During its 80-year history, MSM’s growth has meant expanding its footprint at its site at Spring Vale Works in Middleton. The proposed 35,000 sq ft factory on adjacent land offers a golden opportunity to rethink its manufacturing processes.
Michael explained: “We are growing at a quick rate, and we’ve run out of space. This is an old mill building which has been extended where possible, but its layout is configured to each of our processes – press shop, welding area, laser unit, etc. Some of our more complex assemblies therefore move around the factory numerous times. On a recent value stream mapping exercise, we found that one item travels two miles during its manufacture. That’s staggering. Moving to a single level factory enables us to change layout to be flow orientated and design the most streamlined manufacturing process possible.”