Technical Change Associates, Inc. To Assist With Columbia Production Acceleration

The Lancair Company has appointed respected manufacturing consulting firm Technical Change Associates, Inc. (TCA) to assist it in streamlining its manufacturing processes and accelerating production of its Columbia line of certified aircraft.

"We'll soon be building two separate aircraft models on our line and that adds another layer of complexity to what we're doing," said Lancair Vice President Ron Wright. "TCA is working with us to enhance our overall manufacturing efficiency and that will let us increase our production rate while maintaining and in some cases improving our already excellent quality levels."

Today, The Lancair Company turns out a new certified Columbia every two days. With the efficiencies already being implemented through this program, the company expects to increase that rate to one aircraft per business day by 2005.

According to Wright, advances made possible through its work with TCA and a capital improvement program have already yielded significant reductions in materials handling times that are the foundation of the aircraft production process.

"TCA is an extremely capable and professional organization," Wright said. "Already, we've reduced our parts handling in support of composite production and assembly by 65% and other advances are developing every day." In addition to the changes happening through refining manufacturing processes, The Lancair Company is in the process of adding another 20,000 square feet to its already 141,000 square foot plant in Bend, Oregon. The $2.5 million project will also include additional tooling that will help the company build aircraft more rapidly while maintaining quality levels that are already highly regarded in the industry.

"Increasing production rate is vitally important to Lancair," said TCA President David Dixon. "But we are most impressed by the Lancair culture of aggressive attention to the highest quality levels in general aviation production. We won't consider any steps to increase production unless they maintain or increase quality levels. The Lancair team combines an impressive mix of skill, knowledge and determination. Our consultants are proud to be hard at work assisting Lancair in meeting its quality and production standards."

TCA, based in Ogden, Utah, is a leading industrial consulting firm helping clients implement Lean Manufacturing Technologies, Six Sigma Quality Improvement Programs and other manufacturingexcellence-related initiatives. TCA serves clients in fields including high tech, outdoor recreation equipment, heavy equipment and advanced metals manufacturing.

"The enhancements we're making now will enable us to build Columbia 350s and 400s faster and more cost effectively. They will also open the door to possibly add additional models in the future," Wright said. Founded in 1995, The Lancair Company manufactures the Columbia line of all-composite, high performance certified aircraft including the Columbia 350 and the turbocharged Columbia 400.

FMI: www.lancair.com, www.technicalchange.com