Johnson Electric Coil Company is proud to announce that Operations Coordinator Julie Berndt and President Bill Bockes were recently invited to be featured presenters at the April 2010 Manufacturing Advantage Conference at University of Wisconsin-Stout, hosted by the university's NWMOC (Northwest Wisconsin Manufacturing Outreach Center) and a consortium of Wisconsin technical colleges. The theme of the conference was "Resources to Survive and Thrive Discovered."
The session provided by Julie and Bill, entitled "Journey to Staying Successfully Small," was one of the most well-attended and, as conference organizer Joni Geroux stated afterward, "I heard glowing remarks about your session!" Participants heard a real life story about our small, family owned, third generation manufacturer that completely transformed our culture from one of command and control-bossing to one of continuous improvement, employee involvement, and lean manufacturing principles. Attendees found out how the right combination of an owner, a champion, and an education gave our company a future to continue as a small family-owned manufacturing company. They received insight on how to recognize when survival depends on significant change in corporate culture. Our company was able to report that through the worst economic times since the Great Depression, we were able to make significant improvements in wages, productivity, and profits. Julie attributes this to employees being educated in lean techniques and totally involved in decisions related to manufacturing layout and production flow. The success, she says, comes form their commitment, engagement, leadership, and interest in the well being of each other.
The conference with a total participation of 240 was geared toward strengthening small and medium manufacturers in Wisconsin, which has the highest number of manufacturing jobs per capita in the country. Because of the importance of manufacturing jobs in the state, programs such as those of NWMOC and the Conference are vital so that these companies can continue to provide and improve the level of employment. We were honored to be asked to help strengthen other manufacturers in the state.
