A Look Back, A Look Ahead

As we wrap up 2018, we would like to look back on our accomplishments to see how far we have come at The C.A. Lawton Co. This year has seen a lot of change in our industry as well as our company. Our facilities have adapted to new processes. We have adopted new work philosophies that are slowly but surely transforming every aspect of our operations.

Developments in world markets have affected our vendors as well as our customers. Plus, evolving regulations have also created new challenges and opportunities. Through it all, we continue to grow, adapt and excel, bringing even greater value to our customers, our community and our employees.

2018 started at Lawton with a new focus on marketing – doing a better job of telling the industry and our customers about all of the great things going on here. We also saw an opportunity to highlight Lawton as a fantastic place to work, so we can continue to attract the best and the brightest to join our remarkable team.

We hired new marketing partners to help us tell our story in new ways. We launched a new tagline: “Remarkable People, Remarkable Results.” Our greatest source of strength and our most valuable assets have always been our amazing workers. We just made a decision to let the world know, loud and proud: they’re the ones, working tirelessly behind the scenes, who enable us to achieve extraordinary results for our customers.

We started this blog as a medium to educate our customers (and manufacturers we hope will become our customers) about casting-related topics. Popular subjects included the ways in which we work with customers to optimize casting designs, how to choose a foundry and the thorough and methodical way in which we handle transfer tooling. We also published informative articles about our quality program and ISO certification.

One of the ongoing themes we stressed throughout the year was the myriad of ways in which we’re transforming Lawton to be among the best companies in any industry, not just among foundries. We talked about our LEAN practices, kaizen, MDI boards and our Transformation Calendar.

Another ongoing theme, not surprisingly, was our Remarkable People. We conducted video interviews with them, in which they explained why they like working for Lawton. We also highlighted some the ways in which we make the employee experience special, including weekly one-on-one meetings with supervisors and free Dale Carnegie training to any employee who wants it.

Our commitment to safety and our environmental programs were other stories that we not only enjoyed writing but also gave us a great deal of satisfaction. And Molten Mondays offered a weekly glimpse into the visual spectacle of casting large iron parts. In short, 2018 was an amazing year to tell the multi-faceted stories that make up today’s dynamic C.A. Lawton Co.

So, what will the new year bring?

We see 2019 as a time of celebration, as we mark 140 years in business. Watch this blog for a series of articles exploring five generations of Lawton history, from our founding in 1879 to the present day.

We also look forward to the next chapter in our LEAN journey, and the challenges and opportunities it will bring in 2019. We plan to share more stories about the ways in which we are applying LEAN principles every day to revolutionize the way we work and serve our customers.

Finally, we will continue to feature our Remarkable People. All that The C.A. Lawton Co. does for our customers, our community and our industry are a result of their efforts. We will continue to feature them both individually and as part of the impressive teams they work within to deliver Remarkable Results to our valued customers.

We wish you much success and fulfillment in 2019!