Kaysun's precision earns accolades

Plastics manufacturer helps make devices for companies nationwide

By: Charlie Mathews, Herald Times Reporter

MANITOWOC — Visitors to Kaysun Corp. in its early years didn't have to indicate whether they were U.S. citizens.

But now they do. "Are you a foreign national?" is part of the logbook at the plastics manufacturer in the city's I-Tec Park, 5500 West Drive.

Many of the plastic components Kaysun makes are part of portable global position system receivers for American troops that mandate Kaysun's registration with ITAR — International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

"The way our business has grown over the years is to focus on products too difficult to be made overseas … with sophisticated automation and engineering skills," explained Ben Harrison, Kaysun's chief executive officer.

Founded in 1947, Kaysun's first products were toys, including airplane propellers and model car kits, as well as cookware and commodity items.

Six decades later, Kaysun's mission is to help clients manufacture critical-use, highly engineered products like the GPS units for Rockwell Collins.

It is a large defense contractor whose products often must be made in the U.S. in ITAR-registered facilities like Kaysun, with visitors required to indicate their nationality.

Rockwell Collins recently gave two awards to Kaysun demonstrating its high level of satisfaction with the Manitowoc manufacturer west of Interstate 43.

With headquarters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Rockwell Collins has nearly 10,000 suppliers, with about 100 nominated for its supplier of the year awards.

In March, Kaysun was the only one to win two — for plastics supplier of the year and for its lean initiatives.

'Lunch with Ben'

A 1992 graduate of Lincoln High School, Harrison said he meets with 12 to 15 different employees monthly.

"I ask two questions: 'What do you like about Kaysun?' and I get good feedback, and 'What would make Kaysun more successful?'" Harrison said.

The holder of a bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa and a master's from De Paul University in Chicago, Harrison took over the executive reins of the family owned company in 2003, at the request of his stepfather, Richard Robinson, who had bought the company in 1974.

It was Robinson who changed the direction of the company from toys and cookware to complex products with tight tolerances.

And it is Harrison who believes all 170 employees working together and sharing improvement ideas that will help solve its 20 key customers' manufacturing challenges.

Dan Lindgren is a senior project engineer with a master's in mechanical engineering.

He said it is an enjoyable challenge to put the "Kaysun influence" in the production process.

The goal is to enhance "manufacturability," streamlining production to create a better product at a better price. After all, Lindgren said, if Kaysun's customer is a defense contract, "ultimately, the taxpayers are paying for it."

Brenda Sweetman is a team leader of the crew making the plastic chassis for the GPS units. She said she enjoys working with people and, with her boss, Eric Kuhfuss, in managing workflow to fulfill daily orders.

Shadowboards cut waste

Harrison credits lean manufacturing initiatives for helping to reduce wasted time, like trying to find the right tool.

That's where shadowboards, with a painted outline of where the tool should be placed, are simple but effective.

"That has improved our inventory turns and we're not held up with slow (machine) set-up time," he said.

Lean initiatives also are in the office environment, not just on the production floor. "We're taking an inventory of all the reports generated daily, weekly or monthly," Harrison said. "What made sense to do five years ago may not apply now, and may be redundant or duplicative."

Harrison said he's optimistic and excited about living up to Kaysun's declared mission, to be "the No. 1 provider of highly engineered injection molded products and value-added services" in defense, medical, industrial and automotive sectors.

Kaysun already makes plastic components that are part of braking systems on heavy-duty trucks and buses. It manufactures some of the deflector components for sunroofs in the Honda Accord.

In the medical field, Kaysun produces plastic components used in handheld patient monitoring devices.

The company intends to be at the forefront of environmental initiatives to replace metal parts with plastic alternatives in consumer products such as plumbing fixtures to reduce exposure to lead and other harmful materials.

"We are in a very fragmented industry with thousands of competitors," Harrison said.

"There aren't a lot of companies that can tie together the engineering expertise we have to the value we can add to new products," he said. "It's fun to win contracts from major Fortune 100 companies, see them coming to Manitowoc and Kaysun Corporation because of what we have to offer."

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