Friday, May 7^th, 2010, Micron was honored to be the fifth and final tour stop for seven members of the Confederation of Danish Industry visiting the United States to see cutting edge lean systems in action. The whirlwind tour included dinner with Jim Womack and stops at:

• Parker Hannifin, New Britain, CT
• HID Global, North Haven, CT
• Toyota Parts Distribution Center, Mansfield, MA
• Herman Miller, Spring Lake and Holland, MI
• Micron Mfg Co, Grand Rapids, MI

The group, led by Christina Villefrance Moller (Confederation of Danish Industry) included, Jens Kristian Jørgensen (Confederation of Danish Industry), Knud Bergholt (GRUNDFOS), Bo Lindekilde Rasmussen (Fritz Hansen), Claus Duevang (Accoat), Claus Hjerrild (Sanistaal), and Jakob Kläning (Sanistaal).

Representing several industries and company sizes at various stages of lean implementation, the contingent focused on Micron’s lean journey since 2000, our lessons learned and our cultural transformation. I’m sure that as cool as it was to have dinner with Jim Womack and visit all the other great companies nothing topped the toast shared by all at the end of the tour and the end of their visit to America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, March 10th, Mike & Dan hosted visitors from Steelcase, the world famous office furniture manufacturer, headquartered right here in Grand Rapids, MI. The discussion focused on the development of lean culture and included a tour of Micron. On April 15th, we were honored to visit one of the Steelcase facilities and witness first hand some of the great things they are doing there.

On Thursday, March 25th, Micron Mfg., along with several other west companies, will be hosting an “Interactive Tours of Best Practice”. This event, sponsored by the Right Place / MMTC-West, is a full day event where attendees will discover best-in-class business processes and systems to increase their competitive edge.
The two areas of focus are Sustainable Business Practices and Cultural Transformation.
The other companies on the tour are Rapid-Line Inc., Haworth Inc., and Light Corporation.

Fish Fry Friday’s! – Friday, February 19th, kicked off the 2010 fish fry season benefiting the West Catholic High School boosters. Why is this Micron news? Cuz if you check out our contacts page you’ll see one of our very own is on the host committee responsible for putting it on each Friday during lent, not to mention that over 2 dozen Preston family members have walked the halls of West over the years.

Micron Tours –
• December 9th, 2009, Micron welcomed Laerdal Medical from Gatesville, Texas. Laerdal is the creator of the Resuscitation Anne, used for decades by millions around the world to learn CPR techniques. Some of the topics reviewed included:
o Short lead time small run process;
o Vendor managed inventory program;
o Lean methodology and daily 5 minute huddles;
o Value stream mapping process;
o Management structure and how it works;
o “One Page Strategic Plan”;
• Micron hosted the Marketing User Group on January 29th.
• February 5th, 2010, Micron welcomed the Amway Corporation for a tour of our 5S Visual Organization / Visual Controls system.

Marketing Diversification User Group – On January 29th, 2010, Micron continued down the learning path with The Right Place, Inc. The Marketing Diversification User Group is the 4th user group we’ve participated in over the years and is designed to help us focus on defining the markets we currently serve, those we plan to pursue and develop a strategic plan for achieving our goals. This user group serves as a continuation of Micron’s efforts to close the loop on its business systems by concentrating on the Sales segment of the Micron Business Loop (check out the Loop on the “What We Do” page). Other participants in the user group include Criterion Mfg, 2kTools and Rapid Line, Inc.

Micron was awarded the Silver Medallion Shingo Award earlier this year. We’ve also received a little PR in the Grand Rapids Press.