Background

Garden State Precast, Inc purchased Duncan Thecker Precast, on November 3, 1999; The new ownership bringing approximately 100 years of experience in the precast concrete industry.

The Garden State Precast facility is located in Farmingdale, NJ and supplies utility contractors in the state of New Jersey with manholes, lift stations, catch basins, utility vaults, electrical junction boxes, box culverts, headwalls, water control structures and water filtration ECPO systems for NJDOT, municipal, commercial and private development. Duncan Thecker/Garden State Precast has been successfully serving this market for the past thirty-seven years.

Challenge

Garden State Precast’s goal is to continually improve the quality of all aspects of its business and gain respect from its customers and vendors alike. Engaging with many of NJMEP’s resources, Garden State Precast was driven to improve their reach, client connections, and overall efficiency.

Solution

Several courses were outlined to coincide with Garden State Precast’s goals. Working closely with NJMEP, a curriculum of improvement was outlined for the upcoming year. That curriculum included:

• Principles of Lean Manufacturing
• Value Stream Mapping
• 5S System: Workplace Organization
• Pull/Kanban Systems
• Cellular/Flow Manufacturing
• Total Productive Maintenance
• Poka Yoke (Error Proofing)
• Set-up Reduction
• Project Management and Implementation of Lean Manufacturing

Results

The resultant improvements were a direct response to Garden State Precast’s adoption of key elements inherent in each course.

• Increased Sales: $750,000.00
• Retained Sales: $2,500,000.00
• Cost Savings: $180,000.00
• Workforce Practices savings: $50,000.00

In addition to manufacturing process improvements, Garden State Precast was eager to implement Human Resource improvements to sustain the changes for a long-lasting, positive growth.

When asked about the experience of working with NJMEP, John Kirby O’Malley, President of Garden State Precast said “As a manufacturer, you’re constantly looking to improve productivity.” John continued, “Working with NJMEP over the last seven years has enabled us to do just that, and will continue to do so.”

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