Doubling production output through lean manufacturing improvement
Business challenge
Process Innovation
Sustainability & Net Zero
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Manufacturing
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Hydrogen
Technology or capability
Automation & Robotics
Simulation & Modelling
How MTC helped IPG Morland unlock capacity and prepare for future growth
Morland, a leading manufacturer of doors, panels and profiles for the leisure, construction and marine sectors, partnered with MTC to optimise its production processes and support future business growth. The project focused on significantly increasing production output while continuing to uphold Morland’s high standards of quality, efficiency and delivery performance. The collaboration was delivered through a discovery project as part of the REACH programme. This involved 15 days of specialist MTC support over a three-month period, providing targeted insight and practical recommendations to improve operational performance.
Project Challenges
Morland faced a significant capacity challenge: increasing weekly production from approximately 650 door sets to 1300, while maintaining high service and quality standards, including 97% OTIF (On Time In Full) delivery and a defect rate better than 0.18%. The challenge was further complicated by the extensive product range, with thousands of potential variants and varying demand across different models. This level of product diversity made process mapping and optimisation particularly complex. In addition, the existing production layout created operational inefficiencies, including multiple process backflows, unnecessary material movements, and high levels of waste. These factors combined to limit overall throughput and constrained the company’s ability to scale production efficiently.
MTC’s Solution
MTC worked closely with IPG Morland’s team on-site, acting as an extension of their workforce. The approach included:
- Process Mapping & Analysis: Conducted line walks and created a detailed product matrix to group doors into family categories, enabling clearer process flows
- Waste Identification: Trained the team on Toyota’s Seven Wastes and identified 40 waste issues through observation and video analysis. Developed a Standard Work Combination Table (SWCT) to optimise assembly tasks
- Future State Design: Built a Future State Value Stream Map (VSM) to achieve the target of 1,300 door sets per week. Introduced two discrete production flows: a Volume Flow Route for high-demand doors and a Premium Flow Route for bespoke, low-volume products
- Implementation Roadmap: Created a high-level Gantt plan with roles and responsibilities, including automation opportunities for visual inspection and handling
It is always a challenge to manufacture to a large number of different configurations of product, particularly in a factory designed for a large-scale manufacturing. Our project with MTC led us to better visibility of our processes and the improvements we need to give our customer better service and the output they require.
Robin Hawkins, Operations Director, IPG Morland
The Outcome
The project delivered a clear roadmap for IPG Morland to scale production efficiently and helped position the business to be ready to launch an online configurable door offering. Key improvements included rebalanced assembly lines against takt time, a supporting layout to optimise space and material movement and estimated time savings through waste reduction countermeasures and automation opportunities.
The collaboration resulted in measurable performance gains; people productivity was increased by 22.5%, value added per person was increased by 22% and floor space utilisation increased by 14%. These improvements have placed IPG Morland in a strong position to support future digital sales channels and are enabling the business to be ready to launch an online configurable door offer. Overall, these changes position IPG Morland to meet growing demand while maintaining quality and delivery standards. The project demonstrated how lean principles and collaborative problem-solving can unlock significant capacity gains in complex manufacturing environments.