Innovation enhancement in strawberry box production in a context of growing market demand: the case of willow box manufacturing limited

Willow Box制造有限公司(Willow Box)是一家加拿大公司，位于北卡罗来纳州贝里克市。该公司用软木原木生产夸脱和品脱木篮已有十多年的历史。随着魁北克和安大略省的需求增加，这些盒子卖给了新斯科舍省、新不伦瑞克和爱德华王子岛的草莓种植者。这些盒子的制造仍然是一个劳动密集型的过程；产品的增长和竞争力在留住和培养熟练劳动力的能力方面存在重大风险，或者投资于自动化和技术。在过去几十年里，塑料的广泛使用对更可持续的木质产品提出了挑战，使得制造类似篮子的其他材料的可用性得到了发展。然而，最近全球对塑料的担忧增加了对可持续解决方案的需求，同时满足了消费品的市场需求。因此，该公司计划扩大其设施，以获得完全满足不断增长的市场需求所需的增加的生产能力，目前正在寻求新斯科舍社区学院(NSCC)的应用研究支持，以刺激基于精益方法的定制工艺创新。最近新冠肺炎疫情导致供应链中断，导致市场对近距离、可持续和可靠的供应的需求日益增长。NSCC的工程技术应用研究小组专门从事产品开发和工艺优化。这项研究项目将推进产品设计和制造技术和技术，使Willow Box和其他类似公司能够提高工艺流程和生产率，以满足市场需求。先进的生产技术，如本研究中的那些，为公司和这一加拿大市场部门的现代化和竞争力带来了经济效益。该项目的知识转化将使该行业的其他公司受益，目标是提高该地区的整体质量和生产率，用于出口。

Willow Box Manufacturing Ltd (Willow Box) is a Canadian company, located in Berwick, NS. The company has been producing quart and pint wooden basket from softwood logs for more than ten years. These boxes are sold to strawberry growers throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, with increasing demand from Quebec and Ontario. The manufacture of these boxes remains a labor-intensive process; growth and competitiveness of the product bears important risks around ability to retain and grow skilled workforce, or alternatively invest in automation and technology. The availability of other materials to make similar baskets has developed following the extensive use of plastics in the past decades, which has challenged more sustainable wood-based products. However, the recent plastic global concerns have increased demand on sustainable solutions while fulfilling the market needs of consumables. The company therefore plans to expand its facility to acquire the increase production capacity required to fully meet the increasing market demand, and now seeks Nova Scotia Community College's (NSCC) applied research support to stimulate a custom process innovation based on a lean approach. The recent disruption in supply chain due to the COVID-19 pandemic has generated growing market demand for close-proximity sustainable and reliable supply. NSCC's Engineered Technologies Applied Research group specializes in product development and process optimization. This research project will advance product design and manufacturing techniques and technologies to enable Willow Box and other similar companies to enhance process flow and productivity to scale to meet market demand. Advanced production techniques such as those in this study result in economic benefits for both the company and the modernization and competitiveness of this Canadian market sector. Knowledge translation from the project will benefit other companies in the sector, with the goal to elevate overall quality and productivity in the region, directed to export.