Home / Productivity Tools / ETON
ETON - Introduction
There are people that influence paradigm shifts. They cast a vision and walk that extra mile to achieve their objectives. The founder of Eton Systems mechanized his one unit at a time idea and invented the Eton material handling system. Today, more than ever implementers of the Eton system are experiencing major over all productivity gains.
THE SHIRT THAT CAUSED AN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
It might seem odd that Eton Systems, the makers of the world's most versatile and technologically advanced Unit Production System, or UPS, traces its origins to the time-honored Eton Shirt Factory. Then again, great discoveries often have curious origins. We happen to be rather proud of ours.
In the mid 1960s, the Swedish apparel industry was experiencing a number of cost related problems. Throughput times were too high and as a result, demands for quicker delivery times could not be met. In addition, garment workers were forced to waste time handling and transporting material instead of sewing and capital was needlessly tied up in work-in-progress. These factors, combined with higher wages and technological advances and changes in industry as a whole, prompted the Eton Shirt Company to address these inefficient material-handling procedures.
Inge Davidson, self-trained technician and co-owner of the Eton Shirt Factory, had fine-tuned Eton's machines and methods, increasing their efficiency, but that alone was not enough. Something had to be done about the highly unproductive material handling procedures. This part of the manufacturing process – the area with the most potential for improvement – was the one area that had yet to be improved at all.
AN ANSWER FROM ABOVE
Davidson designed an ingenious hanging conveyor system that didn't waste valuable floor space and required no major modification to existing machines. Like most great inventions, Davidson's system was simple, effective, and brilliant. His system allowed all the material needed for a specific garment to be transported as a unit directly to the sewing machine of any workstation. When an operation was completed at one workstation, the system would automatically send the unit on to the next.
The factory's efficiency increased immediately. Workstation operators could now concentrate on sewing, wasting no time handling bundles of unfinished garments. Not only did productivity improve, but production could now be planned and controlled down to the finest detail.
A NEW COMPANY IS BORN
Davidson's ideas - and his hanging system with its flexible addressing capabilities - provided benefits beyond his wildest dreams. His system attracted considerable attention in the textile and garment industries and a new company, Eton Systems, was soon founded alongside the Eton shirt factory to offer the benefits of Davidson's system to others. Over the years, the system has been developed and expanded in response to feedback from customers and clients around the world, and our ongoing operations in the apparel industry provide us with unique insight and understanding of the challenges that the industry face. The most recent incarnation of the original Eton UPS concept is now gaining recognition as the industry standard for precise, and comprehensive production control by leading global manufacturers. No other system offers the same level of flexibility, quality, and return on your investment.
We're proud of our system. And we think it shows.
|
