The biggest benefit to us having two separate labs relatively close to one another is that it provides some redundancy in systems and equipment.
Earlier this week the Columbia canvas/texture press went down, meaning anything mounted on canvas or with some of the finishing textures was impossible to complete. Because we have a duplicate of the machine in Pittsburg (or we have a duplicate of Pittsburg’s machine in Columbia, more appropriately), we simply sent the 150 or so orders that were impacted to Pittsburg.
While the Columbia group worked most of the day to solve the problem here, the Pittsburg group doubled their efforts in production and was able to complete those orders.
In my (biased) opinion, it’s times like those when our teams truly shine. No issues, no delay, just part of the deal with Miller’s.