business backgrounder | industry
“It’s encouraging to see this kind of resourcefulness from
Washington’s manufacturing sector. The economic recovery we
have all been waiting for is dependent on employers like the ones
we recognized with our 2011 Manufacturing Excellence Awards.”
— Kris Johnson, AWB vice president of operations
HOTSTART, Inc.’s locomotive engine block heaters save users thousands of gallons of fuel and
thousands of dollars, earning it an AWB Manufacturing Award for Innovation.
“With the growing challenges of managing outsourced
partners, our customers require real-time visibility into order
status to proactively and consistently track on-time delivery,”
said Rosemary Brester, president and CEO.
The system represented a significant investment of both
money and time, but it paid for itself in the first six months
by allowing Hobart to redirect manual labor and reduce
expediting of parts. It paid dividends in other ways, too, by
allowing the company to provide better customer service.
“We were one of the first small suppliers to do something
like this, and our customers have really noticed,” Brester said.
longview fibre paper and packaging, inc.
Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging, Inc. has completely
transformed itself since being acquired by Brookfield Asset
Management in 2007, going from a company with questions
about its survival to a growing, profitable business that one
analyst said represents the best turnaround case study he
has seen in 25 years.
Evidence of the turnaround is seen in a significant increase
in worker safety, industry-leading environmental practices,
significant cost reductions and
higher efficiency. Its success has
not only allowed it to keep more
than 1,200 people employed, but it’s
allowed the company to contribute
to the community through charitable giving.
Longview also contributes
to the overall industry through
increased public policy involvement. Thanks to a flat organizational
structure, Longview can quickly
execute directional adjustments.
It has found new markets for its
products, launched new environmentally-focuses products and
executed a successful rebranding
effort to signal to internal and
external audiences that Longview
is an evolving company.
innovation
hotstart, inc.
Idling engines aren’t good for the environment, or the bottom line. And yet diesel locomotives — which don’t use
antifreeze — are frequently left idling overnight and on
weekends simply to keep from freezing during the cold,
winter months.
Spokane’s HOTSTART, Inc. is changing the practice
one locomotive at a time thanks to its revolutionary block
heaters. The company’s line of electric and diesel-powered
heaters allow a locomotive engine to be shut down while
it’s not in use, and still keep it a toasty 100 degrees, allowing for an easy restart. Based on 90 hours of idling per
week at $2 per gallon, a HOTSTART heater can save about
8,000 gallons of fuel, or nearly $15,000. The same type of
engine heater technology is being used in other applications, as well, including backup electric generator systems.
More than 60 years after HOTSTART got its start, the
company is finding that now more than ever, it makes sense
to keep engines warm.
fall 2011 45