyor is located on the shop floor to
facilitate processing by a single operator.
After banding, straight-edge components are transferred
to the Busellato Jet Concept point-to-point boring
machine with an IMC pod-and-rail system and automatic,
motorized positioning for drilling of vertical holes.
Next, a DMG Omal HBD-1550 horizontal bore, glue and
dowel machine inserts dowels on horizontal pieces.
“All our cabinets are put together using dowels,”
Bennett says. He adds that the company prefers dowel
construction, making for a stronger case.
At the end of the “panel saw line” is a Castle TSM-21,
used to make 6-degree pockets for case construction and
drawer box assembly. The cases are then clamped into
place in a JC Uhling HP4000.
Contoured parts follow a different path.
Parts designed for nested CNC routing or contouring go
first to the Busellato Jet 400RT, which features a
5-foot by 12-foot table and is equipped with a
17-position tool changer. Elevated pods on the CNC
router allow for profile and horizontal machining.
From there, pieces are transferred to three Fravol
machines from DMG — a contour bander, trimmer and buffer
unit — then on to assembly.
“We normally run 10 to 20 components on one job order,
and anywhere from 10 to 40 job orders a day,” Mercer
says. “Our goal is to maintain 30 to 40 jobs [eight
store package capacity] per day, so that the machines
are running regularly.”
“We have a lot of capacity,” Bennett adds. “We're
definitely in an expanding mode for business.”
Although the majority of products are made from
thermalfused melamine panels, the company also offers
products made from high-pressure laminated panels, which
are pressed in-house in an automated Black Bros. cold
press. According to Bennett, TMC is the only company in
the area that has this capability.
Another of the company's capabilities is producing
custom prototypes. These projects are manufactured in a
separate cell area located adjacent to the high
production lines. Among the machines in use in this area
are: a Jet stroke sander, a Delta Unisaw with a
Biesemeyer unit, a Porter-Cable production cutter and an
SCMI SI300N table saw.
At every phase of the operation, quality control checks
are performed on a regular basis. Prior to crating and
shipping, each order is laid out and photographed.
“We started this practice with the [Source One]
distribution side of the company, and we continued it
here. It's an added quality-control step,” Mercer says.
The scans are archived onto the company's server in case
questions arise. TMC also conducts follow-up phone calls
following receipt of the shipment to ensure customer
satisfaction.
“We're currently building to forecast, with just a one-
to seven-day turnaround for completed projects,” says
Bennett. The move toward just-in-time manufacturing will
enable the company to reduce its inventory of melamine
and raw composite panels, which is currently delivered
once a week. The company purchases its TFM panels,
particleboard and MDF from a variety of sources,
including Roücke, Ranger and Roseburg.
Future plans for the company include increasing the use
of veneers, which tend to be specified in airport
projects. Concurrently, Mercer says, TMC plans to expand
its wood finishing operations.
Other Challenges and Concerns
Because of the prior lack of woodworking experience
by the majority of employees, training was one of the
biggest hurdles faced by the fledgling company. In
addition to lean manufacturing training from MEP,
Bennett says machinery manufacturer DMG was instrumental
in helping to train employees on the various machines.
“Now, we're cross-trained throughout all areas of the
company. We don't want to departmentalize the
employees,” Bennett says.
“It makes [it] interesting for the employees. They can
be doing something different every day,” Mercer adds.
While training is an ongoing issue, other top concerns
for TMC include employee retention, maintaining control
of material costs and level loading; in other words,
“balancing the workload across the 12 months,” Mercer
says.
The company has been relying on word of mouth to obtain
new jobs. “We also market through our equipment
distributor relationships,” Bennett says.
“[2006] has been a very exciting year,” Bennett
continues. He adds that he is looking forward to the
challenges that await TMC in its first full year of
business, in 2007.
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| TMC specializes in manufacturing
fixture packages for large restaurant chains,
including Quiznos. Each package includes: the
wood components, hardware, glass (i.e., sneeze
guards), metal parts, etc. Photo by Jessica
Sanchez |
The first step in
the processing line, panels for straight
components are cut-to-size on the Mayer CNC
front-loading panel saw. |
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| After sizing, straight-edge
components are sent to one of two Flexa
single-sided edgebanders for application of
Doellken-Woodtape edgebanding. |
On the contour line, a Gorbel
vacuum lifter brings panels to the Busellato Jet
400RT CNC router for nested-based and contour
machining. |
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