Part Two - A Texas-Sized Expansion
Welcome back, y’all! We previously looked at improvements MQ is making to its facilities in the Lone Star State in part one of our Texas-Sized Expansion series. For part two, we sat down with Tyler Clements, Senior Director of Engineering and Operations who shared juicy (akin to the finest Texas BBQ) details on how this strategy benefits our customer base across North America.
MQ: Tyler, why is Multiquip expanding to three locations in Lewisville, Texas?
TC: Ultimately, it came down to capacity. We’ve experienced unprecedented demand for our equipment in the last three years and hit capacity constraints with available production space. To accommodate the growth and better serve our customers, we created a project team to examine our facilities to ensure we’re utilizing them in the most effective manner.
The team analyzed how we currently utilize the production spaces we have with an eye toward optimization through reorganization and targeted capital investment. While these efforts have yielded significant capacity increases, ultimately the team determined that adding additional production space was necessary to meet our customers’ expectations.
During this investigation, it became apparent that we needed to reconsider where we manufacture the trailer frames for MQ Power generators. Most of our trailer frames are built in our facility in Boise Idaho. 90 percent of those trailer frames are subsequently shipped to, and consumed in, our existing Texas manufacturing facilities. So why don’t we shift production to a new facility in Lewisville and free up that space in Boise to increase capacity for core products [specifically MQ Whiteman power trowels]?
Robotically welded trailer frames in Boise, ID
MQ: What excites you the most about this expansion?
TC: We have a clean slate. When we analyze our processes, we usually ask “what would you do if you had to do it all over again?”
Well, here we are, we have that opportunity. We get to implement innovations that are more difficult to deploy in existing spaces without disrupting production and delivery schedules.
We are always looking at emerging technologies and manufacturing methods that allow us to improve user experiences and benefit the customer. So, to me, being able to implement the latest technologies to enable production of the next generation of MQ products while doing so efficiently is what excites me the most.
One of two robotic welding stations currently operating in Boise, ID before their relocation to Texas
MQ: What are some of the improvements being made to how Multiquip manufactures equipment in our new and existing facilities?
TC: MQ is no stranger to automation having installed our first robotic welding cell in Boise over 20 years ago. In the last decade that program has grown to include multiple fixed-place weld stations and even two Cobot (Collaborative Robot) work areas.
We are now investing in robotic welding in Texas. The first of these stations was delivered to our Boise facility in October 2023 where the Manufacturing Engineering group has been proving out the fixturing and the program sequences. The weld cell will be relocated to the Texas facility for full production utilization this summer.
There is a much-publicized skilled labor shortage in the US. We view investment in robotics as an investment in our people. While automation is impressive, it’s ultimately our employees that play the greatest part in our success. A Stradivarius is just another chunk of wood without a skilled musician to play it. The same concept applies to robotic welding — you need skilled technicians and certified welders to make them sing.
MQ: What’s the expected decrease in throughput time going to be with the introduction and implementation of these robotic welders?
TC: Historically, we typically see a tripling of throughput with robotic welding stations.
The biggest improvement in throughput we will see with trailer manufacturing is in the paint process. Most of the trailer frames built in Boise couldn’t be powder coated there due to their size and our capacity in the facility. We are installing a brand-new, state-of-the-art powder coat system in Lewisville that will allow us to paint all trailers built there.
The process time from starting a trailer to delivering a trailer should take a third of the time that it was taking before and greatly improve our ability to quickly meet customer demands.
Certified, professional welders handle the more intricate welds on the trailer frames while the robots take care of the rest
MQ: Given your extensive history with MQ Whiteman ride-on trowels, what new possibilities are being created with the newly available space in Boise by moving trailer frame production to Texas?
TC: The new generation of trowels we are working on right now are designed for a commonality of parts on a platform system under an engineering discipline called “design for manufacturability”, or DFM, which will allow us to build them quickly and efficiently while maintaining industry-leading quality.
The concrete that was being poured 10 years ago is very different from what is used today and finishing practices continue to evolve. We have to continue being innovative and find opportunities to focus on design and build efficiently. Moving trailer production to Texas has given the Boise facility the ability to deploy the next generation of machines without disrupting the throughput of the machines our customers love today.
MQ: Beyond manufacturing, how else does this expansion enable MQ to service its customers?
TC: That’s a two-fold answer because [on one hand] you have the improved service capabilities, and the other part is being able to address our current backlog of orders and get equipment in the hands of customers.
Multiquip’s newest facility in Lewisville, TX. The future home of trailer frame manufacturing, MQ ServicePlus, and much more.
ServicePlus is a program that we’ve recently launched. The amount of equipment awaiting routine service or repairs exceeds the capabilities of authorized service centers (ASCs) and dealers available to service them -- they’re struggling to keep up. Multiquip is stepping up to support our customers, dealers, and ASCs by building a new state-of-the-art service center in our new facility that will complement our existing service network to better assist them and get customers’ equipment back on the job producing revenue.
Our Texas expansion also benefits our customers tremendously because we will be able to produce equipment faster. We understand that some customers have been waiting a long time for their equipment, and we greatly appreciate their patience and trust in our equipment. It’s really exciting that we will be able to fulfill orders quickly with the infrastructure investments we’re making and position ourselves for a successful future.