Hydrus Controls Lean Manufacturing Evaluation (Jul 2008)

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Hydrus Controls Lean Manufacturing Evaluation (Jul 2008)

Date: July 30, 2008

To: ICII/ Hydrus Clients

From: John McCabe

Subject: Hydrus Controls LEAN MANUFACTURING evaluation

Hydrus Controls has experienced incredible growth in our UL certified electrical shop. Orders of tower boxes, main panels, collector rings and other accessories have reach record levels. Production of these items had to be dramatically increased in order to keep up with our customer demands.

Earlier this month, the Hydrus Controls division of Irrigation Components International completed a Lean Manufacturing evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation was to increase the production rate without sacrificing quality. All of our production and shipping / receiving personnel participated in the exercise. After 4 days of making process improvements, we were able to increase the production of our tower boxes by over 120%. This was accomplished by utilizing the same number of employees. We went to a cellular type work station to create product flow. The work cell had 3 stations and 1 material handler. Three weeks after the installation of the Lean Manufacturing techniques, we have been able to sustain the higher production levels. We now believe these levels can be sustained over a long period of time.

Part of the Lean Manufacturing theory is to constantly fine tune the manufacturing techniques to gain further efficiencies. We have given our employees the opportunity to suggest additional ideas that will push our production capabilities even higher. Our employees are dedicated to providing our customers with the best products available in a timely manner.

Sincerely yours,

John McCabe

President

Irrigation Components International