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Through the active participation of Key Equipment Finance, this North Canton-based company’s innovations are expected to save millions for a Fortune 500 company while bringing new technology jobs to the area.
North Canton, Ohio — Locally based Surgere, Inc., a six year old logistics and supply chain management firm, officially signed a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract with the Whirlpool Corporation at a press conference held here on Wednesday, July 7th. Congressman John Boccieri of Ohio's 16th Congressional District participated to highlight the significance of bringing new jobs to Northeast Ohio.
Surgere’s work for Whirlpool will entail a complete re-engineering of the ways that the company uses packaging, both internally and externally. Analysts, engineers and implementation specialists will be assisted by crews of hourly employees charged with operating new systems at the highest possible levels of efficiency.
“Something as basic and seemingly simple as packaging would appear to be not that big a deal,” according to Surgere president William Wappler. “In reality we are able to uncover and then implement numerous cost-saving tactics that cumulatively add up to millions of dollars of annual savings for our clients. Not only something as basic as the boxes a consumer would encounter at the retail level, but also the ways that components travel between and within factories,” continued Wappler.
Nowhere is this savings more evident than in the re-useable containers which Surgere custom-designs to exact sizes for increased utility in the manufacturing process and dramatic energy reductions through their continual re-use. Known as PaaS™, for “Packaging as a Service,” this program became possible as a result of conversations between Key Bank’s Key Equipment Finance division, Surgere and Whirlpool. “Key developed an innovative financing program that enables Surgere clients to utilize the PaaS packaging resources as a service rather than as an asset, reported Key Equipment Finance Managing Director Michale Swartz. “In this case, the benefit to both Surgere and Whirlpool is improved cash flow and balance sheet management. Key sincerely appreciates having the opportunity to grow our relationships with two existing clients through the use of innovative Key products and services,” continued Swartz. “We are pleased to be supporting our clients in new ways, with new products, and we applaud Surgere and Whirlpool for leading the way with energy saving and increased efficiency programs like this one.”
In his remarks Congressman Boccieri lauded the new venture’s creation of approximately 42 new jobs by year end, of which 60% are high-paying, high-technology jobs. The addition of more positions is expected in coming years as Surgere continues to grow. “In Surgere we have the tremendous success story of a local company which is helping our nation as a whole by making American companies more efficient and especially more competitive,” stated the Congressman. “In addition to Whirlpool, in its first six years Surgere has helped Alcoa, Best Buy, Ford, Home Depot, Magna and one of our own largest local employers, Timken. They are truly a valuable asset for Ohio and for our nation.”
Harry Chase, Director of Strategic Materials for Whirpool was introduced by Surgere’s William Wappler. Together they held a brief discussion of how the re-design of the packaging supply chain has resulted in reduced inventories, a more rapid flow of materials through the manufacturing process, the better utilization of transportation assets, better use of investment capital and an overall savings of energy for the company. Chase commented, “We are strongly encouraged by the progress we’ve made in just the first couple of months of this engagement. The progress we’ve made so far using Surgere’s re-engineering and on-going management of our packaging supply chain is proving this to be an excellent decision.”
The contract was then formally executed by Whirlpool’s Chase and Surgere’s Wappler. The Surgere logo, PaaS and Pacakaging as a Service are trademarks of Surgere, Inc.
About Surgere, Inc.
A “new economy” technology company focused on efficiency and energy-saving ideas for American businesses.
The Surgere organization saves hundreds of millions of dollars for several of North America’s largest corporations by addressing issues and procedures that have heretofore been largely overlooked or even ignored by management -- packaging and the packaging supply chain. This typically involves the “green” practices of removing,
reducing and reusing packaging concurrent with energy reduction strategies.
With successful client engagements, dating back to 2004, Surgere counts among its clients Alcoa, Best Buy, Ford, Home Depot, Magna, Timken and, most recently Whirlpool. Within these organizations Surgere has shown how re-engineering and re-inventing supply chains reduces inventories and lowers freight and warehousing costs. This re-examination and re-design of basic processes drives tremendous economies to the bottom line.
Surgere develops and provides dramatically new ways of managing all aspects of the packaging supply chain. The company addresses everything from design and function, to sourcing, to how packaging interacts with manufacturing and stocking processes. The company’s analysts examine and re-design entire workflows and life cycles. Surgere deploys advanced specification management, process design and automation, sourcing strategies and implementation support, supply chain cost reduction techniques, Product Lifecycle Management design and implementation support, and Enterprise Resource Planning design and implementation support (such as corporate ERP systems including those from SAP and Oracle).
Surgere is an organization of specialists and highly qualified experts in fields including engineering, logistics / distribution, technology, process management, and sourcing. Each of our senior staffers has achieved both advanced degrees and extensive management experience in the “real world.” In this and many other ways we are unique and a far cry from typical consultants.
In 2009 Surgere formed SPARCS™, Sustainable Packaging And Reusable Container Systems, a division which applies many of the principles of Third Party Logistics to the ways that companies use returnable / reuseable packaging. Known as being “third party packaging” for business Surgere coined the term PaaS™, for “Packaging as a Service.” Perhaps this is best explained as converting packaging which had been considered a product into a service, thereby converting the financial liability of a capital investment into a third party service, just like many other typical costs of doing business.
Today products and materials can come from anywhere. But far too often packaging developments have failed to keep pace with innovations in manufacturing and fabrication. Surgere associates in Asia and Europe, as well as across the Americas, deliver clear and precise problem analysis and solution methodologies which solve problems, boost packaging performance and reduce costs. We address organizational issues, packaging engineering problems, supply chain problems, vendor problems, and process problems. Surgere’s resources are at work worldwide.
Analytical tools, including Surgere’s proprietary ChainMap™ software help us provide our clients with in an depth understanding of their packaging supply chain and a clear and prioritized plan for improving it. The superior guidance offered by our teams of analysts and implementation specialists provide guaranteed results and unparalleled success.
“Surgere” is Latin for Rise Up. It is pronounced: SurgeAir. Additional information can be found on the company’s website: Surgere.com The Surgere logo, SPARCS, PaaS and Pacakaging as a Service are trademarks of Surgere, Inc.
About Key Equipment Finance
Key Equipment Finance is an affiliate of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) and provides business-to-business equipment financing solutions to businesses of many types and sizes. The company focuses on four distinct markets:
- businesses of all sizes in the U.S. (from small business to large corporate);
- equipment manufacturers, distributors and value-added resellers worldwide;
- federal, provincial, state and local governments as well as other public sector organizations; and
- lease advisory services for larger structured equipment needs including single investor and leveraged leases, securitizations, and structured debt.
Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, Key Equipment Finance manages nearly $11 billion in assets and originates approximately $3 billion of equipment annually. The company has major management and operations bases in Albany, New York; London, England; Hong Kong, China and Sydney, Australia. The company, which supports clients in over 40 countries, employs approximately 700 people worldwide and has been in the equipment financing business for over 35 years. Additional information regarding Key Equipment Finance, its products and services can be obtained online at www.KEFonline.com.
Cleveland-based KeyCorp is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $93.3 billion. BusinessWeek magazine named Key the top bank in its Customer Service Champ 2009 edition, ranking Key 11th out of the top-25 companies that include many known for their customer service acumen. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally. For more information, visit www.key.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that do not represent historical facts and may be based on underlying assumptions. This document uses words and phrases such as "up to," and “will” to identify forward-looking statements in this press release, including forward-looking statements regarding Key Equipment Finance funding, and SunPower designing and building, up to $50 million in systems under the program. Such forward-looking statements are based on information available to SunPower as of the date of this release and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some beyond its control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements, including risks and uncertainties such as customers qualifying for capital leases and loans under Key Equipment Finance’s requirements. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing SunPower's views as of any subsequent date, and the company is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any responsibility to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SunPower is a registered trademark of SunPower Corp. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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