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Continuous improvement key at Pella Corporation

Total involvement results in quality windows and doors

Printed from: http://pressroom.pella.com//fast_facts/48/

• Pella Corporation is an industry leader in continuous improvement and customer satisfaction, manufacturing premium quality windows, patio doors and entry door systems.
• Pella Corporation adopted and embraced the Kaizen blitz technology to drive continuous improvement. Kaizen means change for the better. It’s also known as continuous improvement, or rapid change for the better through the use of cross-functional teams.
• Pella Corporation introduced continuous improvement processes, including Kaizen, in 1993. Since that time, Pella Corporation has:
  • Conducted more than 9,600 Kaizen events.
  • Involved more than 62,000 team members, inside and outside the company, in its continuous improvement initiatives.
• Pella’s current President and CEO, Mel Haught, was involved in the company’s first Kaizen event, and was one of three vice-presidents responsible for successfully introducing continuous improvement into Pella’s corporate culture.
• By conducting Kaizen events, Pella Corporation accomplishes rapid change. A cross-functional team meets for one week to study an issue, explore options and implement improvements.
• Continuous improvement is designed to take time and cost out of the system, while improving overall quality and productivity.
• Pella Corporation uses continuous improvement processes in all departments.
• Continuous improvement engages and involves Pella Corporation’s employees, and helps them better understand their role as team members in satisfying customers.
• Implementation of continuous improvement processes has resulted in “just in time” (JIT) manufacturing, meaning that Pella Corporation does not carry a large inventory of products in stock, instead, building them “just in time” to meet customer needs.
• Pella Corporation employs about 8,600 people. An additional 7,000 are employed selling and servicing Pella windows and doors through Pella’s independently owned and operated Pella Direct Sales Network (PDSN), which operates Pella® Window & Door Showrooms through the United States and Canada.
• For more information about Pella Corporation’s products and career opportunities, visit www.pella.com or call 888-847-3552.

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