PESCO has been manufacturing natural gas and oil production equipment in Farmington, New Mexico since 1970. Despite fluctuating gas prices, business has grown steadily, and so has PESCO’s reputation. This is demonstrated through well-respected products in the industry, a great reputation for quality and service, loyal employees and customers, and a solid financial footing.
Kyle Rhodes, President, and Jim Rhodes, Vice President and Chairman of the Board, routinely ask themselves these questions: What else can we do to make PESCO a better place to work? What else can we do to grow our reputation in the industry? What else can we do to continually improve our products?
Since 2001, New Mexico MEP has worked hand in hand with PESCO’s management team to maintain continual improvement by implementing lean methods and techniques throughout all areas of its business. PESCO has worked diligently to stabilize its operations by applying workplace organization tools (5S) and mapping how value is created throughout the entire operation (Value Stream Mapping). PESCO and New Mexico MEP have worked together to help articulate a clear value-based strategy to ensure that all employees are aligned with the values and objectives of PESCO leadership. New Mexico MEP has also helped PESCO with the design of their world-class products through the application of design for manufacturing methodologies. As PESCO introduced new products and services, New Mexico MEP assisted PESCO with design systems such as work cells, pull inventory replenishment systems, visual management of inventories, and standardized work to manufacture or deliver them.
PESCO management is continually looking for inspiration and methods to improve all aspects of the business. Every year, PESCO management sends attendees to the Quality New Mexico Learning Summit where recipients of the Baldrige Award present their accomplishments. Baldrige awardees are selected based on criteria such as how upper management leads the organization and empowers and involves its workforce, and how the organization compares to its competitors. PESCO management has been intrigued with the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and the innovative solutions those criteria have inspired winning companies to implement.
Recognizing that more improvements are needed in the company’s manufacturing and business systems before pursuing the Baldrige award, PESCO leadership contacted New Mexico MEP for help. The discussions that followed revealed that the aspects of business requiring improvement coincided with those PESCO needed to achieve ISO 9001:2015 registration. Though many of PESCO’s larger customers are ISO 9001:2015 registered, there are no oil and gas process equipment manufacturers that are registered. ISO registration would be a major achievement for PESCO.
In the fall of 2016, PESCO sent two team members to the ISO 9001:2015 transition training being presented by New Mexico MEP. Through the transition training, PESCO management identified two key missing elements: performance of internal audits, and implementation and tracking of corrective actions for improvement.
PESCO has contracted with New Mexico MEP to receive guidance for implementing an ISO 9001:2015 quality (business) management system, as well as internal auditor training and support. PESCO plans to be ISO 9001:2015 registered by the end of 2018. By becoming the first production equipment manufacturer to achieve registration to ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standard, the company anticipates a 10 to 20 percent increase in business.
“Wow! Without New Mexico MEP, PESCO wouldn’t be where it is today. New Mexico MEP has helped us reduce costs and grow business over the years. We know we have a long way to go and this journey never really ends. We are thankful that New Mexico MEP has been there with us along the way.”
– Kyle Rhodes, President