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Manufacturing Innovation Blog

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Military Tent Manufacturer Gains Long-Term Sustainability

By: Advantage Kentucky Alliance (AKA)

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Military Tent Manufacturer Gains Long-Term Sustainability

Photo Credit: iStock.com/Olivier Le Moal

Based in Stearns, Kentucky, with 250 employees, Outdoor Venture Corporation (OVC) develops, designs, and manufactures commercial tent systems, military tent systems, sleeping bags, and hunting products. In business since 1972, OVC was one of the first suppliers of automotive air bags in the United States.

Outdoor Venture Corporation was looking for ways to diversify, improve manufacturing processes, develop new products, reduce costs, increase efficiency, and reduce time constraints on delivering product to customers. The company needed a tool or process to ensure that they were always focusing on improvements, and reached out to Advantage Kentucky Alliance (AKA), part of the MEP National NetworkTM, for assistance.

Our thanks to the MEP program and the assistance given to small businesses in Kentucky; without AKA’s help, we could not have participated.  —Joe Fields, VP Business Development

Advantage Kentucky Alliance’s Scott Broughton engaged OVC on a Lean journey, sharing ways to stimulate innovation and improve the manufacturing process. This process helped OVC to develop and market new products with ideas that might not have been captured or pursued by the company otherwise. Using growth management tools and the "growth portal," OVC received one patent and has three patents pending. The company generated more than $4.5M in impacts in just 12 months. AKA is also helping OVC to upgrade to the ISO 9001-2015 standard. The company has certified one Black Belt and trained over 12 Green Belts to implement and guide the OVC Innovation system.

Results

  • Increased sales by $500,000
  • Cost savings of $1,000,000
  • Investment in new products of $1,000,000
  • Trained and certified 12 Green Belts and 1 Black Belt

Could your company benefit from assistance with improving your manufacturing process? Connect with your local MEP Center for more information.

 

MEP National Network Logo
The Advantage Kentucky Alliance (AKA) is the official representative of the MEP National Network in Kentucky. The MEP National Network is a unique public-private partnership that helps small and medium-sized manufacturers generate business results and thrive in today’s technology-driven economy. The MEP National Network comprises the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP), the 51 MEP Centers located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Continuous Improvement and MEP National Network

About the author

logo for Advantage Kentucky Alliance (AKA)

Advantage Kentucky Alliance (AKA)

Advantage Kentucky Alliance (AKA) is a statewide, not-for-profit partnership who provides assistance and training to help manufacturers of all sizes grow and improve!  AKA offers expertise, training, and facilitated planning to manufacturers in a whole myriad of areas such as business strategies, process improvement, business growth and cost reduction.

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