Success Stories

MEP Member

New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Story Title

New Mexico MEP Increases Productivity at Aurora Publishing by 60 Percent

Client Profile

Aurora Publishing, LLC is a Native American, woman-owned commercial offset printing company specializing in high-quality, four-color printing services. Aurora employs 15 people at its facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Situation

Aurora Publishing was looking to improve their processes so that they could meet additional demand. They also had a new, unique product that they wanted to get to market in a speedy and effective manner. Aurora Publishing began their journey of growth by contacting the New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (New Mexico MEP), a NIST MEP network affiliate, for assistance.

Solution

New Mexico MEP provided 5S (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain) training, Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and implementation support for Aurora Publishing. The VSM helped them to identify what their desired state would be, and the 5S started them on the road towards their desired state. The 5S helped them to focus on having the right tool and the right time, keeping the workspace clean and orderly, and standardizing tasks. The processes implemented by New Mexico MEP have made Aurora more competitive and helped improve their business processes.

Results

• Increased sales by 100 percent.
• Increased productivity by 60 percent.
• Created 2 new jobs.

Testimonial

We were able to strengthen our relationship with our distributor, which is the first step to securing accounts. The principles that New Mexico MEP teaches can be applied to virtually any business. The best part was that we were able to decrease our manufacturing lead time on projects from 13 days to six days!
Matt Fritzsche, Manager