Tour area plants that, regardless of the products manufactured or the materials used, will provide valuable insight about how other companies approach manufacturing, productivity, and more.

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge

Nienkämper, a maker of high-end corporate and residential furniture, ships around the world from its 120,000-sq.-ft. Toronto plant. Products include conference tables with power/AV connectivity incorporated, private office furniture, open office furniture, lounge seating, office seating, and coffee and end tables for corporate boardrooms, private offices, and reception areas of law firms, banks, universities, and corporations. Materials include wood, metal, and European leathers.

Founded in 1968 by German-born Klaus Nienkämper, the company has won numerous awards for its products. In addition to an inhouse design department led by Mark Müller, Nienkämper works with prominent independent designers such as 2003 NASFM Store of the Year winner Karim Rashid and A.R.E. member II BY IV Design Associates. In Toronto's Pearson International Airport, you may end up sitting on one of 400 Nienkamper chairs in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, whose interior was designed by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects in association with II BY IV.

Nienkämper's environmental practices include the use of environmentally responsible materials such as recycled MDF and FSC-certified wood and veneers, and the company has been working to reduce the environment impact of its plant processes. With 200 employees, the company recently invested in a new sealer/sander for the finishing department and a new CNC drilling machine and is currently implementing a new MRP system.

Founded more than 50 years ago, Raywal Kitchens is a kitchen and bath cabinetry company employing 300 designers, engineers, and skilled craftsmen in its Thornhill, Ontario, facility. Raywal offers European-style cabinets in a wide range of styles, colors, and kitchen solutions for builders, dealers, and the direct residential market. The company also provides a wide range of contemporary, traditional, and classic designs. More than 40 door styles are produced at the plant. To meet demand for green kitchens, the company offers eco-friendly options such as the new P100 Bamboo slab door as well as products made with low-formaldehyde boards and water-based stains.

The 110,000-sq.-ft. plant features a new flat-line finishing system, and the company's production processes include visual documentation. Recent technology applications include 3mm CNC edgebanding, a flat-line-stain-line, CNC door sizin, and a finishing top coat sealer system. The recent investments are credited with flexibility, a consistent process, support of the made-to-order offering, quality, a reduction in changeover, and a reduction in labor.

Woodlore International Inc. makes casegoods and conference room furniture including tables, lecterns, marker boards, and audiovisual cabinets for the office furniture industry throughout Canada and the Northeastern and Southeastern U.S. Founded in 1981, the company has moved into expanded facilities three times throughout its history due to sales growth.

The current facility in Brampton, Ontario, spans 70,000 sq. ft. The plant is ISO-2000-certified and boasts a lot of new equipment. With a current standard lead time of 10 days, the company ships 99.45% of orders on time. Woodlore turns its inventory between 47 and 50 times a year.

Craftwood, a division of Sonnenberg Industries, is an OEM production furniture manufacturer in Scarborough. Established in 1962, Craftwood produces high-end veneer and wood office furniture casegoods and meeting tables, occasional tables, drum bases, and custom commercial casegoods for office furniture manufacturers and dealers and the millwork and architectural community. Clients include Herman Miller, Haworth, Teknion, Knoll, Hon, and Datesweiser.

Employing more than 100 people, the 85,ooo-sq.-ft. plant engineers and manufactures to order mass customized casegoods. With an almost single-piece flow up to the finishing operation, the plant has recently added a Dynamic Production Data system with real-time part labels and continuous flow production and Insight Imos engineering and manufacturing software. The new technology has resulted in increased capacity and flexibility, faster total throughput time, reduced work in process, and a simplified production stream.