Donnelly’s Wagner to Speak at Business Seminar on Training Within Industry
Presentation to business leaders to show how TWI can help sustain Lean improvements

Sam Wagner, director of advanced manufacturing at Donnelly Custom Manufacturing Company, will be a featured panelist at the Enterprise Minnesota Business Event, “Training Within Industry: Investing in your people, changing your organizational culture, and continuing your Lean journey.” The event will be held at Unisys in Roseville, Minnesota on March 31 from 8:00am to 11:00am.

Donnelly, a leader in short-run injection molding, embraced TWI in 2005 and has since used it as a successful method of enabling its workforce to identify and implement ideas and mistake-proofing techniques. A highly effective segment of Lean manufacturing that was developed in the U.S. and later used in Japan, TWI provides supervisors with the critical leadership and analytical skills needed to successfully train team members to support Lean improvements.

The three key teachings of TWI include Job Methods, Job Instruction and Job Relations. Donnelly has a certified employee in each of the three TWI areas, including Wagner, who is a certified Job Methods trainer. He has trained over 100 employees, as well as Donnelly customers and suppliers, in making the best use of people, machines and materials available through this time-tested and proven Lean process.

“TWI has helped our employees improve our processes and methods and become more productive, which is a benefit to Donnelly’s customers,” said Ron Kirscht, president of Donnelly. “The implementation of TWI’s key teachings has been a great addition to our company’s service and success.”    

During his presentation, Wagner will discuss Donnelly’s success in using TWI and explain how it was the right solution for improving customer relations through continuous process improvement in quality and job performance. Wagner has given countless presentations on TWI and has been instrumental in helping other companies incorporate the practice.

Donnelly’s TWI process has previously been featured in a number of industry publications including Quality Digest and Manufacturing Business Technology and at the annual TWI Summit sponsored by the TWI Institute, this year set for May 11-12 in Las Vegas.

Please contact Rachel Jennings at (414) 274-3010 if interested in scheduling an interview with Wagner regarding the TWI process. For more information on the Minnesota seminar please visit http://www.enterpriseminnesota.org/Business-Events.aspx.

Based in Alexandria, Minn., Donnelly’s 200 employees are dedicated to setting the standards in the custom injection-molding marketplace for “How Short Run Is Done.” The company’s focus is on providing its OEM customers with value added engineering and highly customized manufacturing and customer support services.  A strong customer service orientation ensures outstanding customer satisfaction. Visit www.donnmfg.com to learn more.

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