Trenton-based Zytron Control Products, which provides Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) temperature and process control products for a variety of domestic markets and to multi-national corporations, was able to improve efficiencies and productivity through workforce training and Lean manufacturing initiatives.

As a result, the organization realized:

• $700,000 in new sales
• Six new employees
• $665,000 in cost savings

While the company was previously doing well, offshore competition was threatening the organization’s long-term growth. In order to combat offshore competitors, Zytron wanted to improve on-time delivery and quality to customers while increasing productivity.

Zytron connected with the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Inc. (NJMEP), a not-for-profit that helps manufacturers become more profitable by increasing sales, reducing costs, improving efficiencies, and spurring job creation. NJMEP and its resource partner worked closely with Zytron to implement workforce development and Lean manufacturing training. Assisted by NJMEP, Zytron applied for a New Jersey Department of Labor Skills4Jersey Training Grant to help offset some of the training costs.

Employees were trained in key areas such as Value Stream Mapping, 5S for workplace organization, using standard work methods in cells, cellular flow manufacturing and pull kanban systems. The company also invested in a Lean introduction class that demonstrated how Lean tools are applied and its benefits.

As a result of the training, production doubled in some areas, and quality improved significantly reducing any required rework. Lead times decreased dramatically, and Zytron achieved a perfect on-time delivery record within one year after the Lean standards were integrated. The results and impact were collected and reported by an independent party.

“This training has had a huge impact on our organization. It was a first for most of our employees – they loved it and the business has benefited from it as well. The Lean methods have improved our processes helping our employees work more efficiently and removing waste from our current operation,” said John Wilkinson, President of Zytron.

The full text of the articles are available at:

http://njbmagazine.com/njb-news-now/control-products-manufacturer-increases-sales-700000-hires-six-new-employees-workforce-training/

http://blog.nj.com/new_jersey_businesses_whats_happening/2016/05/trenton-based_control_products_manufacturer_increases_sales_by_700000_and_hires_six_new_employees_be.html

TRENTON, NJ – Acting Governor Kim Guadagno today continued her outreach to New Jersey’s manufacturers with a visit to Zytron Control Products, Inc. in Ewing. The stop follows the Acting Governor’s July Manufacturing Industry Roundtable, which provided leaders in the manufacturing industry with the opportunity to speak directly with State policymakers about critical concerns.

In business since 1985, next year Zytron will be celebrating its 30th year serving the process control community, designing, developing and engineering time, temperature, humidity, pressure and multi-function controls for commercial OEMs. Zytron’s products, including its popular Series 120 control which has become a mainstay of the food service industry, power many industry leading brands. A bold new approach and a revamp of its production facility has revolutionized Zytron’s manufacturing process, creating jobs and increasing production capacity to historic levels.

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Companies like Zytron Control Products are a great example of our state’s diverse manufacturing sector and the business savvy that allows them to remain viable, providing a wide range of products and services to customers around the country,” said Acting Governor Guadagno. “We are committed to working with our state’s manufacturers, and we applaud Zytron Control Products’ continued growth in New Jersey.”

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After the implementation of the best practices in LEAN manufacturing, Zytron has streamlined its on-time deliveries, achieving a perfect on-time record while reducing its operating costs by nearly 30% and contributing to a nearly 40% increase in sales. “We could not be more happy with the transformation our company has experienced with the help of the NJMEP and look forward to another record breaking year in 2015,” says John Wilkinson, President of Zytron Control Products, Inc.

A New Era for Zytron

Zytron looks forward to an expansion of its engineering staff which will add new capabilities, including the tighter integration of wireless technology and touch panel displays which will make their controls more dynamic and increase user friendliness. Already in place, software updates via their configurable product platforms allow for one control to potentially be “universal” to an OEM’s entire product line, speeding new application development and reducing cost.

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We are excited to host Acting Governor Guadagno and have her tour our facility,” said John Wilkinson and George Sare, President and Materials Manager, respectively, of Zytron Control Products. “We are grateful for this administration’s support and we look forward to being a member of New Jersey’s business community for years to come.”

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Zytron is a proud partner with the State of New Jersey. Strategically located on the eastern seaboard, New Jersey is an economic hub of the Mid-Atlantic with manufacturing contributing more than $38 billion to the state’s Gross Domestic Product and $32.8 billion in manufactured goods exports. This results in quick efficient transit of Zytron’s goods and services anywhere in the country or around the world.

TRENTON, NJ – Zytron is a huge advocate of software-driven design which allows hardware to be repurposed for a wide variety of applications with nothing more than a simple configuration.

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Zytron has been an integral part of our business as we scale and grow to meet our shareholder objectives. We have an aggressive sales plan and new product development pipeline which is facilitated by the universal control which was designed flawlessly for our lines.” – Head of Engineering, Large Food Service Manufacturer

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One of Zytron’s best case studies for this is a large commercial food service OEM for which Zytron’s team developed a universal programmable electronic control incorporating a variety of software selectable operating modes allowing it to be easily re-configured for use in any of the OEM’s products and applications. In this case, the customer only needs to stock one controller to support their entire product line versus many less reliable controls which need to be re-engineered from scratch for each application.

The result is an increased speed-to-market and a cost savings which gives Zytron’s customer a huge competitive advantage in the marketplace when it comes to launching new products.

Zytron Control Products, Inc, which is known industry-wide for its custom development capabilities in even the most challenging of scenarios, has more information on their time-tested development process and a new product development form available here.

TRENTON, NJ – NJMEP and NJBIZ held its inaugural New Jersey Manufacturing Awards event in celebration of Manufacturing Day on Friday. The all ­day event kicked off with a welcome address by Harold J. Wirths, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor, and the event’s keynote speaker, U.S. Sen. Cory A. Booker.

Zytron Control Products, Inc. was awarded with the association’s “Bold New Strategy” award in part for the steps it took in implementing LEAN manufacturing principles, a system which originated at Toyota. Zytron is an integrated design and manufacturing company specializing in the development and production of electronic temperature, humidity & process controls, working closely with customers to provide technically innovative, cost effective solutions meeting the most demanding requirements of the application. Zytron utilizes state-of-the-art manufacturing and a dedicated workforce of skilled employees that are committed to the principal of continuous improvement to ensure product quality, reliability and timely delivery.

The award was followed by a subsequent visit by New Jersey Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno.

TRENTON, NJ – Beginning in 2013, Zytron began implementing the techniques of LEAN manufacturing, a management philosophy derived mostly from the Toyota Production System.

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The introduction of LEAN manufacturing has transformed our production floor, increased productivity and ultimately allowed this business to scale to levels which we had never dreamed possible.” – Jon Wilkinson, Production Supervisor

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It became known as “lean” in the 1990s and is based on the reduction of seven wastes – including over production, inventory wastes, production defects and transportation among others — to improve overall customer value. These are largely credited for turning Toyota from a small company to the world’s largest automaker.

Today’s LEAN manufacturing is based on 5 core principles:

1. Identify value
2. Map the value stream
3. Create flow
4. Establish pull
5. Seek perfection

These are part of a thought process which seeks continuous improvement, arguably the most critical principle of LEAN manufacturing. Other principles include levelized and “Just In Time” production and quality built in.

Measuring the impact of LEAN manufacturing

The impact on Zytron has been tremendous, resulting in —

• Reduced costs by 30%;
• Perfect on-time delivery;
• Increased capacity has helped drive a 40% boost in revenue.