Increased Production Through Facility Optimization
Venture Trailers
The Client:
Marine Venture Enterprises (Venture Trailers) has been manufacturing boat and marine trailers since 1989. Specializing in powerboat, watercraft, and pontoon trailers, Venture is well-known in the industry for quality and reliability. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Venture supports production throughout the Eastern seaboard and the Midwest, and is an industry leader in the Mid-Atlantic. The family-owned and operated business has around 25 employees and is known for its quality.
The Challenge:
Venture Trailer operated a production facility capable of producing up to 40 boat trailers per day according to the production schedule, size, and complexity of each trailer. The production layout was based around production cells, with each trailer manufactured to completion in a single location. Although effective, the set up and process limited the number of trailers that could be produced in a given shift and day, and also created congestion on the production floor for the staging and placement of sub- assemblies and parts.
The Solution:
Venture worked with the Maryland Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MD MEP), part of the MEP National Network, to evaluate the production process. Manufacturing extension agents from MD MEP observed the critical tasks, assembly operations, and sub-component operations in the facility. Utilizing this data, MD MEP presented several production scenarios to the Venture leadership team.
The scenarios clarified Venture’s potential to increase production capacity by at least 20 percent, and up to as much as 100 percent. MD MEP supported Venture in the re-design of the production floor, moving to a production line process with parts and sub-assemblies staged at each production station. The immediate impact was a 50 percent increase in production capacity on the line.
Results & Impacts:
- 50% increase in Production
- 50% increase in Sales
- $50,000 investment in Training and Facility