Phillips Industries has expanded the capabilities of its Electrical Harness Division (EHD) in a new state-of-the-art facility in Arteaga, Mexico. EHD has experienced 510% growth since moving to Mexico six years ago. The new facility, close to large OEMs that Phillips supplies, increases EHD's footprint by 25% to support expected additional growth as well as improving lead times, flexibility and on-hand inventory for current business levels.
Phillips Industries has embraced Lean Manufacturing techniques in all its facilities in order to produce the highest quality products in the most efficient manner. The Lean layout is standardized to have the same processes and practices consistent throughout the company: "One Company, One System, One Value Method, One Process."
The majority of the demand at the Electrical Harness Division encompasses customized harnesses; and with the move to the new facility, additional layout improvements were made to increase efficiency. Phillips also invested in new, modern testing machines placed at the end of each production line to guarantee the product quality meets or exceeds OEM standards. Rob Phillips, President, notes how the move has set the company in the right direction for the future. "We realized to meet the rapid growth we expect, we needed more room and better efficiencies with upgrades to production layout and quality control capabilities. EHD's new larger facility not only gives us more room now, but it also gives us the ability to continue growing as the global demand for our products increases."
