Auxiliary equipment supplier Universal Dynamics Inc., a subsidiary of Piovan SpA, is finishing up its move to its new combined factory and headquarters facility in Fredericksburg, Va.

Sparked by limitations from having its original production facilities housed in two different buildings, President William Goldfarb said the transition is part of a broader plan from Una-Dyn's parent.

"Una-Dyn's new facility is part of Piovan's global expansion and will serve as the headquarters for the new Piovan North American macro region," he said of the move from Woodbridge, Va., to Fredericksburg. "Our Shannon Drive facility is all in one building with offices and factory floor split into fabrication and assembly areas. We own a 17-acre plot with our building occupying only half of the land."

The move was part of a project that included the purchase of an empty warehouse and the complete renovation of the new site's existing office and factory space, as well as a second-floor addition for technical services that overlooks the customer testing and R&D area. The building has 77,250 square feet of functional clear production space with room for expansion, and the total project cost is in the $10 million range, Goldfarb said.

Una-Dyn's two production facilities in Woodbridge had a combined footprint of 78,500 square feet including offices, and they suffered from inefficiencies due to organic growth and circuitous flow, so only about two-thirds of their space could be used effectively. 

"Our existing facility satisfied our needs for many years, but when our business grew, space and work-flow limitations curbed our output," he said. "Transferring equipment back and forth between two buildings, the non-optimum placement of key work centers ... along [with] low headroom areas, posed limits." 

To deal with the inefficiencies, Una-Dyn began a kaizen/lean manufacturing program in 2010, which increased capabilities somewhat. However, even with those improvements, demand eventually outstripped capacity. "This process [kaizen] gave us the vital knowledge, experience and mindset to design the ultimate plant," Goldfarb said.

The new facility will allow production to double, he said, as well as offer shorter response times for supplying major machinery systems and a wide array of standard product lines from stocked assemblies. Although the lean plant design requires fewer personnel, he said the workforce will increase to handle additional work and add team members with the specialized skill set needed for refrigeration equipment.

Assembly lines are fully operational at the new facility, and fabrication equipment work cells are being moved incrementally, with full operation expected by the end of summer.

Una-Dyn will expand the range of Piovan-designed equipment it produces.

"We will manufacture all brands under the Piovan structure: Una-Dyn, Piovan and Aquatech," Goldfarb said.

David Tillett, copy editor

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