Phase oneofthe鶹ֱapp(JM)fiberglass pipe plant expansion in Defiance, Ohio,isnowcomplete.
Theexpansionaddedthe first of two new production lines, improving JM’s ability to meet demand for Micro-Lok®HP and Micro-Lok®HP Ultra fiberglass pipe insulation, which isused primarily in commercial buildings.
“The JM team hasdone an outstanding job growing the business to the point where a capacity expansionwasnecessary,” said Jim Swift,a Director of Operationsin JM’s 鶹ֱapp businessandleader ofthe expansion project.“The dedication of the entire team made this project possible with the common goal of supplying our customer with quality pipe insulation and the service they are accustomed to.”
The buildout began in March 2019with ananticipated completion dateofearly 2020, howeversetbackssuch astravel limitationsdue tothe COVID-19 pandemiccausedasix-month delay in the project.
To get it back on track, theJM team in Defianceemployedanewtechnologysolution:a wearable computercalled a HoloLensthatrests on the headandactsas a see-through screen where images may be displayed for the wearer to reference while still being able to see through the screen into the real world.The helmet takes high-definition footage of the objects in front of the wearer and displays that footage through Microsoft Teams at a remote location.
InJM’scase, the footage was displayedinreal-time inGermany,where many of the engineerswhoworkedon the projectare based.Thistechnologyhelpedbridge the distance between the engineers in Germanyand theteamin Defianceso theexpansioncould be finished.
JM has been part of the Defiance community for more than 60 years. The expansion will createmore than 30jobs at the facility.