You’ve got to be good to win back manufacturing contracts from China. Vermont Castings has succeeded in doing just that, thanks to the introduction of “lean manufacturing” principles, put in place over the past year by outgoing General Manager John Bledsoe.

The lean approach, according to the company’s new general manager, Fred Howe, has brought stunning new efficiencies not only in the production of contract cast-iron components for other companies, but also in the manufacture of Vermont Castings’ trademark stoves and fireplace inserts. Vermont Casting has been able to work efficiencies into its production line, Howe added, without sacrificing quality.

It took more than competitive bids to win new contracts from the Jotul and Harmon stove companies, and other manufacturers: “The cast iron from China is nowhere near the quality of what we get out of Randolph,” Howe commented.

Lean manufacturing, according to Bledsoe and Howe, is not a slash-and-burn approach to cutting costs. Rather, it is a clear-eyed analysis, by management and on-the-floor workers, of production practices from beginning to end.

“It’s a total re-thinking of the way we do business,” Bledsoe said. “Lean manufacturing is really about eliminating waste.”

A major source of waste, according to Bledsoe, is excessive handling of components and finished products. Handling, he points out, adds no value to a product, but plenty of labor and storage costs.

A year ago, Vermont Castings was renting warehouse space to store component parts until needed, as well as finished stoves and fireplace inserts, until they were shipped to dealers.

The foundry, according to Howe, worked on a “batch system,” producing, for example, hundreds of stove doors that all had to be handled and stored, until they were pulled for assembly.

Fast forward to today, where production is a lot more flexible and the need for storage space has shrunk to the point that Castings no longer rents warehouse space. Component stove parts are now delivered from the foundry twice a day, and they go immediately to the assembly line, where workers build one of the 15 models in the Vermont Castings line-up. The stoves and fireplace inserts then go directly to the finishing department for enameling and other surface treatments, Bledsoe explained.

Working Smarter

More flexibility at the foundry and on the production line means that Vermont Castings can turn out particular models as needed, instead of amassing months’ worth of inventory.

Of course, a small inventory and quick turn-around requires a very savvy marketing arm, able to predict the demand for products. The company’s marketing director, according to Howe, keeps tabs on several markers, including the water temperature in the Caribbean. Warmer ocean temperatures mean more hurricanes, possible disruption of Gulf of Mexico oil refineries, higher fuel costs—and a surge in demand for wood-burning stoves.

Thousands of square feet of the Bethel plant that were once used for storage have been converted to more productive uses. One corner of the plant is now devoted to the production of Vermont Castings’ new line of more affordable steel stoves.

Howe pointed out a massive laser cutter used to cut sheet steel, presses to punch holes, multiple welding booths, painting stations, and more. “None of this was here a year ago; no one knew about sheet metal fabrication,” he explained.

Over the last year, Castings has also been able to find big savings by manufacturing at the Bethel plant items that were formerly purchased from suppliers. It’s called “in-sourcing.” Castings employees, for example, now fabricate from scratch the cement “refractory panels” mounted inside woodstoves to retain the heat.

Another example: In the past, Castings bought—and had to store—wooden skids for packing and shipping stoves. “A year ago, we had skids stacked to the ceiling” Howe said. Now, employees make the skids, in-house and as needed.

Management sets the direction and goals for lean manufacturing changes. For the process to yield big results, according to John Bledsoe, an “engaged workforce,” willing to learn new skills and able to provide ideas for new efficiencies, is essential. That’s exactly what he found at Vermont Castings’ plants, Bledsoe said.

On his first day as the company’s new general manager, Howe noted, he was approached by an employee, who told him, “I have this idea to shorten the time it takes for this job.”

The result, according to Howe, turned an eight-hour process into a 25-minute one.

“Everyone knows,” he said, “we have a continuing need to be competitive in order to go forward.”