“There are things that are obviously inconvenient without some of the warehouse and storage, but everybody has pulled together and made an extra effort to keep customers supplied.” Todd told CAT that, although the accident caused some inconvenience to customers, they had been “very understanding” and most of its aerosol and chemical products were back on the shelves. “We had the understanding of customers, some of whom suffered and continued to suffer an element of inconvenience,” Todd stated. “Most materials are back in stock and production is more or less at the level it was before the fire, even without the warehousing. Some elements of lead times and suppliers, raw material and delivery have compromised our ability to meet previous obligations that we made to customers.” SPRAY spoke with Todd in early 2017 to see what progress LMA Services has made since the summer. Rebuilding of the facility’s warehouses began Jan. 10, 2017 with much careful consideration of new regulations, guidelines and building standards, as well as future plans. “We are more aware of the ever present danger of ignition,” said Todd. “We have thoroughly reviewed risk assessments and the risks associated with the processing of chemicals and materials that we use. The new developments will improve safety and process efficiencies, enhancing our future opportunities for growth and improvement. “The company has stronger relationships with suppliers, most customers and an encouraging level of commitment from employees,” he continued. “Through the testing times, it was encouraging seeing how some people were willing to help improve lead times, work longer hours, take time off and be flexible on delivery dates to allow us to meet the needs of our customers and the business as it recovered.” Todd said that the fire had come at an unfortunate time of rapid growth, which was then interrupted, but management and staff worked hard to maintain output and have consequently created jobs as a result of the growth, with no jobs lost. LMA Services looks to a brighter future and is exploring some redesign options to make the factory bigger and better than before. “We have plans to grow and clearly this has been unfortunate on a number of levels, but we view it as an opportunity to learn,” Todd told CAT. “We’re working to rebuild to be better and learn from some of the mistakes that we and our competitors have made in this area,” he concluded to SPRAY. “We are still very optimistic about the future…we still wish it never happened, but will continue to be diligent and try to ensure it will never happen again.” Positive growth… Filler expansions were widespread in 2016, with firms in both the U.S. and globally reporting growth and development in facilities, filling lines and technology. PLZ Aeroscience (PLZ) opened a 160,000 sq. ft. global distribution center adjacent to the company’s Pacific, MO, manufacturing facility, which serves as a centralized product fulfillment center for PLZ customers worldwide. The capital investment provides PLZ an opportunity to consolidate its North American warehouse footprint, bring distribution closer to manufacturing and add jobs in the community, said the company. The custom-built distribution center is capable of PLZ Aeroscience opened a 160,000 sq. ft. global distribution center adjacent to the company’s Pacific, MO manufacturing facility, which serves as a centralized product fulfillment center for PLZ customers worldwide. expanding its footprint to 280,000 sq. ft., thereby offering significant room for future growth. “The efficiencies PLZ gains by locating a state-of-the-art global distribution center adjacent to one of its larger U.S. manufacturing facilities are immeasurable,” stated Rommel Miranda, Senior VP, Sales & Marketing, PLZ. “We’re now equipped with an expandable warehouse and distribution facility that will reduce lead times and enable quicker response to filling customer orders.” PLZ continues to invest in capital expenditure projects to provide a high level of customer service. “In 2017, we will install two new production lines to support capacity expansion,” explained Miranda. “We have plans to invest over $15 million in 2017 for capital improvements to automate filling lines and improve line speed. We are installing a new AiroPack (a virtually all-plastic aerosol powered by air) filling line to target business in various markets including Household, Pet, Pesticides, Automotive, Lubricants, Outdoor Garden and other specialty markets.” “In 2016, we made three very important strategic acquisitions in our contract packaging business to expand growth in the pan coating, insecticides, automotive and industrial segments,” concluded Miranda. In 2016, Toyo & Deutsche Aerosol GmbH (T&DA), Neutraubling, Germany, installed a new semi-automatic filling line for DUAL products with additional capacities of approximately three million units. The DUAL is an aerosol packaging system based on BOV technology. By combining two pouches on one valve, it enables 14 Spray March 2017 Miranda The DUAL filling line at Toyo & Deutsche Aerosol GmbH is now available for BOV filling of different kinds of gases, liquids, gels and creams. It is suitable for filling personal care, cosmetic and food products.
Spray March 2017
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