A Cut Above the Rest |
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Man . Ben soon realized that it would be much more practical if they started making the cookie cutters in-house , giving them more control over product and inventory . Eventually , they bought the third-party company that was making their cutters , thus inheriting the factory with all the machinery . Ann Clark Ltd . started selling beyond custom orders and gift products and made their way into kitchen supply stores . With upgraded machinery built to Ben ’ s specifications , they were able to grow and grow , making their own shapes by studying what was popular and giving bakers what they wanted . Gingerbread boys , stars , hearts , unicorn heads , and much more can be found in their current inventory . By adopting the concept of “ lean manufacturing ,” they were able to make smart , calculated risks in what shapes to produce . They could be nimble and respond to current trends ( Taylor Swift ’ s guitar , anyone ?) without worrying about having too much unsold inventory . |
Ben and Ann Clark proudly displaying their
cookie cutters at Ann Clark , Ltd . in Rutland
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COURTESY ANN CLARK |
“ Lean manufacturing was developed by Toyota ,” explains Ben . “ It ’ s all about economic lot size . Why do we have to make 5,000 items at a time ? Can we make 250 items at a time ? Because then we can do more items , and just make them more often . If it sells well , we make it all the time . If it doesn ’ t sell well , we won ’ t make any more . It took a lot of work , but it ’ s allowed us to have a lot more shapes , and not grow our inventory . We rarely have obsolete inventory . VMEC . org is the organization that really taught us all the lean stuff .” ( VMEC is the Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center located in Randolph Center , Vermont .)
As they add more food products to their line , Ben has been bolstered by other Vermont businesses that have been willing to share their operational procedures . “ We ’ re learning more about food manufacturing than I ’ ve ever imagined ,” he says . “ We know how to make hard goods , but the addition of food and all the new regulations that come with it is a really
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