Based in Nesquehoning, Hydra-Tech Pumps has a 40-year tradition of designing and manufacturing the world’s highest quality hydraulically driven pumps and hydraulic power units.
“Pump production throughput has been increasing. Last year was a record, but we’re on track to beat it this year.”
– Chris Albertini, Manufacturing Manager
MRC Lean Master Certification Enables Measurable Production, Capacity, and Leadtime Improvements.
Situation
Having enjoyed significant growth in a relatively short period of time, Hydra-Tech Pumps found itself in need of more focused Lean thinking. The company turned to MRC for a number of Lean training opportunities, enrolling Manufacturing Manager Chris Albertini in hopes of improving operations and processes—particularly related to the company’s warehouse—and optimizing quality while improving throughput. .
Solution
Hydra-Tech engaged MRC for a series of Lean trainings, with Albertini completing Foundations of Lean and Lean Master Certifications, the latter building on classroom training with the implementation of Lean principles on the shop floor as part of his Lean Master Certification project.
“After the foundations course, we saw how useful it would be to put those tools into practice,” Albertini says. “Fortunately, the timing worked to go straight from the first course into Lean Master.”
In addition to leveraging his recent coursework, Albertini learned from the businesses he was exposed to during the master class. “We visited three companies,” he says, “and having a chance to see how they did things was eye-opening.”
The company constructed work cells similar to those seen on one of the visits, and they wrote standard work procedures to train new people and increase production as encountered on another.
Albertini’s Lean Master project took the work cell approach even further “We built ours from scratch, creating a separate work area with a new bench that has all the tools needed and standards to keep the cell operating smoothly.”
He says that introducing these new ideas and methods is a measured, iterative process, since Hydra-Tech is a small company, but overhauling the warehouse and introducing additional Lean thinking in the form of a new labeling system and barcodes will increase storage space and reduce the time needed to pick parts, all while minimizing mistakes.
Results
• Warehouse space increased 35%
• Despite 2025 being a record in terms of output, year-over-year pump production grew by 48% and 54% in Q1 and Q2, respectively. (Note: Though this is also attributable to order increases, Hydra-Tech is able to meet the increased production with the same staff.)
• Lean training has helped Hydra-Tech increase production capacity, improve workflow, and reduce lead times, with the latter contributing to increased orders due to faster response to customer demand.
To learn more about Hydra-Tech Pumps, visit their website at Hydra-Tech Pumps.