Equipment Manufacturer Doubles Productivity, Cuts Inventory and Lead Times in Half

UPCO mines capacity for more business from the gains provided by Infor scheduling and planning solution

Atlanta, GA January 6, 2006 Leading oilfield equipment manufacturer UPCO Inc., of Claremore, Okla., said it recently added Infor's Easy Lean solution to its Infor VISUAL Enterprise resource planning system. The company reported that within just a few weeks it was able to uncover significant capacity for new business as a result of simple changes in its business processes.

UPCO President Bill Ridenour reported that the newly added Infor technology had enabled the company to reduce both work-in-progress and manufacturing lead time by 50 percent. Simultaneously, productivity rose from the previous $65- to $70-per-man hour to $130-per-man hour and then to $147-per-man hour a month later.

Lean techniques made possible by Infor not only have cut UPCO's costs but also increased its sales, Ridenour said. With the productivity gains and less work-in-progress inventory, UPCO was able to take on 35 percent more business because it now had the capacity to handle the additional work. Previously, the company had been held back by its long manufacturing lead times, excessive work-in-progress inventory and less-than-desirable productivity.

Ridenour said he decided to implement Infor's Easy Lean scheduling and planning solution after he attended an executive session presented by the Infor PSO Throughput Improvement Group during the Infor 2005 User Conference.

Following a two-day Infor assessment of his company's processes and the subsequent implementation of Infor's Easy Lean scheduling and planning software, Ridenour said,