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26 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News With sole source contracts with barge building giants Trinity and Jeffboat, Turner estimates that the Space valve owns nearly 80 percent of the domestic barge market. Turner counts finding good quality people as one of the biggest challenges in growing the com- pany today, and to this end fulfilling the need is a top focus in 2006. The compa- ny has initiated a new management training program, and has hired a new Director of Human Resources to enact the plan to "grow our own mangers." Specifically, the company plans to hire entry level management candidates, put them through an eight to 12-month man- agement program and then dispatch them to the field to run one of the com- pany's 13 branches. Lean & Mean A major milestone for W&O Supply in 2006 will be the implementation of the LEAN management process. The decision was made to adopt LEAN when its one of its biggest clients, Bath Iron Works, decided to adopt the process, and in turn came to W&O Supply, one of Bath's major sup- pliers, with the plan. "We have 42,000 SKUs, and this will help us to determine more effective and efficient inventory management and control," Turner said. Consultants from Logistics Resources International in Atlanta have been working with W&O supply employees to help identify and eliminate "non-value added" processes. Turner expects that the company will be able to achieve multiple money saving and efficiency enhancing ends simulta- neously, such as determining the cost of obsolescence, more accurately deter- mining the cost of transportation, and to provide more targeted and valuable sales information regarding percentage of sales from each product line. "It really evaluates both sides of the ledger, and looks at the entire process from the time the order is received until the product/system is delivered," Turner said. "In the end, this will help to create a more efficient W&O Supply." Profile ULTRA-SEP ® BILGE WATER SEPARATORS -From COFFIN WORLD WATER SYSTEMS Visit us at OTC (Texas, USA), Booth #5031 (May 1-4, 2006) • Certified by United States Coast Guard [USCG], Russian Maritime Register of Shipping & EC MED (by ABS Europe) to IMO MEPC.107(49) Provides water of exceptional quality – oil content less than 5ppm – surpassing IMO requirement and enabling entry of vessels into pristine waterways with stringent discharge standards Low operating costs Designed for continuous operation – KEY IMO REQUIREMENT Controlled by a PLC and hence requires minimal operator intervention Uses Ultra-Filtration membranes and hence has no by-products such as biological/chemical sludge or activated carbon cartridges that require special disposal techniques Compact design and small footprint – designed to facilitate access through hatches and other locations with severe space constraints Available skid-mounted or modularized – both delivered pre- wired and pre-piped for effortless assembly and/or integration with existing systems Available in eight models from 0.25 to 10 cubic meters per hour Service and support network standing by to provide assistance — worldwide, 24 x 7 ULTRA-SEP ® Bilge Water Separators were the First MEPC.107(49) separators worldwide with USCG certification. Talk to us and find out how our industry benchmark technology can be put to work for you. Coffin World Water Systems, LLC 1732 McGaw Avenue, Irvine, CA 92614 USA www.cworldwater.com Call us Direct at: +1-949-222-5777 Call us Toll Free at: +1-800-779-4997 Fax: +1-949-222-5770 ® email:info@cworldwater.com Circle 214 on Reader Service Card COPSØ A/S VIKING LIFE-SAVING EQUIPMENT (America) Inc. 1400 NW 159 St. · Suite 101 Miami · FL 33169 · U.S.A. Tel: +1 (305) 614 5800 · Fax: +1 (305) 614 5810 e-mail: usasales@viking-life.com www.viking-life.com Circle 260 on Reader Service Card "Herb asked me if I wanted to move to Mobile and run a branch, and I asked two questions: 'What does a branch manager do?,' and 'Where is Mobile?'" — David Turner Outlook for 2006 W&O Supply counts Government and Government-related business, and the commercial marine business as nearly equal partners accounting for approximately 80% of its annual sales. In evaluating the coming year, Turner counts a strong backlog and the prospects of a much-improved U.S. Navy repair business as good signs for 2006. To augment its traditional areas of strength, the company plans a strong push into the booming offshore mar- ket, bringing with it marine-proven copper-nickel pipe, SPACE valves, metric valves and a plethora of automation systems. MR FEBRUARY2006 #4 (25-32).qxd 2/1/2006 7:40 PM Page 26
