America ’s premier hand hardware manufacturer, Rogan Corporation, turned to a Lean Manufacturing initiative to increase productivity, reduce labor and free floor space in its Northbrook , Ill. facility. Taking advantage of its buildings ceiling height, Rogan utilized five Remstar Shuttle Vertical Lift Modules (VLMs) in three departments to regain 5,000 square feet of valuable floor space, increase productivity by 22 percent, and reduce inventory.

            With more than 4,000 customers, Rogan manufactures and distributes 13,000 different types of products. Utilizing a two-shot molding process to manufacture its soft grip, Pure Touch line of control and clamping hardware, Rogan Corporation provides OEMs with instrument knobs, clamping knobs and dials that can be found on various products such as valves, exercise machines, marine equipment, office furniture and sports equipment. Like most manufacturers, Rogan’s market was quickly changing with some markets cooling off and others skyrocketing. To meet its evolving market’s demands, Rogan set out to review and improve its manufacturing process.

            Three storage areas were targeted for improvement: First was a 1,000 square foot area of 6-foot high racks buffering mold bases. The second area was a 4,000 square foot footprint in the center of the plant supporting 25-foot high pallet rack containing semi-finished inventory and lastly, a 1,000 square foot area of 6-foot high shelving system storing sample stock.

            The Remstar Shuttle VLM met Rogan’s long-term plan to utilize its Lean Manufacturing initiative to provide customers with shorter lead times and an overall cost reduction while increasing their current manufacturing capacity. Replacing the pallet rack are two 21-foot high Remstar Shuttle VLMs for mold bases, two additional Shuttle VLMs for the semi-finished inventory, and one more Shuttle...

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