Texecom is an award-winning leading UK manufacturer of security products. Manufacturing Digital talk to MD Jim Ludwig about the company
By Jessica Summers
Established in 1986, Texecom Limited is an award-winning manufacturer of intruder alarm products, including a full range of motion detectors, control panels, perimeter protection devices, heat and smoke detectors, external sounders and power supplies.
Today, Texecom supply over 80 countries worldwide through a network of wholesale distributors, with around 60 percent of turnover coming from their export business. Texecom has complete control over all aspects of product manufacture, and employs over 260 people in northern Lancashire. With manufacturing operations in two facilities, Texecom has its own injection moulding facility where the company produces approximately 24 million pieces of plastic a year, and another facility where they build over two million PCB assemblies each year and complete the finished products for delivery to their customers.
In 2005, Texecom was acquired by Halma Plc. for which Jim Ludwig has worked in since 1998. In 2007, Ludwig moved to Texecom from the United States, to take on the role of Managing Director.
LEAN MANUFACTURING
Ludwig describes the current marketplace as ‘a challenging trading environment’, especially in the UK where the residential commercial construction markets have been particularly affected by economic conditions.
“I think one of the key strengths that have allowed us to continue delivering good results has been our investment in our UK based manufacturing operations” says Ludwig. Whereas most of Texecom’s competitors import their products from offshore manufacturing facilities, Texecom believes in keeping things as close to the customer as possible. “This allows us greater control over the finished products, and it has also reduced our exposure to the volatile currency shifts of the past year. For our competitors, long-lead time offshore sourcing, coupled with the severe cost increase of US dollar goods and a receding market is a recipe for cash problems.
“The management team and I initiated a programme two years ago of really driving lean manufacturing and improved business processes,” says Ludwig. “This has allowed us to get more efficient and put us in a position to stay healthy through this recession.”
Lean manufacturing, Ludwig believes, is “not debateable – it’s just the way every manufacturing businesses should run.” Implementing the lean procedures has driven an inventory reduction of over £2 million, and increased product velocity through the Texecom facilities by over 50 percent.
“It’s allowed us to improve delivery performance and reduce working capital. Our factories are show pieces. They are fantastic sales tools for customer visits,” explains Ludwig.
INNOVATION
At Texecom, innovation is most definitely encouraged and the company take pride in challenging comfort zones and asking questions about the way they do things. With a strong focus on the customer experience, Texecom creates products that “look, feel and operate better than competitor’s products,” says Ludwig.
“We believe we have the best looking products in the industry. We obsess about everything from finish and the feel to how the products interact with the installers and end users”. Last year, Texecom were awarded product of the year by PSI Magazine (Professional Security Installer) for their Premier 640 control panel, another award to join the collection.
Something to look out for that Texecom is soon to launch, is its brand-new wireless range, a bi-directional, mesh-network wireless system set to be a radical improvement on anything else available in the security market today.
According to Ludwig, “the system’s wireless performance far outperforms anything else available in the market. The wireless technology is being built upon the same industry-leading device and systems platform that have been proven winners for many years. We’re really excited about where this new innovation can take our business.”
UK AND BEYOND
While committed to UK manufacturing, Texecom’s core value of wanting to be as close to its customers as possible means that as the company expands around the world, their manufacturing and design operations will need to keep pace.
The company understand that there is no substitute for local knowledge, which goes hand-in-hand with great service and support. Integration of local expertise, local design and local manufacturing in key territories is important to the company’s long-term strategy, and critical to achieving its full potential.
Ludwig believes local supply and support is key when it comes to selling a premium brand, “because customer requirements are different in every part of the world. We need to develop our ability to respond as well to customers in North America and the Far East as well as we can to customers in Europe.”
IN-HOUSE TRAINING
An area of the business Texecom has particularly focussed on is its commitment to personnel training and development. “Making each other better is one of our core values, and we invest heavily in development programmes across all levels of the organisation. One example is the 82 employees who have either graduated or actively enrolled in involved in NVQ training programs on business improvement techniques,” says Ludwig.
Over the past two years, the company has recently received five awards from Yorkshire Productivity recognising the strength of Texecom’s NVQ programmes.
Focussing on employee engagement is a key performance indicator of the business, effort is targeted at all levels. “Our expectation is for every employee to have a tailored work and development plan, and for the appropriate training, education and coaching to be made available for every member of our team to maximise their potential and achieve their personal goals,” confirms Ludwig.
Texecom also strives to make key business information as transparent across the company as possible, making information available all the way through the organisation.
“Our results are driven by our shared efforts,” says Ludwig. “If we want team members to share responsibility and accountability for the results, then full transparency is a minimum requirement.” With a new ‘training tracker’ system in place on the shop floor, new ‘information zones’ in place in the factories, regular business performance review meetings for senior managers and regular employee briefings from the directors, information is constantly flowing through the organisation. Texecom is working hard to build a true sense of community and transparency, which sets Texecom apart from many companies.
So what’s Texecom’s secret to success? “It’s no secret really – we have fantastic products and fantastic people who are committed to delivering value and service to our customers!” concludes Ludwig.
View Digital Corporate Profile of Texecom in Manufacturing Digital June 2009