We sent Tyler DePoppe and Dan Curran down to San Antonio with our DE4040, WL16000HE, EC18000VE, and introduced our new DE30!
What is the ICAA?
“ICAA’s mission is to assist its members by developing and executing programs to keep them on the leading edge in the rapidly changing world of insulation. ICAA delivers personalized service, regardless of the materials you install, where you buy from, or the size or age of your business.” (insulate.org)
Convention and Trade Show
WINCO took the opportunity to showcase what a lot of other spray foam companies have already noticed; quality generators that are dependable and can keep up through the work day. We have worked with many of our current customers, as well as spray foam manufacturers, to design and engineer the best power source available. We started with the DE4040 with a 40 psi compressor, we since had added a 23kW, 40kW, 50kW and our newest, 30kW.
COME SEE US AT THE SPFA SPRAY FOAM CONVENTION IN SAN ANTONIO, TX FEBRUARY 28th – MARCH 3rd!!
**We will be introducing a new generator!**
WINCO PROVIDES A COMPLETE LINE OF GENERATORS FOR THE SPRAY FOAM INDUSTRY
A few years ago, we implemented a system that assist us to organize and clean up work areas. By integrating these standards, we have sped up production, minimized mistakes, and are creating an organized area.
Currently, we have been focusing on our receiving area. With the issues with getting certain materials from suppliers, we have been ordering other components well in advanced. That ensures that once backordered supplies arrive at our facility, we are ready to build. As you can imagine, having more materials in the facility has given us a space issue.
We have increased our raw materials over 70%. This increase lets us provide better delivery dates and reduce gaps in production time.
Our receiving department also houses our picked parts. We have been organizing spaces to accommodate new materials, and also going through our stock. Any items that are not picked on a regular basis will be put in a designated inventory area. This opens up space to ensure regularly required parts are accessible. While all of this organizing is happening, it gives us the ability to do a more in depth inventory count.
An area that was once our winding department now houses engines and gen ends.
We are adding more sort bins to utilize shelf space and ease of access.
As WINCO continues to grow, our need for space will be an ongoing, but welcomed challenge. Stay tuned to find out more about how our facility prepares for the future!
Winco’s Eubanks wire cutter has been with us since 1984. That is 37 years of service. I don’t think there are any original parts left in it. After so many years it is always a little sad to see something familiar leave. At the same time, it is exciting to announce a new tool for our team.
The new Artos CS-326
Our manufacturing engineers are responsible to ensure our employees have the best tools so they can focus on doing their best work. Our wire department has had significant capacity restraints to keep up with production. The engineers selected and installed a new Artos wire cutter. It is already showing significant improvement. We recently processed a job in 15 minutes that used to take just under 4 hours. This will free up additional labor to increase our production capacity. Take a look below to see some of the features of our new machine.
The Old
The Eubanks wire cutter has been a key part of our manufacturing. It had been getting a little worn, had some limitations and it was just time to upgrade.
Limitations: Pneumatic Slow Manual wire set up 10 gauge limitation Stamp wire marker
The New
The Artos wire cutter, made by our neighbors in Wisconsin, with increase our capabilities and speed up production.
Improvements: 100% electric servos Faster More accurate Energy efficient Automatically adjusts for wire sizes and strip length Process 6-32AWG Ink jet wire marker
Fun fact: Each WL22000VE has over 45 wires that stretch almost 35 feet in each receptacle panel.
The Artos can be programmed off-site by our engineers. This allows the operator to spend more time cutting wire and less time programming at the machine.
Another improvement is our new wire carousel. When the Lowe’s in a nearby town closed, we were able to purchase their wire carousel. Now, we can store all of our wire in a location for quick and easy access. The good news is the operator doesn’t have to lift the spools for every job anymore. The downside is they don’t get paid for weight lifting anymore.
This is just one of the many improvements we are making to our facility and processes to provide you with better generators more cost effectively. This new machine will definitely be apart our of factory tours! Hopefully we can see you soon!
Handling freight isn’t always an easy job. Its frustrating to receive a shipment that is either damaged or missing a component, so we are working hard to make it better.
We track freight issues that arise and are regularly adapting how we prepare our shipments.
Each shipment that has freight damaged or lost parts is logged into our quality tracking system. This tracking allows us to clearly see where the most common issues are. We then take corrective actions to work on reducing the number of problems that occur on the trip between our dock to yours. The following changes are in response to what you are reporting from the field.
Split and Lost Components
Over the last four months, there was a dramatic spike in the number of shipments that are split or have lost components. In order to deal with this issue, we initiated a policy that requires all loose components to be banded or shrink wrapped to their pallet. This policy was initiated roughly four weeks ago. We have already seen a dramatic decrease of accessories getting separated or lost items.
Broken Pallets
We have seen some pallet designs that were not up to the job. Our engineering team has been working on creating new pallet designs that will reinforce their strength. Our generators travel a long distance and in most cases are needed right away. Giving them a durable shipping base will help reduce damage.
R&L Handling Issues
At Winco, we partner with vendors and work together to find solutions for our customers. R&L carriers has been our primary LTL shipper for over 8 years. As we have seen an uptick in handling related issues, we have been working with their quality team in order to resolve our issues. They are currently taking two major initiatives to reduce freight damage.
Over the course of one week in January each dock worker at R&L will be trained. Each daily courses will be about the quality issues they have with Winco freight. This will raise awareness of the issues throughout the company and has been proven to help reduce customer specific issues.
The R&L quality team has initiated a monitoring program to help identify exactly where the damage is occurring so they can track the problem down to the terminals where more aggressive corrections are needed.
We are excited for these new initiatives and look forward to this new year with a better shipping experiance.
