After years of making the most of our existing space, A.R.E. Manufacturing is excited to officially announce a significant expansion to our facilities. This project, which will add a whopping 10,500 square feet to our building, nearly doubles our manufacturing space—growing from 12,000 to 22,500 square feet dedicated to production.
While this expansion will be a game-changer for our current precision machining capabilities, we’re most excited about how this renovation will improve efficiency and flow on the shop floor and what new services we can add to our repertoire.
Why Expand Now? Timing Is Everything
This expansion has been in the works for quite some time. In 2004, A.R.E. purchased a machine shop in Bend and consolidated their operations under one roof, in our Newberg facilities. The transition presented our team with the challenge of a packed production area and insufficient space for several months.
This initially sparked our push for Lean manufacturing principles, as making the most of our square footage would optimize our workflows. This initiative worked quite nicely, allowing us to work with the resources we had for many years.
As we continued to grow and take on more complex projects to better serve our customers, the need for additional space became evident. By late 2020, our commitment to delivering high-quality results led us to secure a new medical device project, which required investing in two large machines. While our shop floor was already running at full capacity, we made it work to ensure we met our customer commitments. Recognizing the opportunity to enhance our capabilities even further, we began planning an expansion to create the space needed to support future growth and continue delivering exceptional service.
How A.R.E. Manufacturing Designed a Space with Efficiency at the Forefront
After crunching the numbers, we discovered we could double our production space. With that goal in mind, A.R.E. embraced an all-hands-on-deck approach to design a smarter, more efficient workspace. To ensure every detail was optimized, we partnered with a Lean consultant who worked closely with our team to meticulously plan a layout that would enhance workflows and maximize productivity.
Here’s what this process looked like:
Data Utilization
First, the A.R.E. team began critically analyzing how our parts flow through the shop and used this crucial information to determine optimal machine placements. To better visualize the space and play around with potential layouts, our team used a Lego board and 3D-printed scale models of our equipment. This hands-on approach helped us pinpoint the best configurations that would improve the flow of our shop floor. Plus, it made for a pretty fun day of work!
Collaborative Input from Our Teams
In addition to this data-driven planning method, our leadership team involved other departments in the process. By gathering their insights on how to improve accessibility and streamline part flow, we ensured the layout would support smoother operations. Hearing directly from the individuals on our shop floor was invaluable, providing fresh perspectives that led to improvements in our original plan.
For instance, our fabrication team, who leverage lathes, press brakes, and welding equipment, requested a specific flow to ensure parts move more efficiently from one step to the next.
Another standout idea involved grouping our largest machines near a central loading area to minimize material handling, thus reducing wasted time and effort. Rather than navigating parts across the shop, materials now flow directly from the loading dock to the machines and out for shipping.
Other Impactful Changes
The flow of trucks and forklifts: One significant improvement addressed our previous truck flow challenges. Previously, trucks had to park in less-than-ideal spots in our lot. However, our new design added a driveway around the building that allows our forklifts to unload trucks directly into our facility without bottlenecks. This seemingly minor change has made a monumental difference, saving time and minimizing risk during loading and unloading.
Handling of scrap: A designated scrap area with improved ventilation ensures better waste and scrap management, resulting in a cleaner, more organized shop floor.
Designated training area: Another exciting development is a dedicated area for our machinist-in-training program. By placing what we consider “entry-level machines” together, we’ve created a seamless space for new machinists to learn and grow. This investment in workforce development aligns with our commitment to continuous improvement.
How Our Expansion Sets A.R.E. and Our Customers Up for Future Success
The additional floor space not only resolves our current capacity challenges—it also positions A.R.E. Manufacturing for growth. We’ve allocated room for future machines we’ve been eyeing that can further expand what we offer our customers.
Ultimately, at the heart of this expansion is our goal to eliminate unnecessary movement and streamline the movement of parts through our shop. Improved layouts and simplified workflows will allow us to deliver even greater efficiency and quality to our customers.
We’re thrilled to embark on this new chapter at A.R.E. Manufacturing and eager to see how this innovation will improve our outcomes in the days, months, and years to come.
Request a quote to partner with our dynamic team today!