Topic(s)
- Operations improvement
Essex Industries is an aerospace and defense manufacturer that produces parts in a high-mix, low-volume, make-to-order production strategy. The company’s lean journey began with a strong focus on reducing lead times, improving product flow and enhancing employee engagement. The company encountered challenges along the way, including initial resistance to change and the complexity of adapting lean tools to their make-to-order production process. However, Essex Industries demonstrated resilience, applying lean methodologies like Value Stream Mapping (VSM), 5S, and visual management.
Key takeaways for tour participants will include how Essex effectively implemented 5S to improve workplace organization and safety, how Value Stream Mapping allowed them to identify bottlenecks and reduce lead times, and how custom training events fostered a culture of continuous improvement.
Through these efforts, Essex Industries achieved measurable outcomes, including a significant reduction in lead time and inventory. Leadership played a crucial role in this transformation by supporting the lean initiative, empowering employees and aligning lean goals with business objectives.
Founded in 1947 in St. Louis by Harold Guller, Essex Industries began with a single product — a Radio Noise Filter for the F-214 — built in his father’s basement. Today, Essex designs and manufactures platform controls and critical aircraft components, including HOTAS grips, control wheels, valves, pulsation dampeners and flame arrestors. The company’s products support nearly every major military and commercial aerospace program.
Since entering the cryogenics market in 1963, Essex has delivered more than 100,000 liquid oxygen (LOX) systems for aviation and medical use. Its acquisition of DuPont’s Portable Breathing and Rescue Products Division in 1991 expanded its line of emergency breathing equipment, now standard across the U.S. Air Force and major airlines.
Still family owned, Essex is led by third-generation CEO Evan Waldman and operates facilities in Missouri, California and Connecticut. The company employs over 400 people and supports the community through the Guller Foundation and leadership in numerous national service organizations. https://essexindustries.com/
