Indiana company's custom offerings produced in an automated setting

Offering custom products in an automated manufacturing environment is not necessarily new to the wood products industry. Still, one southern Indiana company has taken this concept to the edge with an integrated operation that accommodates a wide array of products serving a broad range of industry sectors.

The company is Jofco, and continuous improvement is a major part of its company culture.

"We're mainly a custom producer of office furniture and seating," says senior vice president of production Mike Steurer. "We hold no finished goods inventory and produce on an order-by-order basis. With the addition of a custom box-making machine from Packsize Corporation, we've virtually eliminated keeping any inventory of premade cartons. We make each carton as each piece of furniture is inspected before shipment."

Whether its case goods, seating, tables, credenzas or other products, Jofco stretches the envelope when it comes to integrating its process. All this is fueled by a lean manufacturing program that ties it all together.

Steurer explains: "We're a vertically integrated operation with our case goods production. We start from the raw lumber, chipcore or MDF and cut, splice and hot press the faces to the substrates. We then machine the product, build it and finish it on one of two finish lines and then pack all of our products in cartons made for each unit with a Packsize box-making machine for shipment.

"And we produce seating pieces to complement our case goods lines. Most of the seating frames are purchased as subassemblies and then assembled, finished and upholstered. Our fleet of trucks delivers most of our furniture. The orders are coordinated by a master scheduler who takes the incoming case goods and seating orders and schedules according to the number of finished pallets needed for case goods and upholstery hours for the seating product."

Reducing inventory to a minimum is a key ingredient in this program, Steurer says.

The company keeps a limited amount of unfinished parts in a buffer stock to support its quick ship and short lead-time orders along with accommodating certain program items. Jofco also keeps a buffer stock of certain items that have multiple inventory turns.

Still, with all these moving parts, Jofco's lean program, at least on the surface, is quite simple. But it is a work in progress at this time.

Says Steurer: "Our lean program is based on the Toyota Production System. Leroy Morrow of Basic Lean Inc. is helping us through our lean journey. Leroy's knowledge comes from 15-plus years of employment with Toyota in teaching lean, and he has an association with Jeff Liker."

Company History

Jofco began operations in 1922 as Jasper Office Furniture Company at its current headquarters in Jasper, Ind. In 1965, the company name was abbreviated to Jofco, Inc. Now in its fourth generation of privately held family ownership, Jofco's manufacturing and business values still persist.

Jofco presently operates two production facilities in Jasper totaling over 600,000 sq. ft. and has over 300 employees. In 1999, Jofco became the exclusive U.S. importer and distributor of Frezza office products from Europe.

The company's furniture and seating products are used in financial institutions, professional offices, insurance companies and manufacturing offices and organizations that prefer natural wood furnishings. Specific products include, but are not limited to, a wide selection of desks, executive "L" and "U" units, credenzas, workstations, vertical storage units, bookcases, file storage, conference room furniture, computer support furniture and occasional tables.

Additionally, seating items for executive swivel, guest and lounge use are also available. The seating division began operations in 1986.

Products are sold through a network of authorized dealers. These dealers are supported by independent sales representatives who are responsible for sales within a geographic territory.

The company also maintains permanent showroom facilities in Chicago and New York. As a member of IIDA, IFMA and BIFMA, Jofco maintains constant awareness of market trends and changes, Steurer says.

Why Successful?

Steurer was asked a number of questions by Wood Digest to further explain how this four-generation company has maintained its leadership role in a very competitive industry.

Wood:  From a product development, manufacturing and marketing standpoint, what sets Jofco apart from the competition?

Steurer: Jofco works with the industry's leading designers to bring fresh ideas to the market. We're interested in offering the market something new. Quality in design and detail is important to us. It sets us apart from the competition. We also consider the possibility of customizing certain product lines to accommodate the creative applications of architects and designers.

Wood: Who are your specific end customers?

Steurer: Our end users are financial institutions, law offices, universities, insurance companies, regional and national corporations, among many other industries. Government agencies also account for a good portion of our sales.

Wood: Is there an online link between order takers/customers and the manufacturing facilities?

Steurer: No, at this time customers send in their orders by fax, phone or e-mail to their respective sales coordinator. We use a bar code system that allows the parts and orders to be tracked through the plant once an order is entered into the system.

Wood: What is the order to design to manufacture to ship process?

Steurer: We receive an order by fax, phone or e-mail. These orders are conditioned by the order entry specialists who funnel standard product into the system and the nonstandard product to the engineering group. The group engineers special size product on the order and then return it to order entry to be put into the system. The order is then released to the shop floor. Once released, an MRP system makes suggestions to order parts and gives the start dates for these ordered parts. Once the parts are produced they are assembled, finished, packed and shipped.

Wood: What software tools do you use in the design process? Manufacturing software? Are these software packages integrated? If so, how?

Steurer: We use Inventor and AutoCAD. Right now, the manufacturing accounting, inventory control and purchasing is being done by Avante. We've purchased Virtual Systems software, which is parametric-based software that will allow us to order special product right at the order entry process. This cuts out the special engineering of nonstandard orders. This software then produces a bill of materials along with all the CNC programs and needed shop floor documentation. Gone are the headaches of the upkeep of huge static bills of materials since they are now created on the fly at order entry.

Wood: What substrates do you work with? Overlays?

Steurer: We use solid wood, chipcore and MDF as base substrates. The overlays that are applied to the substrates are walnut, maple, cherry and makore veneers. Along with veneers, Jofco also offers HPL, Corian and marble as an option for top surfaces.

Wood: As a panel processor, how to you track orders and parts through the plant?

Steurer: Orders are entered into the system, and then suggestions to order parts are made by MRP. Once parts are ordered, they are tracked through the system by bar code. When the individual parts are completed, they are kitted into a complete assembly and then a new-kitted assembly bar code is used to track the part through assembly, finish, packing and shipment.

Wood: What are your major pieces of equipment?

Steurer: We have a number of major pieces of equipment, as far as automation is concerned, including five Biesse point-to-point machines; a Biesse Omni double-sided edgebander; Biesse Stream single-sided edgebander; Italpresse hot press; Burkle hot press; Schelling panel saw; Torwegge double-sided tenoner; two Shoda routers; Heeseman four-head veneer polisher; six-head Biesse veneer polishing line; Packsize box-making machine; and two Deburg finish lines.

Wood: How do you cost-justify a major piece of capital equipment or system?

Steurer: We calculate the net present value and the internal rate of return on all major capital equipment purchases.

Wood: According to your website, the lead times for the various products you make seem to vary significantly. Why is this?

Steurer: Due to the complexity of some of our products and buying of some purchased parts for our products, we have some widely varying lead times.

Wood: Describe your finishing department,

Steurer: We have two Deburg tow cart finish systems. Both finish lines are incorporated with dirt-free side draft spray booths installed by Pate and Siler. We use a multiple step finish process that has multiple quality checks built into the operation to attain color matches and also uses catalyzed lacquer as the final topcoat. We're also in the process of testing finishes that satisfy both the Greenguard and BIFMA FES standard to replace the catalyzed lacquer topcoat.

Wood: Where do your design concepts originate?

Steurer: Our designs originate from product designers. Because we choose to partner with designers from different backgrounds, there are many art and architectural influences found in our furniture. The furniture we import and distribute for Frezza is European, and we don't try to duplicate what they have mastered.

Wood: Describe your training program.

Steurer: We use on-the-job training and are heavily involved in cross-training of our employees. The cross-training of our employees also supports our lean program. Every new employee must go through a lean training class before they start work. All Jofco employees must also attend a four-hour training class on lean with continuing education taking place throughout the year.

Wood: As a major player in your industry, what are your major challenges on a daily basis?

Steurer: On-time delivery above customer expectations and keeping quality multiple steps ahead of our competitor. Also, direct and personal involvement in the organization provides a foundation for the success of our company, as well as a long-term commitment to our independence in the wood office furniture industry