Events

January 24, 2023

PCI Group in Fort Mill hosted an OpExChange plant visit focused on sharing progress in its lean journey and innovative approaches to employee development and engagement. The transactional mail provider demonstrated how lean principles, executive commitment, and standard work have supported significant growth while maintaining high-volume, high-security operations. Highlights included a highly automated production flow with minimal work-in-process, strong visual management tied to service-level agreements, and a robust onboarding and career progression program. The visit concluded with an engaging peer discussion centered on retention, training, and building a sustainable lean culture.

January 12, 2023

Dodge Industrial in Greenville, SC hosted an OpExChange plant visit that highlighted its long-standing commitment to operational excellence. As a founding and active OpExChange member, the site demonstrated its capabilities in manufacturing heavy-duty industrial gearboxes, supported by a strong Lean and Six Sigma infrastructure. Visitors observed multiple Kaizen initiatives, a structured tiered performance management process, and a dedicated lean laboratory. The visit also emphasized Dodge Industrial’s exceptional safety culture, including the SafeStart Now program, which has driven significant and sustained improvements in safety performance.

December 6, 2022

The year-end review highlighted strong growth, with membership increasing 64% since mid-2020, despite pandemic disruptions. In 2022, 33 events were delivered through a mix of in-person plant visits, virtual sessions, and half-day workshops, engaging more than 1,000 participants statewide. Several companies and individuals were recognized for outstanding engagement, collaboration, and employee development, including a renamed collaboration award honoring a long-time industry contributor. The update also outlined board leadership activity and previewed a robust slate of plant visits, workshops, and virtual events planned for the first quarter of 2023.

November 15, 2022

As hiring and retention challenges continue across manufacturing, many companies are partnering with workforce providers like MAU Workforce Solutions for support. MAU shared a lean, data-driven framework for building effective contract workforce partnerships, emphasizing upfront discovery, optimization of the hiring funnel, and ongoing collaboration. The key takeaway: treating the relationship as a true partnership—grounded in data and continuous improvement—drives better retention and performance.

November 8, 2022

Campbell’s Snacks hosted a plant tour in Charlotte highlighting a long-standing robotics culture across baking, packaging, and palletizing operations. Attendees saw multiple generations of ABB and Syntegon robots, including high-speed pick-and-place systems and newer technology that combines carton forming and packing to save space. The visit also showcased high-volume cracker production, flexible automation in the warehouse, and a strong emphasis on safety, benchmarking, and workforce engagement as key enablers of sustained automation success.

October 3, 2022

Phoenix Specialty Manufacturing is a fourth-generation, family-owned precision stamper in Bamberg County with a strong national presence. Their success is built on in-house tool and die capability, customer-focused flexibility, and a deeply engaged workforce. At the heart of it all is a leadership culture that prioritizes people and long-term performance.

September 23, 2022

Digital transformation continues to deliver real results for manufacturers—but only when it is tied to a clear business case. Industry examples show strong ROI from automation, analytics, and connectivity, yet many companies remain stuck in “pilot purgatory.” A key takeaway from this session was the importance of thinking big, starting small, and scaling fast, while aligning people, process, and technology. Conducting a structured Industry 4.0 assessment can help organizations identify high-value pilot opportunities, manage change effectively, and build a scalable roadmap for long-term success.

September 8, 2022

Harsco Rail is driving a lean transformation at its West Columbia facility by empowering employees as problem solvers. Through disciplined A3 problem-solving and daily management, the team has delivered nearly $3 million in improvements without capital investment. The focus is simple and effective—build capability, follow the process, and sustain results.

August 23, 2022

This visitvisit to Allied Air Enterprises drew one of the largest turnouts of the year, with thirty-five participants from fourteen member companies. The team shared how standard work, visual management, and PDCA-driven execution have significantly improved performance on their air handler lines. The visit highlighted strong alignment from Hoshin strategy deployment to shop-floor execution, with visible results in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people metrics. Attendees were particularly impressed by the visual factory, takt discipline, and measurable gains achieved through focused kaizen activity.

July 8, 2022

South Carolina continues to see strong momentum in manufacturing expansions, driven by reshoring, workforce shifts, and capital investment. A panel of industry experts shared practical guidance on navigating site selection, real estate trends, workforce strategies, automation decisions, incentives, and construction planning. A consistent theme emerged: early planning and cross-functional collaboration are critical to controlling cost, schedule, and long-term performance during expansion projects.