Remember the kid back in high-school that really had his
act together? You know, the one who in addition to earning solid
A’s, somehow managed to excel at athletics and was involved
with a half-dozen extracurricular organizations, all without breaking
a sweat? Ever wonder what happened to that kid? Standing in the
halls of Milwaukee, WI-based Visa
Lighting — a leading manufacturer of high-end light fixtures
— one wonders if that kid didn’t end up working here.
For if today’s companies could somehow be compared to yesterday’s
high-schoolers, Visa Lighting would very much be that kid.
This is a company that knows lighting. Established in 1915 as “Moe
Bridges Lighting,” renamed in 1943 as “The Lighthouse,”
and finally under its current name of “Visa” in 1963,
the business has seen two owners retire, passing the company’s
legacy on to the next generation of management. The company started
as a manufacturer of ecumenical lighting for religious structures.
In the last twenty years, it has significantly broadened its product
offering to well beyond church fixtures. Visa now offers a wide
range of products that are used in institutional, commercial, educational,
and custom residential environments.
In 1981, Visa Lighting was purchased by Wayne C. Oldenburg. At
the time, Visa Lighting sold roughly $450,000 per year, with just
six employees. Today, the company employs more than 125 people and
ships more each day than it produced in a month in 1981, a fitting
testament to the business acumen of Mr. Oldenburg and his staff.
Not content to be just a successful company, management
at Visa has made a commitment to eliminate VOCs (volatile organic
compounds) from its finishing operations. Via the use of new technology,
internal training and strong relationships with its suppliers, Visa
is remarkably close to making that concept a reality. In comparison
to 1981, the company’s total current VOC use is significantly
lower, while gross product volume is 60 times greater.
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In
addition to the products offered through its catalog, Visa
has performed contract lighting jobs for municipal buildings,
as well as Yankee Stadium and Miller Park.
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All Fixtures Great and Small
One of the differences between Visa and many other
manufacturers is the variety of parts it produces. Whereas many
companies manufacture a single product in maybe two or three sizes,
Visa offers a product line consisting of thousands of different
products, in a wide array of sizes. During the last two years alone,
the company has released more than 100 new products, and its product
catalog —at 400 pages—weighs as much as a small laptop
computer.
Among the fixtures that Visa produces are wall sconces, ceiling-mounted
fixtures, table lamps, pendant-mounted fixtures, and outdoor luminaries.
In addition to the products found within the pages of its catalog,
Visa has performed contract work for large projects, such as manufacturing
lighting fixtures for Yankee Stadium and Miller Park, home of the
Milwaukee Brewers.
But variety extends well beyond the size and shape of the parts
finished. Not only does Visa work with a diversity of substrates—aluminum,
brass copper, bronze, mild steel, stainless steel and acrylics,
to name a few—it also must deal with different types
of surfaces: brushed, polished and paint-prepped.
Because some light fixtures have different applications (e.g. indoor
vs. outdoor), they demand the use of different finishes. Powder
is the weapon of choice for most outdoor fixtures, as well as some
indoor pieces. Paint is typically used on fixtures designed for
indoors. Depending on the part, Visa uses either liquid waterbased
paint (solid colors) or low VOC solvent-based (metallic colors and
clearcoats). The company also uses some specialty toners (satin
nickel, stain chrome, brass antique) and a process called “chemical
verdigris” treatment applied to copper.
Creative Powder Coating Solutions
Due to its durability and availability in a wide range of colors
and textures, powder coating is used for all of the painted outdoor
fixtures that Visa manufactures. Using powder coatings, Visa is
able to simulate a variety of different finishes, ranging from solid
colors to metallics to textured finishes, such as hammertones.
Powder is supplied by Protech
Chemicals of Quebec, Canada. Although Visa manufactures more
than 100,000 fixtures per year, the average lot size may be anywhere
between 6 and 1,000. As a result, the company needed to develop
a relationship with a supplier that would be willing to work with
the company when it came to developing custom colors for small runs.
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The
components that are powder coated and painted at Visa Lighting
range from the very large (left) to the very small (right).
Visa manufactures more than 100,000 light fixtures every year..
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“Protech has been very good about developing what we need,
specifically for what we need,” said Jim Valdes, Manufacturing
Engineer for Visa’s Process Implementation Team. “We probably
do 110 custom colors a year, and they’ve done a great job of
running them through their facility in small quantities.”
Because Visa does so many small runs, it decided to develop its
own powder quick-change plenum. Using electronic controls and gun
assemblies—supplied by Nordson —Visa developed a system
that resembles something like a switchboard, with each node on the
board leading to a different hopper. When the operator is ready
to change colors, he simply disconnects the hose, cleans it, and
reconnects to the new connection. Thanks to the system, color changes
are done in seconds, as opposed to the 15-20 minutes that it would
take to clean out a hopper. Since there are few small fluidized
powder hoppers available on the market, Visa also built its own
15-lb versions in order to better accommodate the smaller lot sizes.
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Two
views of Visa's "homemade" plenum. The first image shows the
plenum's "switchboard". The second shows the hoses running
from the rear of the "switchboard" into the hoppers.
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Reducing VOCs… And Improving
Quality
The area where Visa has made perhaps the largest
commitment to eliminating VOCs is paint. Although many of the company’s
products are powder coated, liquid paint still plays a critical
role, especially on interior fixtures that use metallic, solid color
and clearcoat finishes.
The biggest change Visa made to its paint line was to replace the
high VOC liquid coatings with low VOC liquid coatings. For assistance,
the company turned to G.J.
Nikolas & Co., Inc., which supplies Visa with its liquid
low VOC clearcoat and metallic paints.
The turnover ran smoothly mainly due to the fact that all the departments
worked together. Designers, sprayers/production, and purchasing
all had a hand in the turnover and if something didn’t work
at first on one end, they would find out why. Visa was completely
open to suggestions in its production line to integrate the Nikolas
low VOC product.
In addition to being low VOC, the liquid coatings offer other advantages.
In the case of the clearcoat, it lends a clarity when applied over
brass, bronze and aluminum, allowing the metal’s qualities
to show through. The clearcoat also lends itself to easy repair
and touch-up.
It’s also important to note that, while reducing VOCs, Visa
has also been able to improve quality and performance of its liquid
coatings. “When I first started (four years ago) we had very
low performing fixtures,” said Mr. Valdes. “We had fixtures
that could barely pass 100 hours salt spray.” Now, Visa has
so much confidence in its products that it offers a five-year guarantee
on the finish and performance of its products, a first for the light
fixture industry.
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Two
workers assemble a fixture for indoor use at Yankee Stadium.
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Presently, Visa is working closely with G.J. Nikolas & Co.,
Inc. to test, evaluate and ultimately introduce zero-VOC liquid
paints for solid colors, metallics and clear coats.
“We’re trying to get to all zero VOCs, to be totally
green, and we’ve made some good strides on it,” said Mr.
Valdes, noting that Visa is currently in the third phase of a four-phase
strategy to completely eliminate VOCs. “We have a good idea
that with the Nikolas products we can get (to zero VOCs).”
As with Visa’s finishing requirements, the company also expects
a lot of O’Donohue
Industries, Inc. (Milwaukee, WI), Visa’s primary supplier
for spray paint and pre-finishing equipment. “Knowing what
our expectations were, they obtained the necessary input and feedback
from engineers, managers and operators and went to work,” says
Mr. Valdes. “They made recommendations and selections of the
right spraying equipment that addressed all of our requirements
and expectations. We worked very closely as a group with them and
ultimately installed a system that is highly functional and efficient,
fulfilling all of our spray finishing needs.”
Pretreatment: A Formula For Success
With the help of Parts Cleaning Technologies and KCI
Chemicals, Visa developed a 12-stage cleaning and pretreatment
system that Mr. Valdes credits with playing a significant role in
the quality of the end product. The system features the following
stages:
- Cleaner Tank—An aggressive, alkaline immersion cleaner
safe on aluminum and tough enough to remove oils and spinning
compounds. This tank primarily removes organic material, dirt,
dust and oils found in the manufacturing process.
- Rinse Tank—Overflowed city water is used to rinse the parts
between stages.
- Deoxidizer Tank—An aggressive acidic deoxidizer used to
remove inorganic materials such as oxides, metal fines, weld scale
and stains.
- Rinse Tank—Overflowed city water is used to rinse the
parts between stages.
- Non-Chrome Aluminum Treatment—A conversion coating is
produced on the aluminum surface using a non-chrome aluminum treatment
from KCI Chemical. This product produced both painted extrusions
and painted flat stock parts that exceeded 4,000 hours of salt
spray according to ASTM B 117. Bare aluminum panels exceeded 336
hours of salt spray and more than 720 hours in a humidity chamber.
- Rinse Tank—Overflowed city water is used to rinse the
parts between stages.
- Clear Chrome—This tank is in the process of being replaced
by another non-chromated conversion. This tank is used for aluminum
castings and parts that will be painted clear.
- Rinse Tank—Overflowed city water is used to rinse the
parts between stages.
- Rinse Tank—Overflowed city water is used to rinse the
parts between stages.
- Iron Phosphate—An organically accelerated iron phosphate
used to produce an amorphous iron phosphate coating on steel parts.
- Rinse Tank—Overflowed city water is used to rinse the
parts between stages.
- Final Seal—A non-chromated final seal prior to painting
used to enhance salt spray performance.
Because various substrates are prepared differently, there is no
single formula for pretreating all of the fixtures that Visa
produces. “This is the most complicated pretreatment I’ve
ever had,” said Mr. Valdes. The prospect of dealing with a
variety of substrates, surfaces and finishes might be cause for
a headache (or twelve) for most companies. But Visa’s approach
has kept such headaches to a minimum.
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The
frame for a light fixture undergoes pretreatment. Once the
fixture has been coated, it will be assembled and then shipped
to Yankee Stadium.
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One of the ways in which the company manages the complexity of
the pretreatment process is with the use of color-coded “cheat
sheets.” Every metal that Visa works with is assigned a color,
and each stage of the pretreatment system features a chart that
tells the operator whether or not that stage of pretreatment is
required for that particular substrate. As a result, a novice user
could step in and immediately have a rough idea of how to treat
each part.
Organization, Strategy and Teamwork
The well-organized structure behind the pretreatment
system is actually present throughout the entire facility. Every
station in the plant—from pretreatment to final assembly and
packing—features charts and graphs detailing the specs and
instructions for a particular process. The company has also started
a program that it calls “Visa University,” the goal of
which is to cross-train employees in a variety of jobs, something
that can be a big plus at times when the market is down. Soon, Visa
plans to incorporate computers at each assembly cell so that the
operator can simply “call up” the assembly instructions
for a particular fixture and have the computer walk them through
the process.
Another component to Visa’s success, said Mr. Valdes, is its
team approach. Employees from any number of departments – ranging
from management to engineering to plant floor employees – may
play a role when it comes to developing new ideas and troubleshooting
obstacles.
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Color-coded
charts and diagrams appear at nearly every workcell in the
Visa plant, leaving little room for operator error. Organization
and training plays key roles in Visa's success.
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The sense of teamwork and big-picture thinking at Visa is perhaps
best illustrated by its Purchasing Department. “While the cost
of equipment and commodities is a driving factor for the department,
it is not the driving factor,” according to Jerry
Smith, a buyer in Visa’s purchasing department. Any time the
company is looking to purchase new equipment, the department assists
in performing a value analysis that includes performance, fit and
function. Appreciation for Visa’s Purchasing Department extends
beyond the walls of its headquarters. “They know what’s
going on,” said G.J. Nikolas & Co., Inc.’s Jamie Koch,
who communicates with the Purchasing Department on a regular basis.
“They’re not just out there saying, ‘I need so many
units of X at Y price.’ They have a concept of what their company
is doing and what the materials are and how they are used.”
Suppliers are very much considered a part of Visa’s “extended
family,” and the company makes it a point to work with those
suppliers willing to take a hands-on approach in the processes and
obstacles that Visa faces. “You truly find out how good a supplier
is when something (bad) happens,” said Mr. Valdes. “It’s
when things are not so rosey that you learn how good your relationships
with your suppliers really are.” On those rare occasions when
something does go wrong, Visa has found that its suppliers
have focused on cooperation instead of finger-pointing.
With a talented staff, constant improvements in technology and
plant management, and a collection of suppliers who take an active
interest in its affairs, Visa continues to set new standards for
excellence in its industry. Not only is it on the road to completely
eliminating VOCs, the company has managed to improve its products
and increase profits in the process.
