Ranger Die: How facility reorganization increased cost savings

Meet Ranger Die

In May 2023, Ranger Die proved an incredible improvement within their organization’s cost savings due to the help of our Center-West team. Ranger Die, a supplier of Class A dies and metal stampings, has been around since 1955 and has grown tremendously by offering services ranging from initial design to production. By 2013, operations growth had surpassed their Walker, Mich., building, leading them to upgrade to a new, state-of-the-art 105,000-square-foot- facility in Coopersville, Mich. Brothers, Joe, Leo, and Steve Raap have led the organization since 2007, with a combined experience of 83 years with the company. Though Ranger Die has been around for several decades, it continues to grow with more than seventy employees assisting customers worldwide.

Ranger Die’s Problem

Since relocating to its new location, Ranger Die has added new products and equipment and has expanded products onsite to meet consumer needs. This has led to poor space utilization, inadequate product flow, and difficulty searching for supplies. This pushed Ranger Die to look for alternative ways to resolve these issues and to introduce employees to Lean.

Ranger Die’s Solution

Our Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center team (the Center-West) helped introduce their employees to Lean Thinking through a 5S/Visual Control training program. Participants were taught how to create, maintain, and improve the Lean Standard so exceptions/variations are visible, and action can quickly identify and correct root causes. The result was a complete reorganization of the second-floor warehouse space.

Ranger Die’s Results

The outcome presented a $31k cost saving due to reduced material handling, less time spent looking for products, and improved productivity. The investment in this project stood at approximately $5k and the returned value-add led to better visibility and control, monthly walkthroughs to ensure the area is organized as intended, and an excellent starter project to get team culture to focus on Lean processes.

“The team at the Center did a great job of organizing and administering the 5S/Visual Control training,” said Paul Allen, Operations Manager at Ranger Die. “With the Lean tools, our team engaged early and completed this project on time. The results were significant as one of our customers couldn’t believe the transformation. We look forward to using the tools we learned and the experience we gained on our project.”

Need help?

If you would like to learn more about how our Center-West team can help your company with cost savings, technology integration, training, and more, visit thecenterwest.org or email thecenter@rightplace.org.