New England Casket Wins Award

The Wood Machinery Industry Association (WMIA) just awarded New England Casket Company with its 2015 Commitment to Excellence through Technology award. CFSA Past President Lou Tobia, Jr., received the award on April 23rd at WMIA’s Wood Industry Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

From WMIA’s press release: “Manufacturing hardwood caskets for over 78 years, 62-employee New England Casket is led by Louis Tobia, Jr., (left, with Pascal Doucet) the third-generation owner. Manufacturing caskets in a three-level factory, the company adopted Doucet technology Weinig Moulders, Kenwood Ripsaws, efficientlyers, and in 2013 began integrating technologies and adopted lean applications. ‘I just want to make caskets efficiently, for less money, and better quality,’ Tobia said. To avoid keeping an inventory of parts, Tobia said he had gradually been improving technology. To assemble and miter the sides to a specific size, Doucet help develop a specific machine process to do it. ‘What used to take about 27 man minutes, we got it down to 7 minutes,’ Tobia said. ‘That’s a 77 percent improvement.’ “