Insight on Business

FACE TIME PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL LESCHISIN, IMAGE STUDIOS FOR INSIGHT Tom Buske on building boats and a culture Tom Buske, manager of production at ACE Marine, worked for Marinette Marine for many years before taking the lead at the Green Bay- based company, which builds aluminum rescue boats for the Coast Guard. He talked with Insight Editor Margaret LeBrun about the opportunity to start the manufacturing plant from the ground up in 2008 for Fincantieri Marine Group, which also owns Marinette Marine. www. insightonbusiness .com ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE MOST focused on right now is future business and facility expansion opportunities. Fincantieri Marine Group developed ACE Marine under a business model that allows us to build a culture from the ground up; we started with a brand new workforce. We had an opportunity to build a culture that encourages individuals and empowers them to make positive change on the shop floor. Currently, we're involved with the 45-foot Response Boat Medium for the Coast Guard; it's a replacement for the 41-foot Utility Boats. The current production plan calls for 180 boats. The Coast Guard has an option for up to 250. In October 2008, we started production on this program, and now we have a total workforce of 60; 47 of them are direct production employees. We anticipated the RBM program will run for several years, so we wanted very detailed work instructions and procedures that we can give to our workforce. We are very heavy on training and education. We see that as a catalyst for the continuous improvement process and we apply that to all aspects of our operation, whether it's on the production floor or in the office. We also use heavily the applications of lean Januar y 2012• INSIGHT | 17 [continued] » U P F R O N T

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