The Bozeman factory of Gibson Guitars, where the company's acoustic guitars are manufactured, is an MMEC client of long standing--and an MMEC success story. Above, Mark Shyne, '86 ME, left, an MMEC engineer, and Brian Pendergast, '99 IME, a UTAP graduate student, flank Gibson inventory control supervisor Bob Simensen. Photo by Carol Flaherty Manufacturing: Out with the fat, in with the lean by Scott Freutel Fat is good, sometimes. That check from Uncle Fred? The fatter the better. An especially tasty steak? Thank the fat. Lotions that keep our skin from drying out contain forms of fat, the more the better. But fat in manufacturing is not good. In manufacturing, fat can take the form of cumbersome methods, excess inventory, sprawling and poorly designed shop floors, unneeded workers, and ill-thought-out procedures. One MSU program, the Montana Manufacturing Center, is helping Montana manufacturers rid themselves of such fat and introducing them to "lean manufacturing." The Center, a part of the College of Engineering, was established in 1996 to help small Montana manufacturing firms become more productive and tech-savvy--in a word, more competitive. The Center comprises the Manufacturing Extension Center (MMEC) and the University Technical Assistance Center (UTAP). MMEC employs seasoned field engineers in offices in Billings, Bozeman, Helena, Kalispell and Missoula. At UTAP, located on campus, three graduate engineering students assist business owners and managers under the supervision of the Bozeman MMEC engineer. MMEC offers its clients courses in "lean manufacturing" (on the Toyota Production System model) and in developing financial models, costing, quality assurance, processing mapping and more. Steve Holland, '75 IME, '76 M, was recruited in 2000 to head up the Montana Manufacturing Center. Much like his predecessor, engineering professor and center founder William "Bob" Taylor, he's an enthusiastic proponent of Montana manufacturers. "Until the Center came along in 1996, it was really hard to find manufacturing engineering help in Montana," Holland said recently. "We provide that specialized service. It comes as a surprise to most people that there are some 2,000 manufacturers employing more than 25,000 people in Montana. Since 1996 we have worked with nearly 500 of them." (Holland expects the 500-businesses milestone to be reached by the time this article is printed.) At the heart of MMEC are programs designed to assess a given firm's manufacturing operations and then demonstrate how they may be improved. Although most of the manufacturers MMEC works with are established businesses, some consult with MMEC before they build or lease a building, before they put iron on the floor. "We provide complete manufacturing engineering services to businesses," Holland added. "Our field engineers help people design products for manufacturability, help plan plant layouts, whatever they need. We do help some startups--it's helpful if we can get in on the ground floor and help plan plant layout, help save floor space--but helping startups isn't a major part of our activity." Through a joint program with the Montana World Trade Center, which is headquartered at the University of Montana, and thanks in part to a U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA)- Montana grant, the Montana Manufacturing Center will soon broaden its range of services to manufacturers to include industrial marketing, Holland said. Holland brought to his position some 25 years of experience in manufacturing (mainly with Alcoa) as engineer, business analyst, controller and manager. Before returning to Bozeman from North Carolina to take up his post at MMEC, Holland served on the university's Engineering Advisory Council for seven years. Now he serves on the boards of the Montana Chamber of Commerce, the state Economic Development Advisory Council, Montana State Technology Committee, and TechLink, the technology transfer center at MSU. Holland and his wife, Gretchen, have two grown children. Their daughter Tiffany is enrolled at MSU pursuing a bachelor's degree in Fish and Wildlife Management. For a slide show tour of the plant, visit http://montana.gibson.com/tour/mt_tour_01.html