This article is reprinted with permission from the July 2007 issue of ExecDigital.

At age 160, the New England Confectionery Co. is the oldest multiline candy company in the United States and one of the newest. Four years ago, the popular candy manufacturer embraced lean manufacturing practices, relocated its antiquated facilities, consolidated its operations, and re-emerged as a state-of-the-art production facility that is now a showroom for ultramodern processing perfection.

It was a move that turned out to be one sweet deal.

“We have a lot more capability and more capacity,” says Bill Leva, vice president of operations at NECCO. “We also have better working conditions, better work flow, less product handling, and our cycle times to the customer are better.”

In short, everything about the move paid off in spades, Leva says.

The move and the lessons that the company has learned since also provide a textbook example of how a long-standing manufacturer can make what’s old new again, and do so without sacrificing quality, slowing sales, or missing a day on the production floor.

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