Company Turnaround following Private Equity Firm Purchase

Situation:   A private equity firm purchased a major locomotive OEM.  The PE firm had an accelerated exit timeframe, and wanted to make major, rapid improvements in design and operations, while increasing sales in the spares marketplace.  They asked Ops Partners to analyze the situation, create an execution plan, and assist with implementation.

Approach:  A team of four individuals worked at the company for nearly 18 months, some full time, others part time.   The mission was to grow top line and shrink bottom line, with minimal investment of capital.  The team spent a month creating a baseline assessment, and then created an improvement strategy based upon those initiatives with the greatest ability to grow revenue and reduce costs.   Initiatives were created in the areas of process technology improvement, inventory reduction, quality improvements, design improvements, and automation of manual operations.

Results:  The company was sold to another industry OEM within the PE firm’s timeframe, generating significant returns for our client.