Learn about the improvements that came out of Ace's leadership development program, why they were critical to the company and how it was done. Discover world-class approaches to developing leaders in continuous improvement.
Ace has been working with Toyota’s TSSC group for three years, focusing on kaizen, problem solving and standardized work within the organization. The result is a leadership team with a whole new perspective on how to carry out continuous improvement (CI) in a job shop environment. Hear how the company implemented a host of valuable improvements in its business as a part of the process. Discover how you too can develop your leaders in making CI a pervasive part of your business. Hear how lean activities are performed and what results have been reached in terms of fostering a healthy trust-based company culture and bottom line results.
Ace Metal Crafts Co. specializes in stainless steel fabrication and unleashing potential in people. In business for 55 years, serving OEM’s in the food processing and packaging industries, Ace puts people first, whether it's a customer or a team member. The company uses lean as a strategy for improvement across the entire company and succeeds at sustaining those improvements. Since adapting lean in its job shop environment, Ace has doubled its size in total revenue and team members. www.acemetal.com
Keith Stout is vice president of operations at Ace Metal Crafts Co. He joined Ace in 1992 and has been the leader of the company’s lean journey. After a stint in sales engineering, he joined the production floor and began delivering the customer first commitment and continuous improvement, the core of the Ace culture. Stout holds a mechanical engineering degree from Northern Illinois University. He is a passionate supporter of AME and is a past board member of the (USA) Midwestern Region.
