On Sunday, the public was invited to tour La-Z-Boy Midwest in Neosho during its new cellular manufacturing “cell-ebration.”

Company officials explained that cellular manufacturing is a cutting-edge, team-based production approach that will further improve the quality of La-Z-Boy production and significantly reduce delivery times for both standard and custom orders, while increasing productivity at the plant.

As the public toured the plant, they were told about each step and phase of the new idea. One of the workers for the new procedure is Steve Lodico, an upholsterer. Lodico has been working at the plant for the last five months.

“When I first started, they had lines for just training,” noted Lodico. “Actually, they just took that down a couple of weeks ago. Working in the cell, I like it even better — you have more of a team to work with. When you are on the line, it’s all by yourself.”

The new concept has two sides, one for the making of the chairs and the other one for the sofas. Breaking it down, that is a total of 31 teams, 19 dedicated to chairs and 12 dedicated to sofas. That is 62 teams altogether, 31 “day” teams and 31 “night” teams.
There are also three training cells and six training teams.

Lodico works on a chair cell and on the second shift of operations. There are six employees to each chair cell and seven for each sofa cells.

Lodico said working in a cell versus an assembly line is easier.

“You have people that help you out,” Lodico said. “You have three upholsters versus you just doing most of everything. That helps out a lot. We also have a framer and stuffer, when they have time.

Each chair cell has three upholsters, one person who makes frames for the body, backs and seats, one person that does the stuffing putting the poly in the chairs and the last person is the final assembler, who puts it all together and packs it.

“We actually got one new upholster. A little newer than I am, we kind of shuffle everyone around,” Lodico said. “Normally two of us handle backs and seats and we have one person working on the body. It is set up in steps. We have everything ready for the body guy. We are already starting on the next set, doing the footrests, seating, back.

“The fabric comes pre-sewn, once they stuff it, they get it to me, I take the frame, I get it all ready for the fabric, I put it on, actually put it together, I make it look like a chair. That is pretty much what I do. If either one of us gets done first, we try to pull down a body and get it started, keep everyone moving, that way if we have any problems, something needs fix, it is not going to hurt us time-wise.”

The first time that Lodico worked in a cell, he said it was a huge change.

“You get working with a team. I worked in it for a few days and I liked it after that,” said Lodico.” That is all that it took.”

Lodico said he sees cell production expanding in the next couple of years.

 “Well, I know that we have plenty of room out here to expand, so I think that is what they are looking forward to,” Lodico said.

On average, 45 to 55 chairs are built in an hour.

“It depends on what style that we have, some are a lot easier than others, we have made as many as 61 and that was kind of our peak,” said Lodico.

For nearly 20 years, Glenn Brumback worked at La-Z-Boy, retiring in 1989.

“I was the last one hired in 1969, worked about three years, quit, went back to Teledyne, worked there a year and a half, was laid off for about a year and then came back to La-Z-Boy,” Brumback said after taking the tour. “I started in maintenance, but then when I came back, I transferred into the tool room. And that is what I retired from.”

After ending the tour, Brumback was asked what he thought of the new production system.

“To really form an opinion, I would have to see it in operation, compared to what it was when I was in here,” said Brumback.