For more than four decades, Mac3 has stood out as an innovative company specialized in the production of highly reliable liquid level control devices.
Today, we focus on QuickStop, our float valve that has captured market attention due to its efficiency and speed. However, what truly makes QuickStop’s journey unique is not just the product itself, but the opportunity Mac3 seized to create an interdisciplinary study team and render the production process increasingly flexible and sustainable, fostering empowerment, motivation, and teamwork.
QuickStop: An Instant and Innovative Solution
Mac3’s QuickStop is much more than a ball float valve. It’s a modern alternative to traditional ball float valves, addressing common issues such as leakage, dripping noise, and energy waste. Its versatility makes it suitable for a wide range of applications, ensuring precise and reliable liquid level control.
The Challenge of Increasing Demand
The escalating demand for QuickStop posed a challenge: the conventional route of expanding staff and equipment meant high costs and little flexibility.
Instead, we preferred an alternative approach – Lean Production: a philosophy prioritizing operational versatility, ensuring quality, and optimizing existing production spaces while maintaining high quality standards.
The Principles of Lean Production in Action
We began with a thorough analysis of our production process, examining every stage from storage to the packaging of the finished product. We identified areas for improvement and reduced waste, implementing an in-line production station that allowed us to reduce transfers and increase overall efficiency.
Moreover, our staff received Lean philosophy training which helped them enhance their work capabilities in a “pull” production environment. This created a continuous improvement cycle, and our operators now proactively contribute to process optimization.
Elevating Management and Enhancing Traceability
We aligned our production management system with the production process, which helped us achieve a more comprehensive view of inventories and greater traceability. This integration also allows us to respond quickly to customer requests and thoroughly plan “just-in-time” production, agilely adapting to the market’s ever-changing needs.
The Paradigm Shift: From Large Batches to Customized Orders
Our production philosophy has radically changed. We no longer produce exclusively large batches, but now focus on one order at a time.
We refined setup, mold change, and color change times, improving overall efficiency even for individual orders
Tangible Benefits for Mac3 Customers
This new approach has brought tangible benefits for our customers:
- Reduced business risk: thanks to our staff’s focus towards conscious and quality-centric production, Quickstop minimizes the likelihood of defects, thereby mitigating potential collateral damages.
- Assured company reputation. The quality of the products offered provides security to our customers and their buyers. Our constant attention to quality ensures that customers can rely on our products for their needs, strengthening their reputation for reliability and competence in their sector.
- Tailored solutions for different needs. Our Lean Production approach allows us to swiftly accommodate unique client requests and customizations.
- Better traceability. Our management system provides a clear view of order status, ensuring greater transparency for customers following a “pull” production cycle.
Evolution in the Hydraulic Industry: QuickStop and Mac3’s Enduring Philosophy of Lean Production
The Lean Production project for Mac3’s QuickStop goes beyond production process: it’s an overhaul redefining our entire corporate philosophy.
Implementing Lean Production goes beyond improving efficiency, it’s giving light to an organizational culture based on flexibility and continuous innovation. QuickStop is more than a product, it’s a tangible symbol of how our dedication to excellence translates into reliable and modular solutions for our customers’ needs.
The adoption of Lean principles rendered us more agile, enabling us to respond swiftly to market dynamics and align production with actual demand. We have reduced waiting and response times, partially mitigated costs arising from the increase in raw materials, reduced costs related to large inventories while providing our customers with unprecedented flexibility in customizing their orders.
The Lean project has made us more resilient to industry challenges, ensuring continuous high-quality production, even in changing conditions.
QuickStop was the heart of this approach, and it’s more than a commercial success: it’s a demonstration of our commitment to innovation and quality. Our goal is not only to meet customer expectations but to exceed them, offering dependable, timely hydraulic solutions.
In essence, Mac3’s QuickStop Lean Production project is more than an operational update: it’s our lasting commitment to excellence and leadership in the hydraulic industry.
Looking forward, we will remain committed to driving change and overcome challenges, with QuickStop and Lean Production at the forefront of our mission to redefine liquid level control solutions.
At Mac3 we believe that quality, innovation and trust form the foundation on which we build our success.
