Fristam Pumps, Inc. was experiencing some discouraging obstacles. Although successfully providing quality pumps to sanitary processing industries for many years, the ISO certified company was struggling with an increasing amount of work-in-process and delays with on-time shipping.  That’s when the 80-employee Middleton Company decided to get some help.

Fristam called WMEP, and manufacturing specialist Jeff Moore recommended using Value Stream Mapping to identify problem areas and opportunities for improvement. Through this process the company documented the current state of its manufacturing processes to identify activities that didn’t add value to the product. A desired future state “map” was then created as the roadmap for making improvements.

The Value Stream Mapping and subsequent improvement projects have made a big difference for Fristam Pumps. The company has reduced work-in-process by more than $400,000, and improved on-time shipping to 91 percent – up from 40 percent just a few months ago.

“With WMEP’s help, we’ve been able to improve our productivity and lower our manufacturing costs,” says Fristam vice president John Delmage. “In short, WMEP helped us become more competitive – a significant point as we expand our export business.”