Williams Controls Industries Names Gary A. Hafner as Production Manager
7 January 2000
Williams Controls Industries Names Gary A. Hafner as Production Manager
Company Plans to Adopt Toyota Production System at All Facilities
PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 7 -- Williams Controls, Inc.
today announced that Gary A. Hafner has been named Production
Manager of the company's largest subsidiary, Williams Controls Industries in
Portland, Oregon. Mr. Hafner has 28 years of experience in all facets of
manufacturing and materials management, encompassing work order based MRP
systems and the Toyota Production System (TPS).
Gary Hafner comes to Williams from Warn Industries in Milwaukie, Oregon.
While at Warn, Mr. Hafner was responsible for the implementation of the TPS
system, while managing the production operation that was responsible for
manufacturing all steel parts for the company's OEM product assembly lines.
While managing the TPS implementation process, he was responsible for training
and implementation of new production line configurations, shop floor layouts,
capacity planning and software implementation. Prior to joining Warn
Industries, Mr. Hafner was Production Manager for Central Machine Works of
Portland, Oregon, where he was responsible for daily manufacturing operations.
He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Oregon
Technical Institute.
Mr. Hafner's hiring by Williams Controls is a critical element of the
company's plan to implement the Toyota Production System, a system of lean
production, reduced inventory and improved quality, at its Portland facility.
The implementation of this system will be one of his principal
responsibilities. Williams Controls also plans to adopt TPS at its other
facilities once the process has begun at its Portland operation, as part of a
corporate-wide program to continually improve quality and manufacturing
systems.
The ultimate goal of TPS is profit improvement accomplished through cost
reductions. The cost reductions are achieved through the elimination of
wastes. The four key wastes to be controlled are excessive production
resources, overproduction, excessive inventory, and unnecessary capital
investment.
Key elements of a successful TPS system, which is planned to be
implemented in the company's Portland facility during 2000, include the use of
Kanbans. The Kanban system is an information system used to manage the
production process and suppliers. TPS also includes a system of production
smoothing, where average demand for products is estimated with the goal to
minimize volume variations in production so a planned schedule can be
maintained. To smooth production and reduce lot sizes and inventory, setup
times need to be reduced. Process layout improvements are also sought to
shorten material transportation time and distances. This will shorten lead
time and reduce wasted effort. Operations at the Portland facility will be
further standardized so that everyone uses best practices and standard methods
of production. This should improve quality, reduce variation and improve
productivity and profitability.
Williams Controls is a leading manufacturer and integrator of innovative
sensors, controls and communications systems for the transportation and
communication industries. You can reach us on the Web at http://www.wmco.com .
The statements included in this news release concerning predictions of
economic performance and management's plans and objectives constitute forward-
looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1934, as amended. These statements involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause or contribute to such
differences include, but are not limited to, factors detailed in the Company's
Securities and Exchange Commission filings; economic downturns affecting the
operations of the Company or any of its business operations, and the
unavailability of financing to complete management's plans and objectives.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as
of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to
update these forward-looking statements.