On Jan. 15, 2005, the 240,000-sq-ft plant of Mid-South Electronics (Annville, KY, U.S.) was destroyed by a fire, ceasing production of ice makers, ice and water dispensing systems, and control devices it supplied for Electrolux’s side-by-side refrigerators.

Immediately after the fire, Mid-South started work on obtaining new production equipment and tools. Because Electrolux works in a JIT (Just In Time) environment, the production of Mid-South’s components were timed to the appliance maker’s manufacturing cycle. Without a constant flow of components, Electrolux soon realized that its side-by-side refrigerator production at its plant in Greenville, MI, U.S. would be affected. To avoid a potentially devastating scenario, the appliance maker sent a group of employees to assist with Mid-South’s recovery.

According to Tony Evans, vice president of Corporate Communications for Electrolux North America, Electrolux started working with Mid-South from the beginning. “We worked with their people and other suppliers to check out and refurbish their tools and equipment to help them set up to get back to production,” he tells APPLIANCE. “Our supply and engineering groups worked very closely with them, and we had several people on-site in Annville from the very beginning.”

On first inspection, the appliance maker estimated that it would be forced to halt production at its Greenville plant for 4 to 6 weeks. However, by working closely with Mid-South, both companies realized partial production in only 2 weeks, with full production capability scheduled for February 14, as of press time.

One of Mid-South’s first steps to recovery was relocating to new facilities. The supplier moved production to three other plants and converted a warehouse so that it could maintain fulfillment of its customer orders. Next, Mid-South and Electrolux worked together on obtaining and setting up new equipment. This, according to Don Market, Electrolux Supply Chain vice president, was achieved by dividing the work between teams comprising Mid-South and Electrolux employees. A total of 10 teams had a leader from both respective companies that defined a “plan of action” and a timeline to follow in order to achieve working manufacturing capability.

“We started with a timeline of 4 weeks to production as a target and worked each hour of the day to better the top three leading time issues—conveyors, testing stations, and assembly features,” Mr. Market explains. Out of the 10 teams, five were assigned to Mid South’s five assembly lines. The five remaining teams were assigned to a single area, including materials, purchasing, quality, tooling, and equipment. Many of the team members worked 7 days a week for 16 or more hours per day—helping the supplier realize full production in only 2 weeks. Teams helped install conveyers and fabricating stations in addition to test and assembly fixtures. The companies worked together to order, track, and expedite material and equipment to make part production possible and return employees to work.