Thursaday, May 18, 2006

McLane Northeast
May 18, 2006
Tassone's Wine Garden
8133 Dexter Parkway
Baldwinsville, NY

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McLane Northeast is located in Baldwinsville, New York on 45 acres of land in the Radisson Industrial Park. Built in 1984, the original distribution center consisted of 160,000 square feet, and employed 125 McLane teammates. Today McLane Northeast operates with 365,000 square feet of capacity and employs over 900 teammates from the local areas.

Servicing New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and the New Jersey markets, McLane Northeast are the largest convenience store distributor in the northeast.

The history of McLane Company is a remarkable story of dedicated teammates, loyal customers and visionary leaders working together to build a small wholesale grocery distribution company in Cameron, Texas into an international distribution and logistics leader.

A pioneer in the retail grocery business, Robert McLane opened a small retail grocery store in 1894. Encouraged by his success, he moved into the wholesale trade by 1903.

Today, McLane Company is one of the nation's leading distribution and logistics companies, serving more than 50,000 customer locations around the world including the convenience store, mass merchandise, quick service restaurant, drug store and movie theater industries.

How did a small business operating in the heart of Texas become a leader in the industry? Sound management, leadership, innovation, teammate loyalty, attention to changing trends and courage to pioneer new markets all contributed to McLane's success. At the forefront has been a code of
business - honesty, integrity and high Christian principles.

McLane Company, Inc. continues to grow, providing their customers with the best service and quality in the distribution and logistics industry.

Looking toward the coming of the 21st Century, McLane we developed an energized game plan - "The Strategy for the 21st Century". This strategy is built on a foundation of McLane Company's Beliefs and alues focused on the needs of our customers, teammates and stockholders.

The founder of McLane, Robert McLane, felt deeply that business should be based on Honesty, Integrity, and High Christian Principles. These Beliefs and Values are the principles that guide the relationships with their customers. Facilities, equipment, products and services define the business, but people define the quality of the relationship. Honesty, Integrity and High Christian Principles speak clearly to our customers, and the value we put on these relationships.

Community involvement is an integral part of McLane Company's philosophy. McLane Northeast is the largest contributor to Children's Miracle Network in Upstate New York and has embraced the CMN organization. McLane Northeast conducts numerous fundraising events during the year and raises in excess of $100,000 per year for this great cause. McLane Northeast is also a major contributor to the United Way organization. Teammates actively support these and various other organizations within our communities by monetary contributions as well as with their time.

The dinner portion of the evening will be at Tassone's Wine Garden, at 5:30, with the meal beginning at 6:00 followed by the tour. The cost for non-members/guests will be $15. Please make reservations by Monday, May 15 by e-mailing Lanette Button at ltb916@aol.com or calling 315- 687-3810.

April 20, 2006

Thursday, April 20, 2006
Golden Artist Colors, Inc.
188 Bell Road
New Berlin, NY

President's Message:

Thanks to all who came to our March PDM on "Resources Available to Your Business." The presenters captivated our attention with the many services and resources available to all of us. Everything from renting time on equipment at one of the 5 CAT facilities to SATOP (working thru an engineering issue with a NASA Scientist) to Export NY classes etc. In addition to the services all the public money that is available in the form of grants is something these groups can put you in touch with. Grants can cover large or small scale training, process improvements and more. We have added links on our website to TDO and the county's website.

Our time has come to announce the slate of officers for the 2006-2007 Board of Directors for the CNY APICS chapter:

Gretchen DeLorenzo-President
Maryclair Grace-Co-Director of Awards
Michael Robb - Co-Director of Awards
John Hall - Webmaster/Director of Membership
Fred Easton - Student Chapter Liason
Constance Nyman - Director of Sales and Marketing

Open
Education Chair
Corporate Membership

Voting will take place on this slate at the May meeting. If you are interested in joining the Board, please contact me. We are always looking for people to work on managing our chapter.

GOLDEN ARTIST COLORS, INC.

Our tour this month will be a bus tour to Golden Artist Colors, Inc. in New Berlin, New York.

Golden Artist Colors, Inc. began as a four-person company producing acrylic paint in 1980. A commitment to delight its customers has lead to consistent growth. Now employing 137 full-time equivalent employees in its newly expanded 100,000-square foot facility, GOLDEN continues to extend the boundaries of painting through producing quality, innovative products born of a constant dialogue with artists. Such high standards are achieved through efforts from all staff members in a shared commitment to excellence. GOLDEN has always prepared and directed its employees to act and feel like owners of the company through participative management practices. The company is committed not only to its employees, but to contributing positively to the community both locally and globally as well. Since 2002, GOLDEN has been learning Lean principles and applying Lean tools to drive waste out of its processes. To date, GOLDEN has successfully applied 5S, Set-up Reduction, Cellular Manufacturing, and Kaizen Events to improve safety, quality, productivity, and service while reducing inventory. Please join us on April 20 for an exciting, employee lead presentation on GOLDEN’s Lean journey and tour of their second shift manufacturing operations.

Agenda:- Leave the 481 / Thruway exit at 5:15 p.m., (arrive at Golden at 6:30 p.m.- Dinner will be provided on the bus with a presentation upon arriving and the tour immediatel following. The tour is planned on ending around 8:00, arriving back in Syracuse at the Thurway exit a between 9:15 and 9:30. Please make your reservations with Lanette Button at ltb916@aol.com or by calling (315) 687-3810 as soon as possible so that transportation can be secured and boxed lunches can be ordered (no later than April 17). The cost of the boxed lunch will $10.00 for guests/non-members. Because of the time and distance requirements, please plan on arriving at the Thruway as close to 5:15 as possible.

Thursday, March 16, 2006
Professional Development Meeting

President’s Message

Thank you to all who came out for our tour of Magna. We had a terrific turnout, 38 people. The guides were very knowledgeable and full of enthusiasm for their jobs. This month we have a dinner meeting known in the APICS world as a PDM – Professional Development Meeting. We have presenters coming from various area organizations to discuss services and resources available to local businesses. This will be an opportunity for you to come and learn what resources are available and get to speak directly to representatives from those groups. Are you interested in getting a grant for your company or training? Come and learn what is available and how you can tap into it.

Presenters Include:

TDO
Cindy Oehmigen, Senior Process Improvement Specialist
and
Sue Kuhns, Director of Marketing and Communications
www.tdo.org

The Central New York Technology Development Organization (CNYTDO) is a not-for-profit economic development organization that receives significant financial support from the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR), New York's high-technology economic development agency, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). CNYTDO serves as NYSTAR®'s designated Regional Technology Development Center for Central New York and one of nearly 350 MEP locations across the country. Its mission is to accomplish economic development through the support of high tech and manufacturing entrepreneurs and businesses in Cayuga, Onondaga, Madison, Cortland, and Oswego counties.
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Dave Tooker, CFPIM“Funding Opportunities”
Education Funding Opportunities for Your Chapter Businesses

The manufacturing sector is still a large and important part of our national economy. In recent years, this sector has come under increasing pressure from foreign and domestic competition. Many States have realigned their federal funding under recent Work Force Investment Act revisions to provide training funds directly to companies seeking to improve their work force skills and productivity, in turn the bottom line. These systems are performance-driven managed by the outcomes rather then the means, or the processes used to achieve the outcome. Much of the available funding is based on the expectations of the employer. This change has provided a unique opportunity for companies seeking education for their employees.

In this overview Dave will review the opportunities and show direct examples of the grant-funding network that he has used and that your organization should consider using. In addition he will illustrate his working model to get your eligibility in place and the grants moving for your business community. Accessing these funds will accelerate your organization growth and positively impact your business. His review will include:

- The Opportunity
- The successful funding network
- Where's the training money, eligibility?
- Facilitating the grant process
- The do’s and don’ts of the funding process
- Get a piece of the training pie`
- Case examples

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from someone who has direct experience accessing the maze of the government-training grant obstacle course. In addition to a solid background in materials and operations management Dave has secured over $4,000,000 from numerous programs and in direct financing. Of this amount approximate $200,000 has gone directly to fund APICS related education with an additional $50,000 secured in June 2005.

About the Speaker: Dave’s career has focused on the optimization of the supply chain, development and implementation of manufacturing systems and productivity improvement efforts including Materials Management, Purchasing, Total Quality Management, Lean/Just In Time, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Statistical Process Control, Material Requirements Planning (MRP), Enterprise Resource Planning, Industrial Engineering and Business Development. He is a certified fellow and qualified instructor by APICS, The Association for Operations Management. In addition he is President of Tappan Zee chapter and region II board member. Dave holds a bachelor of science in Industrial Engineering from Southern Illinois University and is a 1998 graduate of Leadership Dutchess. He is currently the Materials Manager for SP Industries in Gardiner, New York.
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Carolyn May, Senior Economic Developer,
Onondaga County Office of Economic Development
www.ongov.net

The Onondaga County Office of economic Development is responsible for the development efforts to expand, and attract business in the County. The office offers a team-based support systems that has developed strong partnerships with the public and private sectors. Whether you are considering moving a business into the county, growing your existing business or starting your own small business we can help.

Dinner Meeting Location: Wyndham Syracuse, 6301 State Route 298 , East Syracuse, New York 13057 Phone: 315-432-0200

Please make your reservations on or before March 13, 2006 by e-mailing Lanette Button at ltb916@aol.com or calling (315) 687-3810. The cost for non-members/guests is $15.00.

From Interstate 81 North:
Take I-81 North to I-481 North (Exit 16A)
Travel 481 N to Exit 7 (Bridgeport Exit)
Make a right onto Route 298 West
Go about 3 miles and hotel will be on right From Interstate 81 South:
Take I-81 South to NYS Thruway (I-90) going East
Travel I-90 East to exit 35 (East Syracuse & Route 298 East)
Enter traffic circle and get off at Route 298 East
Take Route 298 East to first traffic light, hotel will be on left

From NYS Thruway I-90:
Take I-90 to exit 35 (same exit traveling from East or West)
After toll booth enter traffic circle and get off at Route 298 East
Travel Route 298 East to first traffic light, hotel will be on left

From Downtown Syracuse:
Take Route 690 East to Thompson Road North Exit (16N)
Travel Thompson Road North 3 miles to Carrier Circle
Take Route 298 East .5 mile to first traffic light, hotel will be on left

New Process Gear
Thursday, February 16, 2006

Our tour for February will at New Process Gear (NPG). NPG has made Syracuse, New York the four-wheel drive capital of the world. NPG is a leading supplier of transfer cases and other drivetrain products in North America, with 2005 sales of approximately U.S.$1.25 billion. Customers include DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Ford, BMW, AM General, ZF Batavia, and Tesma. The business consists of a 1.7 million-square foot manufacturing facility on 130 acres and currently employs almost 2,800 employees. NPG’s mission is to develop, manufacture,and sell world competitive driveline products, and to be a company from which customers want to buy, to which suppliers want to sell, for which employees want to work, that supports the community, and that provides profitable long term growth for the benefit of all employees. Due to increasing competition, NPG is expanding it’s efforts in the areas of lean and eliminating waste. NPG’s employees are continuously looking for ways to run the business better and more efficiently.

Visit www.magnapowertrain.com for other news and product descriptions.

Dinasaur BBQ will cater the dinner at NPG beginning at 6:00. Please plan on arriving by 5.45
so the dinner can start promptly at 6:00 with the tour immediately following.

Please make reservations by Monday, February 13 by either e-mailing Lanette Button at ltb916@aol.com or (315) 687-3810. When making reservations, the names of members/non-members and guest are needed as well as their place of employment. The cost of the dinner for non-members/guests is $15.00.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Higbee, Inc.
6741 Thompson Road
Syracuse, New York
Thursday, January 19, 2006

Since 1932, Higbee, Inc. has enjoyed the reputation of excellence in the diecut gasketing and sealing products industry. Their customer base has grown from local to global which speaks to their capability to put their customers first and deliver defect-free products on time.

Currently located in their 60,000-square foot building in the heart of Central New York, Higbee, Inc. serves OEM industries including compressors, pumps, valves, automotive aftermarket, electrical construction, filtration, and small engine manufacturers. Higbee's state-of-the art manufacturing systems are capable of meeting the requirements of their customers' varying needs, no matter what size or shape.

Rubber molded products are also available from Higbee, Inc. Using their large and experienced supplier base, they provide their customers with rapid request-for-quote response, and the fastest delivery of prototype and production product to be found in the US.

New to Higbee, Inc. capabilities is their Assembly Division. High speed, modern assembly equipment is available to compliment customers' requirements for gasket and rubber molded product at prices that will improve their competitive position.

Total customer satisfaction can be the ONLY goal of an organization such as Higbee, Inc.

Dinner will be at Joey's, 6594 Thompson Road, Syracuse. Reservations must be made no later than, January 16 by contacting Lanette Button at ltb916@aol.com or (315) 687-3810. When making reservations, please indicate members/non-members as well as names, and if directions are needed. The cost for non-members is $15.00 per guest.

Social: 5:30 - 6:00 followed by dinner. Tour will begin promptly at 7:00.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Mistake-Proofing

One-day Training Outline
Material is organized in four 90-minute sessions
presented on one day
John R. Grout

Session I: Introductory Material

Welcome:
Objectives
Definitions & basic concepts

Everyday Examples
Some examples

Why use it? -- Motivation

Economics (what's the cost savings)
The problem of human error (why is it hard to fix with existing tools)

What would you do?
Current prevention and appraisal methods
(Exercise: What are you doing to make things turn out right currently?)
How your current methods work
Are zero defects really possible?

Session II: Basics

Logic of inspection
Judgment
Informative
Source

Anatomy of mistake-proofing
Inspection techniques
Setting functions
Control methods

Examples

Hierarchy/rules of thumb
Discuss what is most/least effective among parts of Mistake-proofing

Session III: What to Expect

Where it works well & does not work well
Economics of devices
Clear intent -- know the answer

Synergy with other quality tools
Links to FMEA and other quality tools
Design issues
Complexity
DFA (Design For Assembly) rules
Quality tools life cycle

Group Case Studies & presentations

Session IV: Psychology of Human Error

Putting knowledge in the world
(EXERCISE: legos)
Constraints
Affordances
Visibility & feedback

Implementation

Keep it simple & low cost
Bias for action
Implementation submission, approval, tracking, idea transfer,

Assignment (Develop and implement one or more mistake-proofing devices and report your efforts in 4-6 weeks.)

http://www.mistakeproofing.com/Contact/contact.html

TOUR:  Welch Allyn Medical Division

Welch Allyn Medical Division
Corporate Headquarters
4341 State Street Road
Skaneateles Falls, NY 13153-0220
Telephone: 1-800-535-6663

Thursday, October 20, 2005

We will be touring the Machining Area with CNC machines. The Rotofinish area and Plating areas as well as Assembly, Stockroom and Shipping. Welch Allyn runs a full three shifts in Machining and Rotofinish. They run two shifts in all the other areas.

Welch Allyn is about trust and determination, loyalty and hard work, vision and innovation, risk and reward. Their reputation for highest integrity business practices, and for putting customers first is unparalleled. It's a place where you can imagine, innovate and work with motivated people -- and build a career with one global company.

At Welch Allyn, the culture is uniquely visible, widespread, and expressed through the daily behavior and leadership of employees, managers and shareholders.

Strategic Vision - Caregivers in frontline settings worldwide will look to the people of Welch Allyn first for solutions to patient care problems.

Customer Focus - Welsh Allyn believe that their customers' needs drive everything they do--every product and service they develop.

Integrity & Respect for Others - Ethical behavior matters, and it is rooted in valuing one another as individuals while working toward company goals.

Innovation & Change - They recognize that change and the need for continuous improvement are constants: as a company, they have an open mind and an inventive spirit

Profitable Growth - Through thoughtful planning they achieve profitable, sustainable growth, and thereby strengthen their future.

Accountability - Every decision has implications; therefore, Welch Allyn considers each step, knowing that they are accountable to their colleagues, customers, community, and themselves

Welch Allyn business strategic initiatives focus on six key areas:

1. Franchise Development

2. Building and enhancing our presence in key market segments

3. Channel Development

4. Maximizing the efficiency of our many distinct distribution channels

5. Product Development

6. Developing solutions that solve the problems our customer's want solved

Business Development - Building business through strategic acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships and licensing deals

Operational Excellence - Optimizing processes so that customers, not products come back to them

Organizational Development - Building training and mentoring programs so their employees people grow as the business grows

Awards & Honors - Welch Allyn has long been recognized for its outstanding technology innovation and progressive Human Resource policies and practices. Their eputation as a company that takes care of its people began when they were one of the first companies to implement an employee pension plan.

Workplace Recognition - Named one of the "100 Best Companies To Work For" by FORTUNE Magazine; Named New York State "Company of the Year" by United Way;Awarded "Entrepreneur of the Year" by Ernst & Young; Winner of the "HR Excellence" Award - the Society of Human Resource Management - Compensation and Benefits Best Practices and Strategic Management Best Practices.

Winner of the Donlon Award - United Way Success by Six for "Best Family Workplace Practices"

Technological Advancement: 2002 Frost & Sullivan Market Engineering Award for Technology Innovation in the medical ambulatory telemetry monitoring equipment market.

Winner of two "R & D 100" awards in 2002 - for design innovation, significance of product, and overall engineering effort for the DuraShock and PanOptic products.

2002 Medical Design Excellence Awards in three categories: "Patient-Friendly Device"; "Radiological and Electromechanical Device"; "Over-the-Counter and Self-Care Product"

Markets & Technologies - Welch Allyn is the only company that focuses efforts entirely on helping frontline practitioners work more effectively, efficiently, and empathetically with their patients at the point of care.

For information about Welch Allyn, please visit their website at: www.welchallyn.com

Dinner will be at “The Lodge.” Directions to “The Lodge” for dinner can be found at: http://thelodge.welchallyn.com/, starting at 5:45 with the tour immediately following dinner.
Please contact Lanette Button at (315) 687-3810 or ltb916@aol.com by Monday, October 17, 2005 for both dinner and/or tour reservations.

TOUR OF NOVELIS, Oswego, NY

Thursday, September 15, 2005

The new leader in aluminum rolling and can recycling worldwide. Novelis was formed as an independent aluminum rolled products company in 2005, built on Alcan corporate values, technologically advanced processes and disciplined management systems. Our vision is to shape the products of the future through a powerful combination of a customer-focused culture and unrivaled
manufacturing and technological capabilities. We relentlessly seek to create new value in today’s marketplace, for our customers.

Employing approximately 700 area men and women to produce more than a billion pounds of high quality aluminum sheet each year, the Oswego plant represents Novelis’ largest wholly owned fabrication facility in North America. Equipped for aluminum scrap remelting, ingot casting, and hot and cold rolling, the plant generates premium aluminum products used primarily by the beverage can, building and construction, and automotive markets. The plant also recycles more than 120 million pounds of can manufacturing process scrap and has the capacity to recycle more than 6 billion used
beverage cans per year.

Health, safety and environmental issues are key components of our management operating system. In 2004, Oswego Works received the Corporation’s President's Environment, Health and Safety Award of Distinction.

The Novelis Oswego team demonstrates the company’s solid commitment to the communities it serves through enterprising civic involvement and proactive leadership. The Oswego facility has made the successful link between recycling and social responsibility through its on-going support of the
Aluminum Cans Build Habitat for Humanity Homes program. In less than two years, Alcan dedicated their second Habitat home to a local Oswego, New York family during 2004.

Transportation to Novelis will be by bus leaving Exit 34A of the NYS Thruway promptly by 5:30. Since the travel time is somewhat lengthy, please arrive as close to 5:15 as possible so the time schedule can be met.

Departure: by 5:30 p.m.
Arrival: 6:15 p.m.
Dinner: upon arrival (dinner will be served at the facility)
Tour: approximately 1 hour 15 minutes
Departure from Novelis: approximately 8:30 and arrival back at Exit 34A 9:00 - 9:15 PM

Please contact Lanette Button at (315) 687-3810 or ltb916@aol.com by Monday, September 12, 2005.