Nameplate Printing, Label Printing, Digital Printing

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 18:31:00 +0000

The Willington Nameplate family welcomes William (Bill) Callahan in a newly created position of Environmental, Health, Safety & Facility Coordinator. Bill has over 35 years of experience in safety and wastewater management in the Connecticut area and will bring a wealth of knowledge and guidance in our most important company-wide initiative, safety. He will report directly to Jeff Dwyer, Production Manager.

As EHS & Facility Coordinator, Bill is responsible for managing all environmental, health, and safety requirements and the general maintenance of the building. Some of those duties include managing the preventive maintenance program, PPE supplies, hazardous waste storage, safety training, and support for all operational processes that affect the environment.

Bill received an Associate Degree in Applied Science - Building Construction Technology from Wentworth Institute of Technology out of Boston, Massachusetts. Bill joins a strong following of Red Sox fans and NHL enthusiasts. He doesn’t have a favorite hockey team; he is still nostalgic about the Hartford Whalers.

We’re confident that Bill’s experience and leadership will help us create a secure work environment that allows us to safely operate our facility and guide us towards world class environmental, health, and safety.

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 17:41:00 +0000

Manufacturer marks milestone with new brand, website, outlook

STAFFORD SPRINGS, CONN—Willington Nameplate celebrates its 50th anniversary with a sharp new website, logo, brand and a more expansive view of their work. The second-generation family business has grown over the past half century from a one-man operation to more than 80 employees and $12M in annual revenue.
The manufacturer’s current customer portfolio consists of roughly 1,500 active customers for whom they provide durable labels and nameplates, some of which withstand prolonged exposure to severe elements, sunlight and other adverse environments. The majority of Willington Nameplate’s products inform, instruct and caution users of their client’s products.
“We used to think of what we produce as a nuisance commodity,” says General Manager Brett Greene. Through working with West Hartford strategic consultants Fathom, Willington Nameplate began to look at their business differently. “While nameplates aren’t often high on the priority list for engineers and designers, they do play important roles in safety, logistics, and more,” continues Greene. “Would you buy a car without a VIN tag?”
Fans at Gillette Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field (home of the Philadelphia Eagles), and other major sports venues along the East Coast are able to find their seats thanks to plastic or metal tags made by Willington Nameplate. With many customers in the pump and valve industry, most basements across the US contain various types of products made by Willington, providing invaluable guidance to plumbers and technicians. Willington Nameplate products adorn a wide variety of US military equipment, from weapons and vehicles, to armor and satellites.
“The more we thought about it, we realized that what we really do here is enable essential communication,” explains Greene. This philosophy extends not just to Willington Nameplate’s customers, but to its employees as well. With a wide variety of metal and non-metallic materials at their disposal, and a dozen different processes to make products ranging from durable photo anodized to chemical etching, employees are empowered to work together to achieve solutions.
“It’s very much a family atmosphere,” says Nancy Blanchard, 80, who has worked at Willington Nameplate as a press operator and inspector for 42 years and says she never thought about working anywhere else. “I’ve seen a lot of my co-workers here grow up.”
President Mike Goepfert attributes the root of the company’s culture to its founder, his father, Marcel Goepfert. “He never asked somebody to do something that he wouldn’t do himself,” says the younger Goepfert of the elder. “Most of the time, he’d be doing it right alongside you.”
That approach commanded a great deal of respect. After a 1978 fire, employees, friends, and customers pitched in to get the factory up and running within a week. A true entrepreneur, but not a born manager, Marcel Goepfert (who was still involved with the business until his death last year) set a tone that his son has been able to build on. After acquiring Decorated Products four years ago and two more companies since then, Willington Nameplate’s revenue has grown by a third.
“Everything is coming together in terms of our quality system and our engaged workforce,” says Mike Goepfert. “We’re excited to be presenting a brand that reflects what we’ve built here.”

About Willington Nameplate

Willington Nameplate was founded by Marcel Goepfert in Willington, Connecticut, and is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. The company moved to Stafford Springs, Connecticut, in 1970. Mike Goepfert became President in 2009. In five decades in business, Willington Nameplate has provided labels and nameplates for over 10,000 customers. Today, Willington Nameplate is proud to serve the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers), aerospace, automotive, and defense industries, as well as many others. http://wnpinc.com/

Contact:

Jason Simms
jason@simmspr.com
860-322-4754 o
505-264-0778 m

Read more at http://wnpinc.com/on-its-50th-anniversary-willington-nameplate-is-renewed/#U2JJd2WT0H7XUft1.99

Willington Nameplate Earns Certified Metalphoto® Converter Designation

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 13:49:00 +0000

Cleveland, Ohio, USA, Monday, August 11, 2015 – Horizons Imaging Systems Group (ISG) announced that Willington Nameplate has achieved Certified Metalphoto Converter status. Certified Converter status means that Willington Nameplate has completed a process assessment, received recommendations and begun implementing new processes to improve product quality and expand application expertise for Metalphoto® photosensitive anodized aluminum.

Certified Converters receive in-depth training regarding the features, benefits and performance specifications to which Metalphoto is certified. They understand when Metalphoto is appropriate for a specific application and can help organizations write Metalphoto into specifications.

According to Scott Lehner, Director of Converter Sales, “the Metalphoto Converter Certification sends a clear message to OEMs and government organizations as to which suppliers are optimally prepared to offer outstanding product quality and service.” Certified Converters receive access to a library of tools, including data sheets, case studies and product videos, as well as a certification press release and a “Certified Metalphoto Converter” emblem for their website.

Metalphoto is one of the most durable identification materials available. Metalphoto is converted into barcode labels, nameplates/data plates, placards, maintenance schematics, machine control panels and other identification items by more than 500 companies around the world. The largest and most advanced converters are eligible to apply for certification.

Willington Employee's Christmas Traditions...Some Old, Some New

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:28:00 +0000


Willington Nameplate employees tradition of donating gifts to Stafford Springs Santa's Toy Box

Every holiday season the employees of Willington Nameplate donate gifts to the local toy fund charity of Stafford Springs, "Santa's Toybox." This year brought an unexpected event for the local charity. Water damage at the storage facility ruined 90 percent of the gifts. The charity helps 85 - 100 children up to age 12 per year through the town's Social Service Department.

The toy drive was originally started by the Stafford Fire Department in 1974 until the department was eliminated. Social services took over this very important charity and receives support from different initiatives throughout the year. Some of those initiatives include "Stuff a Bus" outside Town Hall and "Angel Trees" where local business choose either a girl or boy ornament and purchase a gift.

Cookies for Soldiers

Each year a group of Willington Employees organize a cookie swap to donate cookies to the local American Legion for our military men and women overseas. Willington Nameplate will also pay the shipping cost for the towns delivery of baked goods to our soldiers.

Being Late For A Meeting Pays Off

Anytime someone is late for a meeting they have to pay one dollar to the community pool. Willington has collected forty dollars this year and will put that money towards Santa's Toybox. Only Willington can turn something negative into a positive! Maybe timeliness will be on everyone's New Year's resolution list. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year to all!

Willington Nameplate Promotes Stacey Palmer to Customer Service Lead

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 14:30:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce the promotion of long-time team member Stacey Palmer to the position of Customer Service Lead within our organization. Stacey has been a dedicated employee here at Willington Nameplate for more than 20 years. She has held several titles in her career at Willington and looks forward to the responsibilities of her new management career. Stacey’s successful sales background and exceptional customer service will position the company for continued growth. Together, Stacey and Donna Campagna will work in unison to manage the customer service department. They will report directly to Brett Greene, General Manager.

“Stacey is a very determined and quality conscious employee with a great deal of technical expertise. She will continue to improve the front office teamwork and communication to all customers,” states Brett Greene.

In assuming her new duties as Customer Service Lead, Stacey will manage all customer service department activities such as resource planning, training, and ERP system support while continuing her duties of quoting and order processing.

Stacey is known for her conscientious handling of our top customers: Watts, Sikorsky, and Anixter/Cummins. She will continue to be the resident expert with those top customers, and will train other customer service personnel to handle those customers with the utmost care.

Besides Stacey’s long history in the front office, Stacey is a certified lean leader and has made many contributions to Willington’s lean culture.

Let us all congratulate Stacey on her promotion and wish her continued success at our organization.

Willington Nameplate Promotes Donna Campagna to Customer Service Lead

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 14:55:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce the promotion of long-time team member Donna Campagna to the position of Customer Service Lead within our organization. Donna has been a dedicated employee here at Willington Nameplate for more than 30 years. She has held several titles in her career at Willington, which include production planner, sales engineer, and account representative. Donna’s wealth of product knowledge has been instrumental in preserving our reputation as an industry leader in product identification. Together, Donna and Stacey Palmer will work in unison to manage the customer service department. They will report directly to Brett Greene, General Manager.

“Donna was selected for her technical aptitude, commitment to the company, and her desire to foster a team environment,” states Brett Greene.

In assuming her new duties as Customer Service Lead, Donna will manage all customer service department activities such as resource planning, training, and ERP system support while continuing her duties of quoting and order processing.

Considering Donna has been with Willington Nameplate since 1982, she has many stories to tell about its evolution from a small manufacturer with handwritten job dockets and order acknowledgments to its first Radio Shack Tandy computer with a 48 KB memory. For a short time Donna served as our California Sales Representative. She is responsible for bringing in both Zurn Wilkins and Haas accounts, which individually reach into the six-digit category for sales dollars.

Besides Donna’s long history in the front office, she has multiple skills that will compliment her new position. Those skills include participating in kaizen events, UL experience, and internal quality auditor certification.

Let us all congratulate Donna on her promotion and wish her continued success at our organization.

Willington Nameplate Promotes Kitty Ricci to AP/AR Specialist

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 11:45:00 +0000

We are excited to announce the promotion of Cristina Ricci to AP/AR Specialist. She has over twelve years experience in banking from local institutions throughout Connecticut. Cristina, or Kitty as most people have come to call her, started her employment at Willington Nameplate as a Receptionist/Administrative Assistant 1-1/2 years ago.

In Kitty’s new position she will be responsible for all daily computing, recording, and classifying of customer transactions as well as Willington Nameplate operating transactions and other accounting functions. She takes over the role from Lynn Dwyer, Human Resources. This will enable Lynn to focus on Strategic Human Resource Management. “I wish I could clone her, she is always willing to lend a helping hand,” states Lynn Dwyer.

Kitty lives in town with her husband Jimmy, daughter Monica, and Jack Russell Terrier, Emmitt Smith. Her daughter proudly serves our country in the Air Force Reserves.

Willington Nameplate promotes Brittani Gehl to Quality Assurance Technician

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 14:49:00 +0000

Opportunity for growth is a strong message we live by at Willington Nameplate. With that message comes the promotion of an exceptional employee from inspection to the quality department before her one-year anniversary at Willington Nameplate.

Brittani Gehl has been promoted to Quality Assurance Technician. In her new role, she will be responsible for the daily disposition of all non-conforming products. This includes determination of acceptability, need for reruns, following appropriate scrap procedures, database maintenance, trending, and reporting on results.

She will report directly to Angel Cunningham, Quality Coordinator. Angel stated, “Brittani has expressed interest in growing not only personally, but also in her career here. We are pleased to promote Brittani to this position and feel that her aspirations and initiative will compliment her career path at Willington.”

Brittani originally hails from Manchester, but lives in Enfield. In her spare time she likes to read, walk, bike ride, and shop. Her favorite author is Jodi Picoult.

Metalphoto® Kaizen

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 21:28:00 +0000

A kaizen event is similar to a cross-functional project team where a group of employees tackle an “opportunity” (a.k.a a big fricken problem) to better the company by means of identifying and reducing waste. The Metalphoto® department has grown significantly over the years at WNP. The CTP (Computer-To-Plate) machine was the latest addition along with two large tanks for sealing and rinsing. The room was in serious need for redesign with crammed quarters along with ergonomic and safety issues. A cross-functional team was selected and consisted of: Ricky Bailey, Michelle Bartrum, Stacy Coan, David Daly, Jeff Dwyer, Jess Mitchell, and Terilee Serrambana.

The event started with the drafting of the team charter. This is a road map for identifying the problem, scope, team, schedule, and measurable goals to accomplish during the kaizen event. Details are listed as follows:

Problem statement: The department had to be redesigned concerning efficient flow, new equipment additions, environmental controls, and safety/ergonomics.

Scope: This is the boundaries of the kaizen. Metalphoto with supporting departments of Prepress and Mechanical.

Measurable Goals: (all goals were met except for #5)
1) Educate members on 6s, 7 Wastes, and Swim Lanes.

2) Define product mix and swim lanes.
3) Each member to draft a new layout of Metalphoto.
            9 total + 3 future state cell designs
4) Document current and future state flow.
5) Develop visual controls and standard work.
            TBD after construction
6) Environmental, Health, and Safety improvements.
            9 safety/ergonomic improvements identified
7) 6S Audit Baseline.
            Kaizen team gave 1.60
8) Identify 7 wastes in Metalphoto.

Cycle time was analyzed on both the light table and CTP with the following results:

CTP - batches of 10 sheets every 25 minutes created a continuous flow, which equates to 192 sheets every 8 hours.

Light Table - batches of 24 sheets every 25 minutes creates a continuous flow, which equates to 456 sheets every 8 hours.

In conclusion, the light table processes every 50 seconds whereas the CTP processes every 2 minutes. The CTP is newer technology and will eventually phase out film and the light table.

NEXT STEP
Builders have been contacted and a temporary Metalphoto department consisting of just the light table, processor, tanks, dryer, shear, and sink will be created in a large portion of the Pad Print room. The Pad Print machine will not be moved. Prepress will work ahead and construction is expected to take 2 weeks.

Willington Nameplate Supports Opportunity Works

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 17:11:00 +0000

Willington opened its doors to Opportunity Works of Connecticut (OWC) today to support people with amazing abilities. OWC is a local non-profit company that is committed to enhancing the lives of people through meaningful and gainful employment services.

Beautifully crafted jewelry was on display for purchase in our cafeteria today. The pieces are created with different beadwork, charms, and stones. You can find out more about OWC by visiting their official website: www.owct.org or facebook page. Below are some of the pieces featured.

Willington Nameplate Hires A New Team Leader

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 14:01:00 +0000

The Willington Nameplate family welcomes Chad Mooneyham as its new Team Leader. Chad will be responsible for all mechanical operations.

Chad has a simple mantra: continuous improvement. His inclination to ask, “what if?” often gets him into trouble in all the right places, and keeps us in step with progress.

Before coming to Willington, Chad progressed through the ranks within Barnes Aerospace in various supervisory roles. With more than 15 years of operations management in manufacturing, he is a natural fit for our small family-manufacturing environment.

Chad received a Bachelor of Science in Management from the NY Institute of Technology and holds certification as a Green Belt in Six Sigma. He is a psychotic Raiders fan and joins a mixed variety of devoted football fans at Willington. Chad and his wife Aimee reside in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts with their two children.

We’re confident that Chad’s experience and leadership is a great fit for Willington Nameplate in its journey of continued growth and future success. Chad will be a valuable member of our team to help realize our strategic goals and vision for the company.

Willington Nameplate Announces A New IT Manager

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 13:05:00 +0000

We are pleased to welcome Dan Howland to the Willington Nameplate family.

As Willington’s IT Manager – the conduit between people, process, and technology – Dan communicates in layman’s terms the intricacies of technology to our workforce.

Dan’s day at Willington sees him working closely with all members of production and office teams on troubleshooting systems related issues. It’s his humor and organized nature that keeps his focus and projects on time.

With a degree in architectural and civil engineering, Dan began his career in systems management and continued his path with over 15 years of experience within insurance and medical industries. His experience has been beneficial in our new business system implementation.

When not dreaming in binary code, Dan enjoys splitting his time between Kennebunk, Maine and Ellington, Connecticut with his wife Sharon while his two children lead artistic and musical lives of their own.

A Job Well Done

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 14:01:00 +0000

Thank you for all the help and assistance over the past years with the delivery of your products. The end result is the pictured below. You are looking at the DDG 1000 – USS ZUMWALT, which was launched over this past weekend. The DDG 1000 represents a new class of naval surface ships that contains cutting edge technology that you all were part of. FAI (First Article Inspection) has provided state of the art fire suppression systems and smart valve technology that will help the navy reduce the number of war fighters necessary to sail the USS ZUMWALT. You can find more about the DDG 1000 by searching it on Google or any other search engine. I just thought you all would like to see what your hard work and customer service produced…again, thank you from all of us at Fairmount Automation.

Regards,

B. Forlenza

Fairmount Automation delivers innovative control solutions to military, transportation and industrial automation markets. Its products are installed throughout the world, controlling a wide variety of mission-critical and safety-critical processes and machinery.

The Company is playing a leading role in the development of automated damage control systems for the U.S. Navy’s new land attack destroyer—the DDG(1000) platform. The successful deployment of these automation systems is critical to meeting the Navy’s target to reduce the crew size of a modern-day destroyer by 60%.

Willington Nameplate, Inc. Purchases UID Label & Beyond, LLC

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 15:32:00 +0000

Willington Nameplate, Inc., (WNP) a leading manufacturer of nameplates, decals and labels, has acquired the business assets of UID Label & Beyond, LLC (UID) of Princeton, Massachusetts. This strategic move will strengthen WNP’s product identification market leadership by expanding its presence in the Department of Defense (DoD) sectors, as well as extending its sales channels. The sale was completed as of 12/31/12.

Mike Goepfert, General Manager and President said, “One of our long term goals is to take advantage of our dedicated and engaged workforce and our solid financial position in order to compliment, expand and diversify our core business. I am very proud of the loyalty and dedication demonstrated by our employees to put us in a position to make this acquisition possible".

Since 2006, UID Label and Beyond has been an industry specialist in unique identification markings. Elaine Kay, Principal/Owner started the business enterprise after twenty-four years of experience in her family’s business, Photopanels of New England. Elaine decided to branch out and create a separate business with a focus on regulations and governmental mandates of unique identification. She started UID, Labels and Beyond out of her home in New Hampshire, and later moved the growing business to Princeton, Massachusetts.

Founded in 1965, Willington Nameplate, Inc. is a family-owned, privately held business that was formed by Marcel Goepfert in Willington, Connecticut. The company’s current facility is in Stafford Springs, Connecticut and employs over 70 full time employees. The company was recognized in 2008 by UCONN family business for its community involvement, manufacturing growth and innovation. It has been successful in maintaining it’s family business legacy while achieving a world class manufacturing facility.

Over the last few years, Willington has received certifications in internationally recognized quality systems (ISO 9001, AS9100, and TS 16949). They also embrace lean manufacturing and continuous improvement by investing in its people through technological advancements and education. This has led to increased efficiency and shorter lead times. Throughout each year, it hosts lean manufacturing tours with various lean organizations to showcase its culture and continuous improvement achievements.

Both companies are dedicated to delivering flexible, on time, quality products and world-class customer service. Willington Nameplate is confident in maintaining the same level of quality and customer service for all UID customers during this transition and beyond.

For more information contact Jessica Mitchell, Business Process Analyst

jmitchell@wnpinc.com • 877-967-4743 (x3011)

Snowflakes for Sandy Hook

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 16:22:00 +0000

Make A Flake For Goodness Sake

200 snowflakes and still counting!

Over 70 employees got together and brought scissors, reams of paper, standard work, and their imaginations to brighten the classrooms for the Sandy Hook Elementary children. You can help out too!

Make and send snowflakes to:

Connecticut PTSA
60 Connolly Parkway
Building 12, Suite 103
Hamden, CT 06514

by January 12, 2013.

Want some help making them? See instructions below.

Customer Testimonial

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:44:00 +0000

I promised to send this email months ago but we are so busy with the day-to-day that often we forget what is truly important in any business environment and that is, you are nothing without good suppliers.

I have been in Purchasing/Materials Management for 42 years…wow I just realized I am old…. When did that happen? Sorry, lost my train of thought. My point, through the years, one becomes numb to the excuses as to why a promised date is not kept, lost Purchase Orders,

equipment failure, poor quality, etc. etc. The list goes on and on.

On the bright side, one also develops a sixth sense to recognize a top notch, quality supplier with very little effort. That supplier is valued for what they contribute to “you're looking good” to upper management. That supplier makes the day go by smoothly without a hint of a problem. That supplier is so good at what they have accomplished in the Customer Service arena they often go unrecognized. After a period of time, it becomes expected of them because that's the way they have always performed.

I just wanted to let you know how much you and your "team of experts" is appreciated. I cannot count the number of times you have worked miracles with shipping nameplates on an emergency basis which has enabled us to ship product to our customers in a timely manner.

Once again we are nothing without good suppliers and I just wanted to take a few minutes to let you know how much you are valued and appreciated. Please use me as a recommendation to any potential new customer. I will be more than happy to share my experience.

Please let your whole team know someone is watching and is extremely impressed.

Great Job !!!

Regards

Kathy

Hubbell Electrical Products

Willington Nameplate Announces A New Operations Manager

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:37:00 +0000

The Willington Nameplate family welcomes Brett Greene as its new Operations Manager. Brett will be responsible for all supply chain management activities.

Brett has more than 15 years of operations and finance management in manufacturing. He is the former President & Operations Manager for AMK Welding Inc.-A division of Dynamic Materials Corporation. Prior to that, Brett was the Business Unit Manager & Manager of Lean Initiatives at Barnes Group, Inc.

Brett received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Connecticut. He holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Business with a concentration in Finance from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute-Lally School of Management & Technology in Hartford, Connecticut. He also received a Master of Science in Manufacturing Operations from Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. In addition, his certifications include Six-Sigma and Emotional Intelligence along with extensive Lean Expert Training.

We’re confident that Brett’s experience and leadership is a great fit for Willington Nameplate in its journey to continue its growth and future success. Brett will be a valuable member of our senior Management team to help realize our strategic goals and vision for the company.

Willington Nameplate Promotes Elizabeth Ollson to Account Manager

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:30:00 +0000

Elizabeth Ollson has been promoted to the position of Account Manager. In this role she will be accountable for a number of assigned accounts to maximize sales opportunities, profitability, and customer service. This is accomplished by providing personal involvement through effective communications, and by helping to prioritize issue resolution in estimating, order entry, contracts, manufacturing, quality, and customer service. This involvement preludes to a strong relationship with several individuals at multiple levels and different functional areas of a major account.

She joined the company as a Customer Relations Specialist on 06/15/11, and has 4 years experience as an Account Coordinator from CSW, Inc. in Ludlow, Massachusetts, as well as training in Inside & Outside Sales. "Beth was ‘found’ by the efforts of our own internal recruiter, Joseph White. Since the day Beth started, she has proven to be a very valuable discovery and is taking us to a higher level of detailed customer relationship building", states Joe Menhart, Sales and Customer Service Manager.

Keeping with the continuous growth movement occurring rapidly at Willington, Beth actively attends APICS Hartford County Chapter professional development seminars, Fred Pryor Seminars, and AA-ISP Webinars. She has demonstrated a thirst for knowledge in lean manufacturing, quality, sales, and communication.

Willington Nameplate promotes Michele Smoly to Sales and Marketing Associate

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:43:00 +0000

Michele Smoly joined the company on 11/07/11 as a temporary employee, then started full-time on 02/06/12 as a Sales and Marketing Associate. In this newly created role she will work with a team on the sales support cycle, from quote preparation to order entry to customer issue resolution.

She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing Communication/Advertising from Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts. "Michele quickly mastered her initial tasks while a temporary employee and displayed very good proficiency with more advanced tasks early in the training process. She is learning at a rapid pace and is already making significant contributions to the company. I am delighted that she is on our team", states Joe Menhart, Sales and Customer Service Manager.

Keeping with the continuous growth movement occurring rapidly at Willington, Michele actively attends APICS Hartford County Chapter professional development seminars. She has also demonstrated a thirst for knowledge in lean manufacturing, quality, sales, and communication.

Michele, a New York Yankee fan, snow boarder, and dance enthusiast, lives in Manchester, CT.

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:23:00 +0000

Willington Nameplate promotes Tracy Bazzano
to Account Manager
Release: 03/20/12

As our company mission states, we will preserve our legacy of a family personality while providing opportunity for all employees to grow.

Opportunity for growth is a strong message we live by at Willington Nameplate. With that message comes the promotion of an exceptional employee within her department.

Tracy Bazzano has been promoted to the position of Account Manager. In this role she will be accountable for a number of assigned accounts to maximize sales opportunities, profitability, and customer service. This is accomplished by providing personal involvement through effective communications, and by helping to prioritize issue resolution in estimating, order entry, contracts, manufacturing, quality, and customer service. This involvement preludes to a strong relationship with several individuals at multiple levels and different functional areas of a major account. Tracy joined the company as an Inside Sales Representative on April 13, 2009, and has demonstrated impressive public relations and management skills essential for this position. These skills have led to complimentary roles for Tracy. “Over the past three years Tracy has displayed the initiative required to embrace any opportunity and see it through to the mutual satisfaction of the customer and WNP”, states Joe Menhart, Sales and Customer Service Manager. Tracy has also received two certifications at Willington Nameplate, Internal Quality Auditor and Internal Lean Leader. “Tracy’s creative mind coupled with her ability to communicate complex issues into laymen’s terms is a valuable asset in regards to the team environment of kaizen, I’m happy to have her on board!” states Jessica Mitchell, Lean Director.

Keeping with the continuous growth movement occurring rapidly at Willington, Tracy has taken advantage of the following quality and continuous improvement initiatives: AS9100 auditing techniques, QSP-05 and forms, ISO9000 training, problem solving and root cause analysis, ISO/TS 16949 training, AAISP training, SPC training, and lean leadership certification. From the value stream of customer experience to quality control and continuous improvement, Tracy has demonstrated leadership and intense involvement in the success of Willington Nameplate.

Willington Nameplate Receives ISO Certifications

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

These employee name tags were printed on polystyrene through our UV flat bed printer.

February 2012

Stafford Springs, CT, USA – Willington Nameplate, Inc., a leading manufacturer of nameplates and labels, has proven its ability to meet the rigorous requirements of the International Standards for ISO 9001, AS9100, ISO/TS 16949, and ITAR as we have just recently received these quality system certificates and registration.

These achievements are a direct result of the entire organization's combined effort in developing and complying with our Quality Management System. Willington Nameplate has demonstrated its pursuit for quality by sustaining a lean manufacturing and lean office environment. The combination of lean principles with quality standard procedures are complimentary with the organization and made the transition into a documented quality system a natural progression. Lean thinking in the organization has been growing since September 11, 2007, when we began our Lean Journey with Leanovations as our partner. Since then we have made numerous operational improvements primarily through 34 kaizen events and ongoing daily continuous improvement efforts.

"The dedication and commitment of all our employees, especially our internal auditors, proved to be key throughout the entire process,” noted Mike Goepfert, President. "We are proud of this achievement, which provides our customers with added confidence in their decision to partner with Willington Nameplate."

Understanding the ever-growing customer demand for the highest level of quality is vital to the future success of Willington Nameplate. These certifications demonstrate our commitment towards quality, continuous improvement, and sustainment.

Willington Nameplate Provides Help And Hope At Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:33:00 +0000

Christmas spirit seems to get lost in the hustle and bustle of shopping malls and grocery stores. The real spirit of the holiday season is revealed in helping those in need. Willington Nameplate will not be sending out Christmas baskets or flowers this year to their customers. Instead we will be sending generous donations and supplying printing services to local charities in Connecticut. One of those groups is the Marine Corps League. Willington Nameplate designed and donated double laminated foam core educational boards for this league. These boards help spread the word about supporting our honorable soldiers with the wounded warrior program and scholarships for Marine and Navy Corpsmen families.

Mike receiving an award for helping Connecticut Marine Corps League, Hardware City Detachment #781, Charitable Rose Program. Pictured are Greg Forbush, Mike Goepfert, Brendan Boyle, and Ray Burrington.

Willington Nameplate will also be donating to The Greg Caron Family Fund. This fund was established to assist and aid Greg Caron, a local Marine who suffered severe wounds in Afghanistan while serving his second tour. You can read more of Greg's story here.

Other gestures of kindness this holiday season are Willington's donations to The Salvation Army and the Crystal Lake Food Pantry. Donations made to these local organizations will supply clothing and toys for needy families, and warm meals for the hungry and homebound so everyone can enjoy a Merry Christmas.

The Christmas Spirit is alive and well at Willington Nameplate. Cheers to you and your family this holiday season…MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Office Quality & Kaizen

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:00:00 +0000

J.L. Mitchell, Certified Lean Leader, Creative Director

The tenet of Willington Nameplate’s quality statement is “Do it Right the First Time…Every time”. To achieve this end we foster an environment of proud craftspeople that take pride in the quality of your nameplates and labels. Our customer service representatives are dedicated to achieving the highest level of customer satisfaction by listening to your needs and using your requests to further enhance the quality of our products and service to you.

Quality at the first contact, the office, was a good starting point for an office kaizen. The office builds all communication and requirements from the customer into a recipe for all team members to work from and ensure the customer’s requirements are met.

Kaizen is Japanese and means “improvement”, or “change for the better”. It is a systematic methodology for implementing rapid change through elimination of waste. A kaizen team is made up of flexible, lean thinking, team orientated, and cross-functional individuals.

One member, TracyBazzano, just received internal lean leader certification from Leanovations this past fall. This was Tracy’s first kaizen event as a lean leader. She is also a certified, internal quality auditor through BP Solutions. We decided to interview Tracy on her experience in the office quality kaizen held on October 17, 2011.

Jess: Why an office non-conformance kaizen?

Tracy: Data showed an overwhelming amount of non-conformances in the office effecting business and cost of quality. Currently there was not a method of trending and identifying the root cause of the non-conformances.

Jess: What data is made available to the company on non-conformances?

Tracy: Daily reports are sent one or more times to all computer users. It includes the following:

1) Customer name

2) Type of non-conformance (internal or external)

3) Sales representative

4) Job number

5) Description of discrepancy

6) Process

7) Responsible department

8) Cost of quality

Our company metrics are posted monthly and details the final count per department of internal and external non-conformances. The entire company meets at this board monthly and reviews the data.

Jess: What were your goals for this kaizen event?

Tracy: We wanted to keep the goals to a maximum of 5. They included a survey to be taken by the office employees, trending of non-conformances, identifying root causes, create checks and balances to minimize non-conformances, and testing of all new procedures.

Jess: A survey is a creative goal; can you explain how and why that was utilized?

Tracy: The kaizen group felt an anonymous/confidential survey was a stress free tool for gathering an honest and helpful response from the office. The best information resides in the worker, and the kaizen team respected that. The survey was 18 open response questions through Survey Monkey, an online survey plan we use to track customer satisfaction.

Jess: What were your results of meeting your goals for this kaizen event?

Tracy: Current non-conformances were trended and a large amount resulted in not using a current tool to increase quality, the docket checklist. That checklist was revised and an overlay was created to help reduce errors. The kaizen team is still in the process of monitoring the use of the revised and new tools to see if a change in non-conformances are evident. Another good thing that came out of the event was our visual office workflow. Throughout the facility visuals are used to gauge production levels and planning. The office lacked any visuals for an outsider to walk in and know where the orders where heaviest and at what stage of completion.

Jess: The kaizen event is done, now what?

Tracy: The kaizen event is never really done, it is sustained. Three of the members of the kaizen team are from the office and took ownership of the follow-up items. Our event was one week, from 7:00am – 10:00am and we definitely had open items after the event to take care of. Those items included a 30-day observation of the visual office workflow and trending of future non-conformances. Observation of mandatory use of the docket checklist and overlay was our final task to track as well.

Jess: Do you have any words of wisdom for anyone starting an office kaizen?

Tracy: Yes, gather your members 1 or 2 weeks before the event and brainstorm. The team charter is a great starting point and data gathering before the event helps launch the event to a beautiful start.

A slide show of this event is posted on our company LinkedIn account.

Letter from our President about the power outage

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:34:00 +0000

Dear Willington Companies Customers,

In today’s ever changing business environment, it’s difficult to anticipate the potential issues that happen over the course of time. We pride ourselves on being progressive, proactive and most of all, customer focused.

As a result of last week’s pre winter storm, we were caught by surprise by the severity of the damage and the impact it had on our customers and our employees. It resulted in one of the worst operational weeks in the Willington Companies forty-six year history.

When the storm first hit on Saturday, October 29^th nobody anticipated the damage and the time it would take to restore power. Living in the Northeast, we’re accustomed to power outages, delays and short-term closings. This time, we didn’t expect or realize the amount of damage or the time it would take to restore power. Even with power companies from all over the county as well as from Quebec CA., the process was slow and frustrating. As the days went by without power, our hopes turned to action. We rented a large generator on Thursday evening.

Friday, November 4^th we began full operations at 4:00 am and worked until 6:00 pm. We followed that with full workdays for all employees on both Saturday and Sunday. We are working 12-hour days in order to satisfy all our customers as quickly as possible. As of today, thanks to our dedicated employees, we are close to being back on schedule. We expect to be back on track by the end of this week.

So what have we learned from this unforeseen event? We need to control things that in the past, we’ve relied on others. We are in the process of purchasing a generator so that when events like this happen again; we will be in a position to provide all our customers the quality, dependable and on time delivery that you expect.

We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused you or your customers over the past week and a half. We want to thank you for your understanding and support during these trying times.

Sincerely,

Mike Goepfert

President

The Willington Companies

Customer Service at WNP

noreply@blogger.com (The Willington Companies) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:10:00 +0000

You Like Us…You Really Really Like Us!
J.L. Mitchell, Certified Lean Leader, Creative Director

As with any good relationship, communication is at the core. You've told us how you felt on the customer satisfaction survey and we are grateful for your candid response, whether positive or negative. Seth Godin stated it best, " Just because there are no firestorms on the porch doesn't mean you're doing okay. More likely, there are relationships out there that need more investment, quiet customers who are unhappy but not making a big deal out of it. They're worth a lot more than the angry ones."

How are things different?
We trend the information and analyze why we had a low percentage in satisfaction. We address these opportunities with sensitivity and tact. We follow the simple and effective process of root cause and corrective action that institutes the "5 Whys".

How do we follow up with customers on the survey?
We want to hear from you directly and personally thank you for your honesty and chance to make our product and services better. We will contact you either by phone or email about your experience.

How do we educate and inform our employees on customer service?
First, customer service is not a department, it is an attitude. We are very lucky to have a customer service expert on board that has hosted many workshops in her career. Theresa, Account Executive and Corporate Trainer has a long history in customer service and has lectured at EASTEC on Managing the Lean Office for Great Customer Service. Theresa asked a small group of employees in the front office, "What skills are needed for great customer service?". Below is the result of that question and great content on where to start a series of customer service workshops.

There are many resources online that Theresa trusts for excellent material, here are a few of her top choices:
www.CorporateTrainingMaterials.com
www.CSWeek.com
www.givemore.com
www.customerservicegroup.com
www.pritchettnet.com
Business Training Video on Listening Under Pressure - The Customer Service Challenge:
http://www.kantola.com/Listening-Under-Pressure-PDPD-52-K.aspx

Here is a handy reminder that everyone at WNP was given to remember some simple rules in their relationship with both internal and external customers.

You've heard of 50 ways to leave your lover…we have 12 ways to keep your customer.

COURTESY
Treat everyone with kindness and respect, and remember to smile!

ENTHUSIASM
Greet customers cheerfully and stay upbeat throughout each interaction.

HELPFULNESS
Go the extra mile to find solutions and leave customers happy.

KNOWLEDGE
Become an expert on company policies, products, special offers, etc.

EFFICIENCY
Keep your work area organized and your resources handy.

PATIENCE
Be patient even when dealing with tough customers. Take a deep breath if needed.

RELIABILITY
Set an example by maintaining a great attendance record.

INTEGRITY
Let your good character shine in all you do.

COOPERATION
Do your part to help your team get along, and offer to lend a hand whenever possible.

EMPATHY
Connect with customers by showing you understand their feelings.

DEDICATION
Strive to do the best you can. Always aim for excellence.

The customer's time is precious, as a small token we run a monthly raffle for customers who have taken our 9 question survey since January 2011. We use surveymonkey to help manage, gather, distribute, and analyze this data so that we will always offer great customer service.