Here We Grow Again by Jeff Meiners In an effort to keep the national economy going, combat Chinese tariffs, generate tax revenue to pay for space ex- ploration, encourage a drop in the interest rate, help reduce global warming, stop the burning of the rain forests and to save the polar bears…we have decided to enter into a new construction project for our contract packaging division. OK, so it’s possible that what Crest does doesn’t have much of an impact on the world outside of a twen- ty mile radius of Ashton, but to us our construction projects seem like a pretty big deal and we are in the middle of starting a substantial one for contract packaging that will have a big impact on the future of this division. Construction has already started on three new production rooms, a mechanical room, a washroom and a mainte- nance area to the East of our current production area in the West warehouse. In addition, plans for purchasing new equipment to run and support the lines that will be moved to these rooms are being made. The impact of this addi- tion will be great. The lines will be automated for long running, existing business. The space created by moving lines will also help us to automate other areas allowing us to eliminate some of our more physically demanding jobs. The new automation will help us reduce our labor demands and we, like many other companies, are struggling to find enough labor in this economy. No positions will be cut as a result of this automation – it will simply help us to better match our demand for output with available labor. The new lines will also be segregated to better facilitate the running of various allergens…and we do certainly run a lot of allergens. The addition of an adjacent wash room to our production area will improve our ability to handle change-overs and getting the maintenance area out of the middle of the warehouse will fix a wrong that has been long overdue. So far this all sounds…unless one considers actually paying for it or you happen to work in the warehouse and are more than aware of the impact of losing much needed warehouse space to the new construction. The paying part has been addressed through a combination of longer-term commitments on business and payback through efficien- cy and cost gains associated with the new lines. The loss of storage space issue is a tough situation to resolve, but through a combination of some creative thinking, the elimination of some product lines, better control of raw side supplies and some help from our customers on moving finished product quicker while we are in our construction phase…there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. We have a very aggressive time-line for this project, but what else is new for Crest. Much thought and hard work will go into making this all happen, but we’re confident that by the time the April showers are making May flowers next year…we will be enjoying all the benefits of this new area and the lines that will be running in it. 2019 Magic Waters
On July 27th, Crest Foods employees, along with their families and friends made it up to Magic Waters Waterpark in Rock- ford for our annual outing. It was a record year for us, as we DOUBLED our normal sales and sold 1186 tickets! We hope everyone enjoyed the great weather and short lines. Thanks to Crest employees, family and friends who came out for a nice night at the waterpark!
October, November & December 2019 Crest Ink 15
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