Exmark announced that it has received significant grant funding from the Nebraska Department of Labor’s Worker Training Program (WTP). The company will use the funding to help offset the costs of Lean Enterprise training for members of its engineering and manufacturing leadership.
According to Exmark General Manager, Judy Altmaier, the employee training will help the company meet the challenges of the global economy it competes in every day.
“The five ingredients of a lean journey include passion, team, culture, techniques and practice,” Altmaier said. “Thanks in part to the grant funding from the Nebraska Worker Training Program, we’re providing leaders on our team with a solid foundation of tools and techniques to practice problem solving and lead Kaizen events.
“These leaders will teach other Exmark employees to adopt lean principles in their daily work, with the goal of not just maximizing efficiency and product quality, but also strengthening company culture and developing a more engaged, satisfied workforce.”
Exmark will combine the five grants totaling $13,700 in WTP grant funding with its own investment of more than $114,000 to fund the training, the goal of which is to improve group dynamics and communication skills, and implement a lean manufacturing environment in the company’s Beatrice, Neb. facility. In addition to these grants, Exmark was also awarded a grant for $5,000 for Material Flow training and a grant for $3,700 for Total Predictive Maintenance training and implementation.
The Beatrice, Neb. based company is a leading manufacturer of commercial mowers and lawn care equipment used by landscape professionals and acreage owners, among others, for the care and maintenance of natural turf areas.
To date, six additional Exmark employees are receiving Lean Enterprise training through the program. Comprised of three manufacturing engineers and three supervisors, the certified team is learning the techniques required to lead kaizen events within the company. These leaders will use their training to form employee teams trained to detect and eliminate waste, and educate employees on the expectations and roles each of them has in maintaining quality and efficiency throughout the production process.
“Ultimately, the training will be successful if we can take what is learned and transfer the knowledge needed for success to every employee at Exmark,” Altmaier said. “By doing that, we empower each employee to seek better solutions, quickly solve problems, and constantly look to raise the bar.”
Learn more about Exmark at
Exmark.com, and see how the Nebraska Worker Training Program is helping companies across the state at
dol.nebraska.gov.
