Cub Crafters
Impact Washington Crafts Transformation for Cub Crafters
Company Profile
Cub Crafters is a 27 year-old company that specializes in two areas: rebuilding and outfitting Piper Cub airplanes (Cub Crafters Services), and manufacturing new airplanes (Cub Crafters, Inc.).
The history of Cub Crafters is rich. Cub Crafters was founded in 1980 by aircraft designer and pilot Jim Richmond. Jim gathered information on Super Cub modifications and applications and began rebuilding Piper Cubs full time. In 2003, Cub Crafters pursued their own type certificate – documentation awarded to aerospace manufacturers by the FAA when it has been established that a particular design of a civil aircraft has fulfilled their current prevailing airworthiness requirements.
Situation
Cub Crafters wanted to integrate all aspects of the company as they made the transformation from simply rebuilding and outfitting vintage Piper Cubs to manufacturing new small general aviation aircraft. Their vision was to “add wings to the adventure of life,” becoming the world leader in production of the highest quality light sport and light utility aircrafts. However, Cub Crafters lacked sufficient resources to successfully and smoothly complete the transition and sought assistance from Impact Washington.
The Cub Crafters leadership team recognized the need to apply contemporary, world-class business practices to compete in a global economy. In addition, Cub Crafters required guidance to maximize their overall performance in both refurbishing and new construction. Impact Washington partnered with Yakima Valley Development Corporation, Perry Technical College and Washington State Job Skills Program to put together a comprehensive assistance plan to help them meet their goals.
Solution
The comprehensive partnership plan from Impact Washington focused on the overall company transformation. Impact Washington acted as an organizational development advisor, helping Cub Crafters develop and clarify their vision and organizational priorities so they could be clearly communicated to all stakeholders: investors, employees and customers. More importantly, Impact Washington helped Cub Crafters develop a plan for growth that is strategic, measurable and provides a road map for success.
Impact Washington helped Cub Crafters achieve a companywide Lean Manufacturing implementation. They worked with Cub Crafters to streamline their processes to eliminate waste and implement Lean principles.
In conjunction with Perry Technical College, Cub Crafters designed a program to train employees in both the building and refurbishing sides of the house. They designed a six-month program on basic aerospace manufacturing techniques. Twenty-five employees gained new skills through the two-day-a-week curriculum. The program was so successful that both are looking forward to running it again.
Results
Cub Crafters has grown from a small Super Cub rebuilding shop to a state-of-the-art aircraft manufacturer occupying a 40,000 square-foot facility on the northeastern side of Yakima’s McAllister Field Airport. The Top Cub, their first plane, was officially introduced in late 2004. Cub Crafters now also builds Sport Cubs (light sport planes) that require only a driver’s license to learn to fly. The Sport Cubs have opened an entirely new market to Cub Crafters, Inc.
As a result of the project, they have gone from building one new Cub in 90 days and reduced that time to 40 hours. The manufacturing line can accommodate 12 planes in various stages. Their ultimate goal is to build one craft every 32 hours.
According to President and CEO Todd Simmons, Cub Crafters’ revenue growth since mid-2005 is an astounding 300%. Of this revenue, one-third is from the Cub Crafter Services and two-thirds from Cub Crafters, Inc.
