The Business Challenge

Following the acquisition of an engineering polymers business, the new owners challenged plant leadership to double manufacturing capacity.

Before the acquisition, a $35MM capital expansion project had been planned to increase capacity by only 50%.

The challenge was to achieve substantially more capacity while making better use of existing manufacturing assets and minimizing additional capital investment.
 

The Approach

Rather than accepting the original capital plan, I focused on identifying the hidden capacity within the existing manufacturing operation.

Using Lean 2P (Process Preparation), SMED (rapid changeover), and systematic waste elimination, I identified and addressed process constraints, inefficient operating methods, and activities that limited throughput.

These Lean improvements increased capacity by 80% over the original baseline.

We then developed a targeted $5MM capital investment involving selected new equipment and rearrangement of existing equipment to provide the additional capacity required to meet the ownership challenge.
 

The Demonstrated Results

• 2.17× original manufacturing capacity achieved and demonstrated — a 117% increase over baseline.

• 80% capacity increase delivered through Lean process improvements.

• $30MM in planned capital investment avoided.

• 86% reduction in planned CAPEX, from $35MM to $5MM.

• The original goal of doubling capacity was exceeded.
   

The Executive Takeaway

The original capital plan called for $35MM to increase capacity by 50%.

By first maximizing the capability of existing assets and then investing selectively, the operation achieved a demonstrated 117% capacity increase for only $5MM in targeted capital investment.
 

The Lesson: Capital should be invested where it creates additional value—not where it compensates for operational inefficiency.
 

Op X-MEM LLC Find Capacity Before Buying Capacity.