Gearhouse – the incubator for new manufacturing excellence
Together with Sandvik, Fastems and several other manufacturing companies, Tasowheel participates in an ambitious project with an objective to support the growth and internationalization of Finnish manufacturing companies.
Manufacturing Excellence Finland (MEXFinland) is a national ecosystem aimed at boosting the attractiveness and growth of Finnish manufacturing industry. The formation of the ecosystem has been facilitated and supervised by Business Finland. Now, the mission-driven network will continue operation with the support of its member organizations, such as Tasowheel and Sandvik. At Tasowheel, the project is internally known as the Gearhouse and divided into three step that is, successive subprojects that aim to enhance the manufacturing excellence of the company.
Our vision is nothing less than to become the most reliable, respected and value-adding gear house for leading OEM operators, says vice president Timo Syväjärvi from Tasowheel Gears.
The first step consists of improving partnerships at all levels. A new simulation model is being created to improve the predictability of orders and delivery capacity. As always, cooperation with customers is the key.
We are challenging the traditional division into suppliers and customers and replacing it with a mutually beneficial partnership where both sides strive to achieve a common goal.
A closer relationship not only requires mutual commitment but also the support of high-end technology and digitalized production management. Instead of rough euro estimates, the customer will provide more accurate and relevant product-specific prognoses. Those will be uploaded in the PowerBI system, analyzed and, afterwards, used to guide our production.
For Tasowheel, this new kind of accuracy will mean shortened lead times and minimized buffer stocks. For the partner previously known as “customer”, the power of the partnership will concretize in the form of better reliability of deliveries and improved service ability.
Next, the second step of the Gearhouse is about improving in-house processes and developing material and technological competences. A new process software plays a crucial role in finetuning the flow of materials and boosting the productivity level. Additional benefits include more accurate calculation data during the production and better traceability of products and materials.
Succeeding in the tightened market requires constant improvements in productivity and significant investments in automation. However, automation is not a value in itself, but we need to understand how to turn it into efficiency and how to control the inevitable variations in production processes. In sum, we have to get the right data at the right time to the right place and to use it in a right way.
As a final task, the third step of the Gearhouse will support Tasowheel’s international growth through new service concepts. Europe is the natural home market, but in future plans, the focus has already moved beyond to new markets and continents. The recipe for success includes proper customer segmentation, customer relationship management and customer-oriented marketing, in addition to all the improvements made in the earlier phases of the Gearhouse.
After accomplishing all three projects of the Gearhouse, Tasowheel will no longer be a supplying workshop but a respected consulting partner in cutting-edge gear solutions: an agile world-class factory and an attractive life cycle partner with a comprehensive selection of services.
