Case Studies

Transforming Operations in a High-Volume Condiment Manufacturing Facility

3 minute read

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: A leading dressing and sauce producer was facing operational slowdowns, workforce challenges, and equipment reliability issues at its 400,000+ square foot manufacturing facility. Rapid growth and new technologies had outpaced its organizational structure and processes, creating inefficiencies across food safety, asset care, and day-to-day operations. Catena Solutions deployed an experienced team to redesign organizational systems, strengthen operations, and implement sustainable continuous improvement practices. The result was a more stable workforce, improved equipment reliability, and measurable uptime and performance gains across production lines.

Project at a Glance

• 400,000+ Sq. Ft. Facility: Addressed operational, workforce, and asset reliability challenges at a large-scale condiment manufacturing plant
• Workforce Optimization: Strengthened onboarding, training, communication, and organizational structure to help reduce employee turnover
• Asset Reliability Improvements: Enhanced preventive maintenance practices and spare parts management to reduce unplanned downtime
• Continuous Improvement: Implemented daily management systems and standard work to reduce out-of-production time and improve line performance

The Challenge: How Was Rapid Growth Impacting Manufacturing Operations?

The company operates a large-scale condiment manufacturing facility that plays a central role in overall business performance. However, the plant was struggling with productivity, efficiency, and employee retention. Recent growth, combined with new technology implementations, had created operational strain and exposed gaps in:

• Organizational design
• Food safety and compliance
• Asset care and preventive maintenance
• Standard work and communication routines
• Continuous improvement capability

Leadership recognized that the facility needed both structural and process improvements to maintain production output and meet future growth demands.

The Solution: Rebuilding Structure, Processes, and Performance

The client partnered with Catena Solutions for our food and beverage operational expertise and proven track record in manufacturing optimization. We deployed a cross-functional consulting team led by an industry veteran who had successfully addressed similar challenges for one of the largest privately held food manufacturers in the U.S.

The work was completed in two phases: the Design phase, which aligned Catena and the client team on priorities for execution; and the Execution phase, in which we worked with the client’s internal resources to drive the project from a PMO perspective. The Execution phase included:

Organizational Design Improvement

• Proper employee onboarding and training
• Effective communication across all levels of the plant
• Rightsizing the plant organization structure by placing the right people in the right roles
• Implementing a system to house training materials and standard operating procedures
• Ensuring the team had the knowledge to execute the onboarding and training program moving forward
• Optimized corporate goal communication cascaded down from corporate to associates on production lines

OPEX Improvement

• Improved shift communication from plant leadership to shift managers and line associates
• A daily management system that provided information and metrics for expectations on each line
• Standard work instructions outlining details such as how to operate equipment

Asset Reliability Improvement

• Inventory of the parts at the plant, including evaluating and securing the spare parts needed to support equipment maintenance
• Creating or updating preventative maintenance instructions for equipment
• A reduction in the current knowledge gap

The Benefit: What Results Did the Manufacturing Optimization Initiative Deliver?

Catena’s work generated measurable operational improvements across the plant, including:

• Reduced employee turnover due to improved onboarding, certification processes, training materials, and a learning management structure.
• Significant reduction in out-of-production (OOP) time following the introduction of continuous improvement (CI) practices.
• Marked decrease in unplanned downtime across impacted production lines due to better communication, standard work, and improved asset reliability.
• Improved accuracy and visibility of spare parts inventory, enabling more effective maintenance planning and reduced delays.

Facing any similar challenges at your plants? Contact us to discuss how Catena Solutions can help.