Kinedyne LLC, a Branchburg, N.J.-based manufacturer and distributor of cargo control products for the transportation industry, completed a major relocation, consolidation and expansion effort designed to make the company more efficient, competitive and responsive to its customers’ needs.
The expanded 200,000-square-foot facility will now house a wide range of employees specializing in engineering, manufacturing, quality control, supply chain management, customer service and government contracts.
“Ours is an extremely competitive marketplace,” says Steve Atzeni, vice president of North American operations. “This consolidation of talent and resources will help Kinedyne stay as competitive in the next 50 years as it has been for the last 50.”
Previous to the move, the company’s engineering and quality control functions primarily resided at its Branchburg, N.J., and Lawrence, Kan., locations, while manufacturing, quality control, supply chain management, customer service and government contract staff were spread across locations in Kansas, Nevada and Alabama.
“Our previous geographic separation made higher levels of collaboration, teamwork and productivity more challenging,” Atzeni says. “There is something to be said for being able to sit around a table and communicate with your colleagues face to face in the same room.”
The company maintains offices in all previous locations, with the exception of Kansas. Even with the closing of the Kansas facility, Kinedyne expects to add 40 new positions in Prattville.
“In addition to the tremendous efforts of our executive and local management teams, the state of Alabama, the county of Autauga and the city of Prattville have helped to make this move a true success story for everyone involved,” says Dan Schlotterbeck, president. “A robust business climate combined with exemplary state, county and municipal support made our choice to invest in this location the right one for our business to benefit and add value in the long term for our customers.”
Supply chain management and customer service staff are just now completing the relocation process.
“Customer service, prompt order processing and product delivery are critical to our continued success and to the maintenance of the high standards we have established within our industry,” adds Paul Wolford, vice president of sales and marketing. “Now, with supply chain management and customer service in one place, we expect to set the bar even higher.”
The Prattville manufacturing operation includes equipment dedicated to the weaving of webbing, finishing and sewing, creating everything from cargo nets to tow straps to load securement straps. The facility also features a test lab with extensive capabilities, including those assessing webbing load capacity and breaking strength.
The Alabama plant is also responsible for the manufacturing of Kinedyne’s Kaptive Beam Decking System, which enables users to increase asset utility by increasing a trailer’s load density by up to 50%.
