Events

April 19, 2022

Why did dozens of manufacturing leaders travel to a remote site in Abbeville? To see how Stoll Industries combines strong leadership and lean manufacturing to achieve world-class retention. Despite beginning their lean journey only a year ago, Stoll has reduced floor space by 30%, cut hours from 65 to 40 per week, improved flow, and boosted first-pass yield to 80%. Even more impressive is their long-standing culture—anchored in servant leadership—that has sustained roughly 95% retention. Stoll’s focus on people first has created a foundation where continuous improvement thrives.

April 5, 2022

During this visit, VELUX shared how their Greenwood, South Carolina facility is advancing an ambitious commitment to become Lifetime Carbon Neutral by their 100-year anniversary. Through aggressive recycling initiatives, renewable energy investments, and partnerships focused on forest conservation, the site demonstrated how sustainability can be embedded into daily operations while delivering real business value. The visit highlighted VELUX’s belief that responsible manufacturing, continuous improvement, and environmental stewardship are inseparable.

March 16, 2022

AFL Accessories in Duncan, SC has achieved 22 years without a lost-time accident and more than 6.5 million safe work hours in a machining-intensive environment. The team combines a strong people-first culture with practical technology, including real-time locating systems, 3D printing, robotics, and data analytics. Their focus on flexibility, hands-on learning, and employee engagement supports both retention and operational excellence. AFL’s approach shows how simplicity, leadership, and smart technology can work together on the shop floor.

March 10, 2022

Polydeck Screen in Spartanburg hosted a plant visit focused on two critical priorities: caring for employees and safety. The team shared how a deeply rooted caring culture—supported by dedicated Caring roles and a company-funded Caring Fund—drives engagement and supports their goal of zero safety incidents. Attendees experienced hands-on safety practices, including observational audits, onboarding, and employee-led safety programs. Polydeck demonstrated how genuine care for people can translate directly into stronger safety performance.

February 18, 2022

BorgWarner’s Seneca team hosted a plant visit showcasing logistics and inventory improvements at their Shiloh warehouse, featuring drone-based cycle counting from Gather AI and autonomous trailer-loading robots from Slip Robotics. Attendees saw live demonstrations led by warehouse employees, highlighting gains in accuracy, safety, and dock efficiency with rapid implementation timelines. The visit underscored how targeted automation can quickly reduce waste and deliver measurable operational value.

February 10, 2022

Veteran manufacturing leader Mike Ungar shared how Industry 4.0 should be viewed not as a standalone initiative, but as a set of tools that strengthen an existing Lean culture. Lean remains the backbone—focused on flow, waste reduction, and PDCA—while digital technologies can dramatically accelerate improvement cycles. The key message: start with a clearly defined problem, then apply the right Industry 4.0 tools to support Lean, not the other way around.

January 20, 2022

SCMEP introduced its Workforce Development Playbook to help manufacturers address today’s labor challenges through a strategic focus on Recruitment, Retention, and Reputation. During the OpExChange broadcast, Bill Bliss and Susan Whitehead highlighted that engagement and culture—more than compensation alone—are the strongest predictors of retention. The playbook provides practical, short- and long-term actions across 21 workforce topics, reinforced by SCMEP’s “Smart Talent” approach, which applies systematic leadership development to drive engagement and reduce turnover. A full recording, tools, and resources are available on the Portal.

January 14, 2022

As Trane Technologies rapidly expanded its Columbia, SC operations, the site accelerated its Industry 4.0 journey by deploying predictive analytics in partnership with IoTco. Starting with a focused pilot on press operations, Trane achieved a roughly 15% improvement in equipment uptime with payback in under a year. The session highlighted a disciplined “think big, start small, scale fast” approach—grounded in people, process, and tools—that is now being scaled across multiple sites.

December 13, 2021

The 2021 Year-End OpExChange event on December 13 celebrated member growth, recognized award winners, and recapped key learnings from 34 events. The 2022 Q1 schedule and new Portal tools—including templates for development, site visits, and hosting—were also shared with attendees.

November 16, 2021

The final 2021 plant visit was at Sulzer Pumps in Easley, SC, where 17 attendees saw their new digital work instruction platform and toured the facility. Sulzer aims to increase production to 5,000 pumps annually by 2025 and has implemented Dozuki to standardize training, capture tribal knowledge, and enable employee suggestions. Early results show improved employee engagement, higher customer net promoter scores, and reduced complaints. Videos, photos, and presentation slides are available on the Portal.