BY: Bob Glenn, Editor and Publisher
On Tuesday, October 7, OZ Lifting Products hosted a Grand Opening ceremony at their new headquarters and facility in Winona, Minnesota. Wire Rope Exchange was delighted to join select trade media, local dignitaries and a variety of other guests on hand to enjoy events held throughout the day.
Photo Above: The new facility on Innovation Drive. Photo by Wire Rope Exchange.
We began our visit with a comprehensive tour of the 40,000 square foot building, about one-eighth of which is dedicated to office space. Notably, this building is about four times larger than the space in which the company previously operated, and it represents the fourth relocation of the business since its inception in December of 2004.
Our tour loosely followed the path a product might take through the facility, encompassing engineering, component testing, R&D, assembly, finished product testing, and inventory control. We started with a visit to the engineering staff, housed in a tall, bright space with large windows. One staffer commented to us that “this is by far the best workspace I’ve ever had as an engineer!” While OZ Lifting has the ability to custom-engineer solutions to address specific user challenges, a great deal of engineering emphasis here is placed on quality assurance and process control, in addition to research and development.
Through the course of the tour, we visited work areas where incoming materials and components are thoroughly inspected, and every single finished product is proof tested before being placed in inventory. In both cases, the goal is to find any issues before they are in production – whether that’s in the factory or on the customer’s job. For incoming materials, preventing issues in the assembly process ensures that reliable production schedules are maintained to help support expectations around delivery of products.
Delivering finished products with proof-test certificates is about making sure that each product performs as expected for each customer and assures that users have confidence in the product. And it’s much easier – and less costly – to fix a problem before it leaves the building.
Deliberate Use of Space
Our takeaway from the tour – and this impression was reinforced everywhere – was that the company has given very extensive thought to exactly how they want to use all of the space in this new, much larger facility. Perhaps you can imagine moving into a larger home or apartment and feeling some urgency to “fill the space” before you’ve fully considered how you’ll really live there. That’s not happening here.
As our tour progressed through the building, each work area on the floor was distinctly delineated and compact – not in the sense of being cramped but rather having all the space it needs to function well but not more than that. The team described not just what was happening in each area, but how the layout provides a safe, productive and efficient work environment for each employee.
While the new building is impressive in many ways, we found that it serves as one tangible part of a more comprehensive vision and strategy to grow and evolve how the business works.
“There’s absolutely no point in applying labor to bad process,” explained Richard Miller, Sales Manager. Toward that end, the company is working to adopt its first Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) system. Josh Halverson, Director of Continuous Improvement, shared some of the tradeoffs associated with various ERP options they had grappled with as they explored options. Those tradeoffs included comparisons of the buy-and-own versus subscription model approaches to these applications, as well as support for implementation and ongoing use offered by various vendors.
Toward Same Day Shipping
The focus on process and resource planning serves the ultimate goal of providing same-day shipping on orders received before Noon. OZ Lifting currently works to a two-to-three-day shipping service level and has been evolving away from build-to-order fulfillment to the greatest extent possible. That’s not to say that the company won’t support a unique or unusual order, but is instead working to fill all but exceptional orders from stock on the shelf – and do so quickly.
Product Showcase: Davit Cranes
At the conclusion of the tour, Steve Napieralski, President of OZ Lifting, gave us an impromptu walk-through of their expanding davit crane product line, which includes a broad array of base options to mount cranes to address wide ranging customer requirements.
An important part of the evolution of these products has been adoption of lightweight materials to make the davits increasingly portable. That includes aluminum with the Alumi-Lite® Davit Crane and extends into composite materials with the CompOZite® and CompOZite Elite® Davit Cranes.
Napieralski explains, “Customers want light weight and portability. We’ll sell a crane and a base, the customer will get it and then say, ‘That thing’s so light, I’m going to buy another base because we can use it (the crane) over in another part of the plant.’”
He continued by recounting customer reactions to composite materials, which look like they should weigh much more than they do. “I’ll hand someone a basic composite beam and they’ll be bracing as they grab it. So I explain that this is what stepladders are made of. Then when you get to the Elite, this is what the (Boeing) 787 Dreamliners are made with. This crane weighs about 35 pounds and can lift 1200. That’s the equivalent of five refrigerators.”
He goes on to explain that while OZ offers options for an electric winch, many customers find the standard drill-drive capability provides sufficient relief from hand cranking. And continues by explaining the key benefits of their Tele-Pro® Davit Crane, which has proven particularly popular with HVAC professionals moving equipment to and from rooftops.
“The main feature of the Tele-Pro and what they love about this, let’s say you’ve got that boom fully retracted, right? And you start making a lift and what you’re lifting is pretty big and it starts banging against the building. With a traditional davit, you’d have to stop, lower the load, pull the pin, readjust the boom. With this, they can just power out the boom and move that load away from wall.”
As the company sells exclusively through distribution, the ten or twelve exhibitions in which OZ Lifting participates each year provide that kind of essential feedback from end users and help guide product development priorities.
A Hot Lunch Welcome
Upon completion of our tour, we joined numerous guests for a casual lunch provided by a local gourmet food truck Chef’s Table. We took the opportunity to speak with a number of supporting vendors and local friends who expressed appreciation for the role OZ Lifting plays in supporting local businesses and the community as it continues to grow. Newly arriving guests toured the facility through the early afternoon. Notably, former law enforcement officer Trace Erickson was also on hand, offering an opportunity for visitors to meet dogs participating in the Code Blue K9 program, which OZ Lifting supports by providing canines for local police departments, and partnering closely with the program.
Ribbon Cutting
At 3pm, the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce facilitated a formal ribbon cutting ceremony. Chamber President Christie Ransom kicked off the program, joined by Steve Naperialski, his wife Jane and their family, other Chamber representatives, all of OZ Lifting’s employees, and other friends and families. Notable dignitaries on hand included Winona Mayor Scott Sherman and Minnesota State Senator Jeremy Miller.
After cutting the ceremonial ribbon, Napieralski addressed the crowd. He expressed deep appreciation for the support provided by dedicated team members over the years, and in particular by his wife Jane while he had traveled extensively over many years starting and building the business.
“When I started OZ Lifting Products as a small, family-owned business 20 years ago, I never imagined the scale of what we’d build together, yet we’ve held onto those same small-business values every step of the way.”
Those values reflect how the company’s global footprint, and its commitment to do the right thing for its customers, is strongly rooted in their community.
Visit www.OZLiftingProducts.com to learn more.
