News Articles
Southern Vinyl Manufacturing LLC. celebrates ninth
year in business
By Justin Hill
The Free Press
July 31, 2005
Anniversaries have always been significant to Southern Vinyl Manufacturing LLC. On July 7, employees celebrated the beginning of their ninth year in business. Although increased productivity didn’t allow for extravagance such as a bluegrass concert or another surprise such as the business has offered its employees in the past, the changes that have occurred for the company have been nothing but rewarding.
In 1997 Southern Vinyl opened in a 1,500-square-foot building on Wheat Street. The two-bay window garage was much simpler than today’s operation and the two-man crew did most of the work with a hand router.
Fast forward eight years and expansion and growth have embraced Southern Vinyl.
Today, the company has expanded, allowing it to move to Berkeley Street, in a building 10 times larger than the old garage. Manual routers have been replaced by computerized routers and nearly 30 employees.
“Vinyl is a natural substitute for wood,” said co-owner Dean Ervin. “It’s a low maintenance product, that’s what people like about it.”
Expansion has also allowed Southern Vinyl to ship products to Virginia and South Carolina.
The company began making porch rail systems, which has become a major portion of its business.
The large volume of kits allows the company to boast a wide variety. The systems are easily assembled and come in 4-foot to 10-foot sections.
In December, Southern Vinyl began lean manufacturing to eliminate waste from the fabrication process. Ervin said that the doubling of productivity is substantial to Southern Vinyl.
The idea of lean manufacturing cuts production time in half, which caused many employees to question their job security. These concerns were quickly put to rest by management.
“We made a commitment to our employees that not one person would lose a job because of increased productivity,” Ervin said. “And we’ve actually had to add some positions.”
Today, the same mentality that went into starting a vinyl fencing business eight years ago still hold strong for Southern Vinyl Manufacturing LLC.
© 2005 by Freedom ENC Communications. All rights reserved.
