New mezzanine provides unexpected benefits

Ferguson Supply and Box is a complete packaging solutions provider based in Charlotte, N.C. The company has spent more than 50 years as a leading manufacturer and distributor of custom and stock corrugated boxes, containers, displays, bags, packaging supplies and foam products. After installing a mezzanine, the company was able to consolidate two facilities into one.

Ferguson’s unique in-house structure and graphic design team allow the company to take a packaging concept from an idea to the retail shelf or safely into the customers’ hands. Originally, the company’s operations were divided between two locations totaling 212,000 square feet. However, after rethinking their processes, organizational methods and material flow, they elected to consolidate into one 185,000-square-foot facility. With increasing business and a 27,000-square-foot reduction in space, it was evident that Ferguson would need to implement solutions that maximized efficiency and organization.

The company found the most economically advantageous route was to use the existing overhead space in Ferguson’s new facility. A new mezzanine (Wildeck), strategically located near the manufacturing area, provides the additional square footage necessary for continued operations. However, the company did not foresee all the additional benefits their new work platform would provide.

Ultimately used as the location for tool and material storage, the company’s new mezzanine functions as a centralized location for accessing the equipment necessary for production. This new level of organization drastically cut down on the amount of time employees spent looking for tools and equipment. Having all the tools in one central location also made it easier for production to quickly switch between dif-ferent orders. Additionally, it did not take long for management to notice a drastic reduction in the amount of missing and damaged tools being replaced.

The mezzanine also proved to be a safe storage space for some of the printing company’s more delicate equipment. Repair costs and time spent waiting for replacement parts to arrive began to dramatically decline following the integration of the mezzanine. In the end, the company’s overall opera-tional efficiency increased as a direct result of their mezzanine investment.

In reviewing the benefits that Ferguson obtained as a result of their mezzanine, Ferguson’s plant superintendent says: “The mezzanine has provided our new facility with the space and efficiency we need to accomplish our goals. We are able to have our dies and materials readily available for use on our equipment. As a result, we’re able to maximize our efficiency in an organized fashion, and that greatly adds to our bottom line.”