Strategic Planning - Specialty Ceramics

Company Profile: Located in Columbiana, Ohio, Specialty Ceramics is the largest
manufacturer of vacuum-formed ceramic fireplace log sets in North America. Specialty Ceramics was the first manufacturer in the country to vacuum form gas fireplace logs from refractory ceramic materials, a process that transformed them from decorative hearth pieces into innovative heating appliances. Specialty Ceramics often works together with its sister companies, Refractory Specialties, Inc. and VacuForm Inc. Located in Sebring, Ohio, both companies manufacture vacuum-formed ceramic fiber shapes.

Project: Although all three companies manufacture vacuum-formed ceramic products, each company faces different problems competing in different markets. Specialty Ceramics has the advantage of a mature product, but was hindered by manufacturing difficulties and shrinking business markets. Refractory Specialties and VacuForm thrived by constantly increasing their product lines with innovative products, yet neither company had control over a specific market.

Wanting to improve the integration between the three companies, TechSolve was enlisted to help the trio discover and address barriers to growth through strategic planning. After meeting with executives and employees from the three companies, TechSolve began by identifying shared ideologies and articulating a vision for the future, analyzing the
competitive environment of each company, defining near-term goals and objectives, and determining key obstacles and constraints.

Results: Once it became clear why many of the group’s problems existed, TechSolve was able to guide the companies towards a more integrated and, subsequently, more successful future. To accomplish this, Specialty Ceramics implemented a series of manufacturing improvement initiatives that positioned the company to:

• Improve lead times by over 64% (from 28 to 10 days)
• Enhance first-pass product quality by 33%
• Cut rework by 50%

“TechSolve helped our family of companies to overcome a silo mentality. They helped us to define the opportunities and challenges across all three of our businesses and consider them as a whole, thus enabling us to make win-win improvements across all three by strategically leveraging our own resources.”

Rich Wilk, Specialty Ceramics