Home | About MassMEP | | Why MassMEP is Unique | Next Generation Manufacturing | How Manufacturing Impacts Massachusetts Upcoming Events | Success Stories | Partners & Resources | NGM Newsletter and News | Board of Directors Contact Us | Enterprise-wide Training | Energy and Environment | Workforce Strategies | Growth and Innovation | Global Supply Chain Success Stories Innovative Time Wise Principles of Lean Manufacturing Means Local Company Doesn't Have to "Chace" the Competition FALL RIVER, MA - Chace Leather Products has been manufacturing high quality leather and synthetic fabric products in Fall River, Massachusetts for nearly a century, but competition from imported products has recently begun to cut into the company's bottom line. Faced with a 25 percent reduction in business over the past five years, Chace's management recognized the company needed to be innovative. "For four generations the Chace Family’s philosophy has been 'Total Customer Satisfaction' and we knew that by targeting specialty segments of our industry that required increased service and speed to market we could separate ourselves from the competition," said Larry Walsh, Chace Leather Products president and CEO. "To do this we had to focus on ways to improve the on-time-delivery performance." Stephen Chace, Chace's Vice President of Operations was introduced to the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP), a resource that provides business and technical assistance to small manufacturers. In implementing Time Wise® Principles of Lean Manufacturing, lead time was cut from weeks to a matter of days and Chace has achieved 100 percent on-time delivery for Motorola. The improved performance has enabled Chace to develop a delivery program that increased business opportunities with Motorola’s German manufacturing facility. Chace was informed that it now out-performs all of the competition, including India and other foreign countries. "The experience of that first day of the Lean Manufacturing session was unbelievable," said Walsh. "The members of our team came back to work energized and focused on quickly implementing improvements. We were able to accomplish much more than I expected in less than six weeks, and the performance changes have been truly remarkable."