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Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)

Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions

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Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions is the MEP Center for the state of Arkansas and is part of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. Our mission is maximizing enterprise value for manufacturers through Organizational Excellence, Operational Excellence, Advanced Manufacturing, and Family Business services. Manufacturing Solutions works closely with many public and private organizations to bring world-class resources to Arkansas manufacturers. AEDC-MS has formal partnership agreements with four state universities, the World Trade Center, and other third party providers. In addition, the Center works with community colleges and local economic development organizations to ensure local resources are utilized in delivering assistance to manufactures.

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Success Stories

Leader Starter Kata and Training Within Industry Job Instruction Help Company Achieve Business Improvement in Less Than Eight Months

Reported Year
2024
The plant anticipated a need to increase its production capability due to continued strong demand for metallic stearate. The automated process of the business continued to be highly dependable, but there was a need to strengthen its leadership aspect to meet the changing labor dynamics. While lean manufacturing concepts had been introduced in early

Lean Manufacturing Training Triples Production While Eliminating Overtime

Reported Year
2024
WWBeds facility in North Little Rock, Arkansas, was struggling to meet their customer demand due to material and work flow issues, process layout, limited space, excessive overtime, and not knowing which issues to work on. Leadership turned to AMS, part of the MEP National Network™, for help.

Leader Starter Kata Provides Method and Framework to Success

Reported Year
2023
According to Vice President Doug Vick, "To be honest, we were quite happy with our operation. We only began exploring the Toyota Kata model out of curiosity and to maybe pick the brains of observers outside of our paradigm." For guidance Alweld's leadership turned to the experts at AEDC AMS, part of the MEP National Network™.
Created March 18, 2019, Updated August 1, 2024