Get to Know JR Automation’s Tyler St. Facility in Holland, MI

Our team has over 2,000 talented employees who are spread out between 21 locations around the United States, Singapore, and France! Each location has its own set of capabilities, unique aspects or specialty areas, and people that make them stand out from the other JR Automation locations.  

Get to know more about the team at our Tyler Street location in Holland, MI! 

Key Facts about JR Automation Tyler St. 

Where: Holland, MI. Spread across multiple buildings, the Tyler St. complex is where JR Automation started and originally served as the company’s headquarters. 

Who: 50 talented team members.   

Manufacturing space: 30,000 sq. ft. of production space between two buildings.  

Capabilities of the Team at JR Automation’s Tyler St. Location 

In addition to the standard capabilities of JR Automation, the Tyler Street location places a specific emphasis on high-volume projects across multiple industries. Their approach to high-volume projects involves lean manufacturing principles and an escalated PEP (Project Execution) process. The team is dedicated to implementing best practices from a top-down approach, as demonstrated by their successful ISO audits. 

According to the General Manager at our Tyler St. facility, Curt VanDyke, the benefits of repeat projects offer “the chance to have multiple opportunities to build machines more efficiently than the first iteration, thus better-quality control. We have also discovered that once we have implemented three or more items, the manufacturing efficiencies kick in and the cost savings begin as related to the high-volume process!” 

Open Communication is the Key to Success at Tyler St. 

Each location and team possess unique qualities that contribute to their identity. The high-volume team at the Tyler St. facility identifies communication as their primary strength. Their distinct culture is fostered by their remote proximity to other business units and the unconventional nature of their builds compared to other teams. Open communication among team members is vital to their success. 

The team promotes open communication through: 

• Monthly town hall meetings. 
• Cross-functional training and job shadowing. 
• Full team planning for new projects.  
• Progress checks to ensure project goals are meeting objectives.  

By maintaining effective communication within the team, it becomes possible to attain complete support from all members. Additionally, fostering such communication acts as a catalyst for promoting problem-solving abilities within the team. 

One Team, Multiple Locations 

While the team at the JR Automation Tyler St. facility has successfully executed a wide range of customer projects, they recently collaborated with the JR Automation facility in Nashville on a project for a customer in the medical industry. 

This specific project entailed constructing two parallel automation lines, with the high-volume team being entrusted with the assembly of 80 gantries. 

“The collaboration between the business units was exceptional,” said Mark Faris, Manager of Project Management for JR Automation, Nashville. “We worked through various engineering and build issues, which is typically handled within the BU. In this case, engineering support for (the high-volume team) was remote from (Nashville). Throughout the project, we all worked as a unified, OneJR team to meet our objectives and to support a key customer account.” 

Through organization, precise planning, and hard work between the two teams, the high-volume group in Holland, MI completed their part of the project below budget and ahead of schedule! 

“I think the team we have here is the reason this was such a success on our end,” said Tim Key, Senior Lead Fluid Power Technician in the high-volume group. “It wasn’t the smoothest process, but our team knew exactly what questions to ask and when. This allowed us to get ahead of issues and resolve them before they snowballed into issues that had the potential to negatively impact the project timeline or outcome.” 

This is a shining example of team members across different facilities working together to support the company goals and values to do the very best for JR Automation customers.  

Having Fun While Working as a Team 

The Tyler St. facility team cultivates a vibrant culture that fosters camaraderie and engagement through various extracurricular activities. In addition to customary company events and holiday celebrations, team members frequently engage in recreational activities such as playing disc golf on their four-hole course or organizing cookouts during the summer season. Furthermore, the team actively participates in quarterly company meetings, collaborates on fundraising initiatives with the JR Community Care Fund, and is actively involved in The Green Team. 

Schedule a tour to discover the automation innovations our team can deliver for you.