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CVG evolves from wire harness manufacturing to building conveyors

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Monona manufacturer Commercial Vehicle Group (CVG) has transitioned from making wire harnesses to building conveyor systems—an effort manufacturing manager Linda Knockel said will meet the needs of an ever changing world. Knockel spoke about the changes at the Oct. 19 Monona Chamber and Economic Development, Inc., annual dinner and celebration. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

 

Monona manufacturer Commercial Vehicle Group (CVG) has transitioned from making wire harnesses to building conveyor systems—an effort manufacturing manager Linda Knockel said will meet the needs of an ever changing world.

 

Knockel, who spoke about the changes at the Oct. 19 Monona Chamber and Economic Development, Inc., annual dinner and celebration, said wire harness production will cease in early November, as the company finishes out its bills.

 

“The balance of the equipment will then be sold and work stations disassembled to free up space for the conveyor building and material storage,” she explained.

 

CVG’s roots in Monona date back to 1969, when Monona Wire opened. At that time, Monona Wire was a private owned company with one large building, and the manufacturing line consisted of making electrical wiring harnesses for agriculture, construction and military equipment. Machines cut wire and terminated wire, and dealt with molding and connector heads, forming the shape of the harness to fit into the machine, and then covering wire with conduit or braid to protect it. 

 

“Employees at that time were trained to work in one of those locations, and that was where they stayed all day, every day,” said Knockel, who started with the company in 1978 and has worked in several areas.

 

As the years passed, two large additions were made to the building to expand the ever growing business. In addition to electrical wiring harness, Knockel said Monona Wire also began making all sizes of electric panel assemblies that consisted of metal fabricated plates, lights, gauges and small wires that were added to complete units later.

 

In the summer of 2005, Commercial Vehicle Group, a public owned company, purchased Monona Wire. The footprint of manufacturing did not change, but continued to grow, explained Knockel. An additional building went up behind the main building to accommodate the business. 

 

“Commercial Vehicle Group was then a leading supplier of integrated solutions for the global commercial vehicle market, including not only wiring harnesses, but interior trims, seats, wiper systems, the mirrors, cabinetry, floor systems, cab components. Basically, they had factories all over that would build any part needed to complete a semi cab,” she shared.

 

CVG acquired an east coast company called First Source Electronics in fall 2019, to continue expanding its business footprint. First Source Electronics also did some cable and wire harness manufacturing, noted Knockel, but was big in building large mechanical systems and UL control panels. 

 

“CVG’s special interest in this acquisition, though, was the warehouse automation market, or conveyor systems in warehouses,” she stated.

 

In spring 2020, CVG started building warehouse automation equipment. Knockel recalled the changes. 

 

“Materials for wire and panel assembly were mostly boxes of small parts that we put on shelves in our stock room. Now, we had to work with pallets of materials. Lots of pallets,” she said.

 

Due to so many large parts and fab pieces with rollers that went on the conveyor systems, the floor layouts drastically changed. CVG’s lower building turned into the manufacturing of these conveyors, and a small group of employees was selected to work there and learn the process. 

 

The balance of employees at that time still continued to work on wire harnesses, however, it didn’t take long to realize the new type of business was drastically increasing. Corporate management decided to wean away from the wire harness business in Monona. 

 

In late 2020, CVG’s upper or main building started changing to accommodate this evolution in manufacturing and building conveyors. 

 

“Over half the equipment was moved and sold. Work stations in the main area were torn down and harness work was pushed to one area in the back of the building, where it remains today as we finish out our bills,” said Knockel.

 

Open rooms have now required many changes. CVG purchased and uses multiple electric lift tables, which have hand controls and can move up and down so workers can lift the product they are building. 

 

“It’s very ergonomic for them to work with and safe,” Knockel said.

 

In several areas, overhead jib cranes lower pallets. 

 

“Everything is on pallets except the hardware,” explained Knockel. “We pick up heavy material and move it to the lift tables to work on.”

 

Massive amounts of tools and torque wrenches were ordered to assemble the bolts, nuts and washers needed for the conveyor systems. Multiple pallet jacks and fork lifts were also purchased to move material around.

 

“Many employees were then trained to build these conveyors. This type of cross-training we learned, we need to be able to move them to different areas to build different configurations and sizes so they can be versatile. We also did a lot of training on the proper use of the new equipment so employees were safe due to the massive size of some of the material,” Knockel said. “Teams of supervision and management set up floor plans in each room so work stations were accessible, pallets of material could easily be moved around and finished product could be picked up with fork lifts to move to shipment areas.”

 

According to Knockel, transitioning from small, intricate material to large, heavy material has been a massive change.

 

“We also had to schedule a traffic person to set up multiple trucks for pickup time every day to ship items out. The pallets were so big it’s got to get out of the building—we don’t have enough floor space,” she explained. “I think everyone has noticed the semi trucks sitting in our back parking lot. This is also to store pallets of raw materials, and we also set up a clear span building in back to house materials. Floor space has become very valuable.”

 

Knockel said the transition over the past year has been exciting. CVG was able to raise its starting wage in early 2021 and has hired many people.

 

“We’ve kept our workers up to date on what’s happening and we asked their input. When they were on the floor working: What do you need to do? What tools do you need? How can we make it more efficient? How can we make it more safe? I believe knowledge is power,” she stressed. “The more our employees are informed, the better work environment you’re going to have.”

 

“It’s been a good year for us,” Knockel quipped. “The conveyors we build ship to warehouses such as Home Depot, Amazon, Pepsi, UPS, FedEx, Bath and Body Works, Walmart and more, all over the United States. We hope to continue to grow and keep evolving as the world changes.”

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