Crafford-LaserStar Technologies
“Crafford-LaserStar Technologies designs, manufactures, sells, and services two primary product lines: the LaserStar® pulsed laser systems, which are designed for a wide range of micro-welding and marking applications in the jewelry, dental lab, and industrial markets, and the Link-O-Matic® product line, designed for metal-wire linking applications, from jewelry and novelty items, to industrial components. The product lines are 100% manufactured in our
Rhode Island manufacturing facility. We also have sales and service locations in
Rhode Island,
Texas,
California, Europe, and the
Far East.
“ We knew that our key advantages over foreign competition — our delivery speed and outstanding customer service — would be in jeopardy if we just continued doing business as usual. Growth by simply adding layers of people meant more overhead and lower efficiency, and that just wasn’t the smart way to respond. We needed to change not only our processes and procedures; we needed a true cultural change as well. When we started this process a year and a half ago, we were at the critical stage when this transformation had to happen. We also had the employees who were going to be the foundation on which our new culture was built, so whatever we did, they had to buy in to it. From my experience with implementing lean methods in would be needed to realize these changes. Based on my came in, waved their magic wands, delivered a hefty bill, and left us with little to show for it. While I was discussing my dilemma with one of our senior managers, he mentioned that he had met with an old acquaintance who now worked at RIMES. I was pleasantly surprised with RIMES’ methods, professionalism, results-oriented approach, and cost effectiveness. Our relationship with RIMES then began.
Using Lean Manufacturing techniques, we transitioned to small lot sizes, room and have dramatically reduced the handling of parts, both of which reduced time and space required to make product. The net result was that we took production lead times from two to three weeks down to four to before final customer shipping documents are ready — quite a contrast from where we were a year ago, when manufacturing was the bottleneck, amazing! The ability to grow capacity without major capital expenditures gives us a tremendous competitive advantage. Less quantifiable, but no less significant, is the impact our Lean transfer-companies come each year to train on our products. Our sales staff takes great pride in being able to bring new and existing customers here, and asset really helps strengthen our relationship with our customers. been dramatic. On the macro scale, we grew business in excess of 20 % in 2004 without having to add additional staff or space to do it. But even with all of these successes, we’re still not content. I would call them “facilitators”. RIMES knows manufacturing inside and out and provided us with the tools we needed to make the changes we wanted. They facilitated the process and were always there when we needed them, but in the end, they taught us how to tackle our own issues, now and in the future.”
One Industrial Court - P.O. Box 15155 - Riverside, Rhode Island 02915 - Phone: 401-438-1500