Venture Computer, the sole Southern African distributor for Lexmark International, today announced that Lexmark had deployed Camstar Systems InSite e-manufacturing system at four of the production facilities within its worldwide manufacturing network. Lexmark plants now running under InSite include three in Lexington, Kentucky. and one in Reynosa, Mexico. Lexmark International is a $3 billion global developer, manufacturer, and supplier of electronic components and printing solutions and products, including laser, inkjet, and dot matrix printers and associated consumable supplies for the office and home markets.
The Reynosa facility and one of the plants in Lexington produce electronic cards for Lexmark`s Printed Circuit Board Division. The other two Lexington facilities manufacture inkjet cartridges and bottle assemblies for Lexmark`s Consumer Printer Division. By managing production through multiple plants and processes, providing visibility into material status worldwide, and connecting with Lexmark`s JD Edwards ERP, Camstar`s InSite provides a common, flexible, Internet-based application for managing Lexmark`s distributed manufacturing operations.
The manufacturing of inkjet cartridges for Lexmark`s line of computer printers is an extremely high-volume operation, with some of the plants producing upwards of 10 million units per year. Key to Lexmark`s selection of InSite was its ability to scale to that level of transaction volume while capturing the complete manufacturing history for each individual cartridge produced. "We required a collaborative manufacturing system that could keep up with very high rates of manufacturing flow on a 7 X 24 basis, while never bringing the plant down,`` said Todd Sills, InSite project leader at Lexmark. "InSite`s distributed, multi-tier architecture gave us the power and scalability we needed to meet those objectives.``
"Lexmark`s global deployment of InSite puts it in the company of other industry-leading manufacturers, such as IBM, JDS Uniphase, Alcan Aluminum, and Tellabs, that have standardised on our solution as the execution engine of their e-manufacturing strategies,`` said Dave Cone, Camstar`s president and CEO. "These manufacturers recognise that a global manufacturing system is an essential requirement for management and control over their expanding networks of production facilities. InSite was designed for this type of worldwide implementation, and we congratulate Lexmark on its successful deployment.``
Continuous quality control was one of the main drivers for the implementation at the Printed Circuit Board Division. "`Not only do we produce printed circuit boards, or PCBs, that go into our own printer products, but we produce these boards in large volume for other manufacturers who then build them into their own products,`` Sills said. "For those external customers, product quality and responsive customer service are key differentiators in what is, essentially, a commodity market. InSite retains full product genealogy for each board Lexmark ships, and it allows our customers to collaborate with us by accessing production and testing information, using their own Web-based browser connections.``
InSite`s ability to provide connection via the Web to its repository of production data has also enabled Lexmark to populate its plants with thin-client terminals using Microsoft`s CE operating system. According to Sills, these small-footprint (1 foot by 2 inch) devices are ideal for use in the industrial conditions found in typical manufacturing environments, primarily because of their low cost, single-function ease of use, and low cost of maintenance.
"There are no moving parts on these devices, so they are already ruggedised for use directly on the plant floor,`` Sills said. "And because we`re using them as single-purpose terminals, all the complexities of using a PC are eliminated. Once the power button is pushed, the terminal automatically connects to the application server and the operator is ready to go. So far, we`ve installed more than 450 of them - Compaq T1000s - and the dollar savings over conventional PCs are enormous. Also, because no software needs to be installed or maintained on the TC1000s, our software maintenance costs are zero, which represents even greater savings.``
At the Consumer Printer Division, Lexmark`s InSite implementation is already producing a big payoff terms of reduction in scrap, according to Sills. "Scrap reduction is critical in the production of our inkjet cartridges,`` Sills said. "InSite lets us correlate cartridges rejected during testing with historical records of ink lots, machinery, and other parts of the production process that may contribute to the rejection rate. We are estimating that we could realise dollar savings of more than $1,000,000 annually if we were to reduce scrap by as little as one half of one percent.``
The next stages of Lexmark`s InSite implementation involve rollout of the Camstar software to plants in Mexico (Juarez and Chihuahua), Scotland (Rosyth), and The Philippines (Sebu). "InSite is making it possible for us to quickly realise our e-business strategies across our entire global supply chain network,`` Sills said. "Our customers continue to look to us for world- class products and service, and Camstar`s industry expertise and leading edge technology is a key part of the operating infrastructure that enables us to deliver to that standard.``
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Camstar Systems, Inc.
Camstar is the leading provider of e-manufacturing solutions for Fortune 1000 corporations. By linking customer orders to real-time production information, Camstar enables manufacturers to execute e-business strategies across global supply chain networks. Camstar`s InSite solution is designed for the most demanding manufacturing environments, offering a common, flexible, Internet-based platform for managing customer orders across multiple plants and processes. Manufacturers use InSite to speed the production of customised products, and provide stakeholders throughout the supply chain with up-to-the-second information and order status. With over 15 years of proven manufacturing and MES experience, Camstar is the choice of industry leaders such as Alcan Aluminum, IBM, JDS Uniphase, Lexmark and Tellabs -- companies that rely on Camstar`s combination of plant floor expertise and leading edge technology to drive their e-manufacturing strategies.
For further information, please contact Mark Hiller at tel. (011) 329 0999; fax (011) 792 7449; e-mail mhiller@venture.co.za
Venture Computer
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