Since beginning their work with GaMEP, Phoenix Stamping has:
- Implemented a continuous improvement model that has helped the company increase revenue by 500 percent over the last eight years.
- Created a playbook for how to successfully run a company, that has enabled them to scale up business growth and acquisitions.
- Implemented an employee incentive program with employee profit sharing, bonus incentives for productivity, and annual team building retreats.
- Trained 100 percent of PSG employees on Hoshin Kanri, and along with market investments, has contributed to increased inventory turns by 50 percent.
Phoenix Stamping Group (PSG), in Atlanta, GA, is a 30-year-old, veteran-owned manufacturer of sheet metal and rod products for the trailer, automotive, material handling, and agricultural industries. By focusing on a defined set of industries, PSG is able to expand its product base and expertise to become an integral part of their customers’ supply chain. As a supplier of critical component parts, the strength of their strategy lies in a market focus and customer-driven approach.
To prioritize the business needs, and create accountability throughout the organization, PSG has been practicing the Hoshin Kanri model, a management process that aligns an organization’s functions and activities with its strategic objectives, every year since 2008. As the company grew, so did the need for continuous improvement, and Brandyn Chapman, president, knew he needed to bring in the experts. Enter Larry Alford, region manager and Mike Stonecipher, group manager for leadership and strategic development for the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) at Georgia Tech. In 2017, Stonecipher and Alford worked with the PSG team and began facilitating several trainings, including Managing for Daily Improvement (MDI), a training that increases overall teamwork and development of key performance indicators within an organization, and the Hoshin Kanri initiative as well.
PSG has a motto that is central to its business – Customers First, Employees Always. “We learned and understood Chapman’s vision, and created a training plan to help develop their team,” said Stonecipher. As a result, GaMEP delivered front line leadership trainings, teaching approximately 50 shop floor leaders, skills in problem solving, process improvement methods, and leadership skills. Since the initial planning and execution went so well, Stonecipher continued to work with Chapman and his leadership team on training the entire PSG organization, almost 300 people, on Hoshin Kanri as part of their strategic plan development and deployment process.
With the success of PSG and its growth, Chapman formed PHX Holdings, a holding company for all of the business operating units, and began acquiring manufacturing companies that were static in their growth strategies. He again engaged the GaMEP team to assist by facilitating “The Playbook” methodology that Stonecipher helped to develop (People + Lean + Strategy = Success) as part of a scaling up strategy. Today, this “Playbook” is being applied to new acquisitions, and the company had a record year of increased revenue in 2020, even during COVID.
In addition to continuous improvement, PSG has embarked on a journey of advanced manufacturing and automation. They continue to partner with GaMEP to help in their expansion into technology, and leading the automation model to teach them how to onboard new technology.
By investing in their workforce, and sharing in the success from the shop to the top, Chapman and his team have kept employees engaged and motivated. Especially during such a tumultuous year with COVID, PSG has been able to truly live their company motto – Customers First, Employees Always – as their leadership and devotion to core values has shined through.
