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Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)

Growth Through Manufacturing Process Development

With the help of: GENEDGE

About

Zynnovation LLC is an Ashland-based company that makes an innovative plant protection system, trademarked as TreeDiaper® that absorbs rain, snow or irrigation water and then slowly releases it to the roots as soil dries, saving water and labor costs.

The Challenge

Zynnovation had established a strong presence in the manufacturing sector with their innovative TreeDiaper product. They have a strong client base with a clear potential for growth. Known for delivering high-quality products, Zynnovation was well positioned to expand its business and meet the growing demand from its clients.

Despite its promising outlook, Zynnovation faced an obstacle on its growth journey. A key constraint emerged in their manufacturing process, limiting their ability to scale up operations. To continue expanding and meeting the needs of their clients, Zynnovation sought expert support to explore significantly increasing production capacity through lean and automation.

The part of GENEDGE I like most is their vast network of resources. When GENEDGE do not have the in-house experts in a certain area, they always find the right experts for the job.
— Wei Zhang, VP for R&D

MEP's Role

Zynnovation turned to GENEDGE, part of the MEP National Network™, and their internal experts for assistance. The team at GENEDGE worked closely with Zynnovation to assess their current manufacturing processes and develop solutions tailored to their needs. By applying lean manufacturing principles, GENEDGE identified key areas for immediate improvement, which created a foundation for future enhancements. Once these initial improvements were made, GENEDGE expanded the scope to explore various automation opportunities. Together, they developed a comprehensive, phased roadmap that connected production output to specific timelines, ensuring that improvements could be implemented progressively and efficiently.

Zynnovation received a detailed improvement plan that will enable them to grow their business sustainably. The phased roadmap ties production output to a timeline of key improvements, allowing for gradually increased throughput while reducing cost. Impacts to date include 2 retained jobs, $100k in increased sales, $50k in cost savings and an increased investment of $20K in workforce practices and employee skill development.

Created October 29, 2024