Our Lean Years are Our Best Years

Excerpted from Part 1 of a 3-part series by Bob Oborn, President of KEP

I’m not sure where KEP would be today if we hadn’t adopted Lean Manufacturing practices, eliminating waste and practicing continuous improvement.

I say this because I have witnessed suppliers who, for many reasons, were unwilling or unable to adopt processes that made them more efficient. They lost business. Laid off lots of people. Even went out of business.

However, because KEP adopted Lean process and culture – and stuck with it (that’s the key!) – we have a totally different way of doing business, externally and internally. In the past twelve years, our employees’ morale is higher, turnover is lower, and we have three facilities that are pristine showcases which sell confidence to our customers. Best of all, we have the means to keep prices competitive and consistent without killing our margin. Our customers know the value that KEP brings, so even when our prices go up, they can trust that we have done the work to keep waste out of their cost.

Want to read more about our Lean journey? Download Part 1 now.