FDM

DOMINATING

is called a flitch. “One tree’s production of veneer is what we buy,” he says.

Images, dimensions and characteristics of the entire inventory are entered into a database, from which customers make their choices. The company sells a specific tree, not a species, and the database indicates what flitches are sufficient to meet the requirements of about 50 types of aircraft.

Unlike most companies, Booth functions without managers. “I don’t manage people,” Booth says. “The

This employee has removed a flitch from inventory and wheels it toward the next step in the production process.

computer tells everyone what they have to do today, and who is doing what now. Any individual in our plant who is in production can look at the computer, know what’s coming, know what they must do and when it must be done by.” The system is built on flexibility. “We change our production schedule every 20 minutes,” he says.

Education emphasis

Customer and employee education is a high priority for Booth. “We have an entire education division that does nothing but educate our customers,” Booth says. “We present seminars to all of our customers on how to use our products.”

All employees receive comprehensive training. “We believe the vocabulary is so foreign to everyone that until you understand the production vocabulary, you can’t even be a receptionist,” Booth says. In production, cross-train-ing is essential. “I believe that multiple expertise is a requirement,” he says.

All employees are trained in lean manufacturing. “The new plant is completely designed around lean – total flexibility, total adaptability, flow

The Costa & Grissom KHV wide-belt sander is used for precise sanding of the veneer near the end of the process. The machine is calibrated every day, and because the product is very thin, tolerances are precise to the nearest 1,000^th.

 

– everything is there,” Booth says.

Because of its specific requirements, the company needs outside-the-box specifications and/or modifies or re-builds the equipment it purchases. “There is no other industry like ours, so our requirements are like no one else,” Booth says. “Machinery is usually sold on how fast and how much a machine can produce in a given eight-hour day.