Harmony Enterprises, Inc. is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacturing of balers and compactors for solid waste and recycling needs. Its products serve a variety of industries including healthcare, retail, hospitality, theme parks, and public & government buildings. Founded in 1962, Harmony Enterprises is a third-generation family business, employing 65 people in Harmony, MN and an additional 10 employees at its sales and service facility in Toulouse, France.
In 2011, Harmony Enterprises wanted to double its business in five years. They planned to grow sales, and increase profitably, while maintaining the company’s long-held core values.
Enterprise Minnesota has a long-standing relationship with Harmony, and presented its leadership with a comprehensive program to achieve top-line growth, bottom-line performance, and help instill a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization. Enterprise Minnesota expert Mary Connor took the company through Strategy Management which positions manufacturers for long-term growth by helping them define their mission, vision, and core values while aligning the roles of leadership, management, and employees with strategic organizational goals. Mary engaged Harmony’s employees, vendors, and customers, in identifying five key growth initiatives including prioritizing customer service, showcasing quality, and maximizing growth globally. An overall strategy “roadmap” was also developed to help guide the company towards its desired future state.
In an effort to help Harmony Enterprises improve its organizational processes and build a culture of continuous improvement, Enterprise Minnesota expert Greg Langfield led the company through its Practical Problem Solving program and ISO 9001: 2008 Certification. Practical Problem Solving helped managers and their employees analyze various production processes to better define and identify root causes of slowdowns and product defects. This approach helped reduce more time-wasting “work-arounds” and put greater emphasis on workflow communication.
To become ISO certified, Harmony Enterprises implemented and documented a quality management system to help control costs while maintaining the highest quality. Certification has also helped Harmony Enterprises expand the reach of its products in the international marketplace.
As a result of its work with Enterprise Minnesota, over the last three years, Harmony Enterprises has increased its sales by $6 million, yielded over $1.8 million in cost savings, invested $1.5 million in plant and equipment and created 15 new jobs.
…
» Read more Client Success Stories
» Learn how Enterprise Minnesota can help your business grow profitably
Enterprise Minnesota has never felt like an outside consultant and has always been a valued partner in helping us improve the way we do business. These consulting projects not only helped us develop a roadmap to meet our strategic objective of growth, but most importantly ensured that we included all the stakeholders in Harmony Enterprises, Inc. in the process.