News Release

December 5, 2006
 

Idaho Wrecker Sales Wins Spirit of Continuous Innovation

TechHelp Director Gary Thompson presented the Fall 2006 Spirit of Continuous Innovation (SOCI) Award to Idaho Wrecker Sales (IWS) of Mountain Home during a ceremony at IWS on earlier this month. The SOCI Award recognizes Idaho companies that show positive economic impact as the result of continuous product and process innovation. “IWS hit the ball out of the park in every area we evaluate including new product development, bottom line impact, product and process innovation and investment in plant and people,” Thompson said. IWS Owner, Chuck Ceccarelli, accepting on behalf of IWS said, “We are thrilled to be honored with this award during a time of tremendous growth and change at IWS. It was nice to take time out to celebrate our success and realize that we’re on the right path.”

IWS is a sterling example of how a small manufacturer in rural Idaho can compete and win in the global economy by focusing on continuous product and process innovation and investment in plant and people. IWS holds the U.S. patent on the IWS Power Hitch 5th Wheel Adaptor for wreckers and carriers. The company also invented the SP8000™ and SP20,000™ Side Pullers and the Drop Down Dolly Box, all of which are patent pending. The IWS product line includes custom installation of towing equipment, detailed painting, custom graphics and lettering, as well as new and used wreckers and carriers. IWS has a full service fabrication shop and can completely restore or customize new and used tow trucks or carriers.

As IWS sales have increased over the past several years, the company has grown from a handful of employees to a workforce of 20. One new employee is former TechHelp new product development specialist Kevin Haight who has taken on engineering duties at IWS since graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from Boise State University. Ceccarelli says that IWS is developing some large proposals that could see the workforce grow even more significantly over the next year. Such growth provides a huge impact in Mountain Home (pop 11,000), as the community diversifies from its traditional economic dependence on the local Air Force base.

TechHelp worked with IWS in the areas of product and process design and documentation, equipment specification and installation and the transformation to a Lean Manufacturing operation. In the past, IWS outsourced most of its metal needs and carried a large inventory of parts that were sometimes scrapped due to design changes. To become more efficient and respond more quickly to customer demand, IWS invested in a number of advancements. The company invested in Solid Works software that allows engineers to design, test and change products on the fly. Solid Works drawings are sent to a new CNC Plasma Cutting Table, new CNC Press Brake or new Accushear metal fabrication machine to produce exactly what the customer wants when the customer wants it.

The IWS Lean transformation led to reductions in inventory, lead-time and work in process and saved IWS from having to purchase two new buildings to accommodate growth. The company improved plant safety, productivity and efficiency by implementing a host of Lean methods including 5S Visual Workplace, Quality at the Source, Cellular Flow Manufacturing, Point of Use Storage and a Kanban (just in time) inventory/work flow system. Lean helped IWS reduce the lead-time on Side Pullers from 30 days to 4 days leading to a sales increase of 42 percent.

As Idaho’s Manufacturing Extension Center and a partnership of Idaho’s three state universities, TechHelp works to help Idaho manufacturers and processors succeed through continuous product and process innovation. Once per quarter, TechHelp’s governing organization, the National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP), works with TechHelp to select and recognize an Idaho company that best embodies the Spirit of Continuous Innovation that is at the heart of the NIST MEP mission. The winning company must have completed a project with TechHelp during the previous year, been surveyed for impact by MEP and made product and process innovations that created positive economic impact in the areas of employment, investment and bottom line savings and sales.
- 30 -

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Bill Mullane, Marketing/Public Relations Manager, TechHelp
208-426-2266 or williammullane@boisestate.edu 
Chuck Ceccarelli, Owner, Idaho Wrecker Sales
208-587-2888 or chuck@idahowreckersales.com 
Christen Rekstein, Marketing, Idaho Wrecker Sales 208-587-2888 or christen@idahowreckersales.com 

www.techhelp.org

The Office of Communications and Marketing - Boise State University
1910 University Drive - Boise Idaho 83725-1030
Located in Capitol Village, 2225 W. University Drive

208-426-1577
(fax)208-426-4001

email communications@boisestate.edu

Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007