Alexander Chemical’s New Maintenance Facility
After making a recent special announcement about our exciting plans for an upgraded La Porte, Indiana headquarters, we would like to share further details on the planned maintenance facility upgrade.
The Current Maintenance Facility
The current Maintenance Department shares space within the storage room, using approximately 60’x40’ of the area. Alexander Chemical provides all maintenance and preventative maintenance work orders for the entire plant in this facility.
During the maintenance facility upgrade, we will focus on completing the renovation while working on finishing current projects and keeping the area clean and organized.
Goals For the New Facility
The overall goal for the renovation will be to turn the current facility into a first-class maintenance facility for Alexander Chemical. The expansion will also enable Alexander Chemical to grow its customer base without sacrificing its outstanding world-class service.
The new planned facility will operate optimally and be organized with a 5S plan. Specifically, the inventory system will be improved by barcoding inventory items to be efficiently tracked to the cost centers. Larger assets like pumps will have totes labeled with rebuild kits.
How Will This Renovation Impact Staff?
This estimated million-dollar renovation will impact the work processes and the Maintenance Department’s current three employee’s duties and responsibilities. One of the more significant changes for employees will be the new use of scanner guns for tracking inventory, helping make their job smoother and even more efficient. Employees will also receive training on recording the WO’s and what cost center the inventory is being used.
Additionally, the new maintenance facility will need to be better staffed, and there will be an opportunity for one or two new positions to become available.
Facility Renovation Specifics
The new building size will be 75’ x 132,’ and the Maintenance Shop area will occupy 70’x75’ or 5,250 sq ft of that building while the rest of the allotted space will be used for trailer maintenance or storage.
The renovation’s improvements of space, process, and more sophisticated equipment (which will be added to the plant in the next few years) will positively impact Alexander Chemical’s daily operations. Once the shop is well organized, we can reduce unplanned downtime at the plant, allowing us to serve our customers better.
The Renovation Impact on the Company’s Customers
First, the new building will provide more climate-controlled spaces for us to park tankers of the finished product, enabling the facilitation of additional delivery times to customers. For example, we can fill a tanker on the second shift, store it in the maintenance building, and have a driver depart early in the morning to deliver to a customer’s facility as soon as they open their gates.
Secondly, the expansion will allow us to prepare for the increased cylinder maintenance and filling capacity, which we expect in future developments. With the current staff, we will continue to meet customer orders during the renovation.
Exciting Growth and Opportunities Ahead!
This expansion will allow us to grow and deliver our world-class service. As a healthy, expanding, woman-owned business, Alexander Chemical will continue to get support from ownership to grow and invest in our buildings and our employees.
Stay tuned for updates and exciting news on Alexander Chemical’s renovations and changes as our company hits regular growth and expansion milestones!