Today we went to Bruno’s headquarters in Oconomowac, Wisconsin. Bruno independent solutions is a company set out to help those with mobility restrictions keep their homes and vehicles accessible for them. When arriving to Bruno we were greeted by Bill who gave us a presentation on their history and facility. Bill has been with the company for 31 years and admits that one of the most rewarding aspects of his career has been being a part of a company that has helped changed the lives of their customers. Bruno was founded in 1984 and is now an industry leader.
After Bill’s presentation we headed into the manufacturing plant where we first visited the area where all of the custom parts for their products are welded in house. One of Bruno’s main focuses is fulfilling their customer orders as quickly and efficiently as possible while still maintaining their excellent quality. They pride themselves in their ability to have custom stairlifts shipped out to customers within 30 hours. They are still working on the turnaround for their stairlifts but they have already come a long way from 12 years ago. They have managed to cut their time down from 12 weeks to 2 weeks and are constantly looking for new ways to improve their process.
Bill explained to the group that a large contributor to their success is also the fact that they do not keep inventory in the warehouse for very long. They have pick ups 6 times a day to ensure that the product is constantly moving. With so many moving parts, organization is key to making sure their orders are as accurate as possible. Every part made for each order is custom made for each individual and there needs to be constant check points to making sure that each part is where it belongs. Bill showed us the many ways that they track every part and ensure they stay together. All part are tagged and assigned a specific number through the entire process from design to packing it all up.
It was such an amazing experience to see such a successful company and their start to finish process. Bill added that many employees working for Bruno have people in their lives with limited mobility which encourages them to work so hard because it is a product that is close to them. Their organization and constant goal setting really sets them apart and it is no wonder they have 35% of straight chair lifts market share and 50% of interior scooter and power chair lift market share. I will be excited to see what their sister company, Braunabilty is like.
3 Takeaways
- Its never too late for a career change
- Shaving even 2 minutes off a process can save hours of work
- Welders are in high demand!
Leslye's Travels 