Ridge Tool

To Whom It May Concern:

I am authorizing this letter on behalf of Trommer & Associates in Akron, Ohio, as a testimonial to their design-planning and facility-sizing services. I can speak to a number of very successful engagements that my company has experienced with Trommer, including material-handling system designs, warehouse planning configurations and distribution center location strategies. In each and every case, Trommer’s expertise and counsel provided my company with the direction and answers we needed to make our tactical and strategic decisions.

When my company first established a distribution center in Cambridge, Ohio, in 1995, we designed it without outside consultation, utilizing in-house experience to plan the size and material flow of the facility. It was not too long after the implementation that we realized the shortcomings of the design and layout, and turned to Trommer & Associates for assistance.

Over the course of two years, Trommer redesigned our material flow system, our picking and packing workflows, our finished goods inventory configurations, our receiving processes and our replenishment concepts. These actions allowed us to reduce our workforce by 50%. Trommer’s introduction of conveyors and storage media nearly doubled our lines picked per man-hour.

Beginning in 2000, Ridge Tool employed Trommer to analyze a two distribution center strategy. This entailed a great deal of customer database and product sales analysis, information that was meant to strategically place us in an optimized service position. The recommendation that was developed in this study included a facility sizing and layout plan that ultimately was adopted by another division of Emerson Electric, Ridge Tool’s parent company, in Payson, Utah.

In 2001, Trommer assisted us with a facility layout for a remote warehouse in Cambridge, Ohio. This facility had to be configured from scratch due to the addition of a completely new product line. The results were highly favorable, and we were able to make maximum use of the square footage available.

Finally, in just the past year, Trommer joined us as a partner in the planning of a new 128,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Cambridge. It was through their recommendation that we sized this new building, and we are once again using their expertise to configure a very automated material handling flow.

I cannot speak highly enough to the credibility and integrity of the company in question. This starts with the owner, Bill Trommer and the President, Steve Trommer and permeates the organization. They have truly been a partner for us, and one that we recommend highly.

Sincerely
Warren S. Steiner
Director, Customer Service & Distribution,