Processor’s downstream solutions rescue up-the-creek canoe maker

Demand for watercraft manufacturer NuCanoe’s new canoes outpaced supply, causing some dealers to wait weeks for orders to be filled. Rotomolder MOD offered the requisite paddle, and with its help, NuCanoe cut lead times by 93%.

The delivery holdups caused NuCanoe’s director of business development, Blake Young, to search for a new contract manufacturer to handle processing and logistics, and his search took him to Meese Orbitron Dunne Co. (MOD; Ashtabula, OH). MOD operates 23 rotomolding machines at four plants in the U.S.
 

In addition to rotomolding the 10- and 12-foot NuCanoes, MOD also assembles each of them, installs hardware and ships the completed product directly to dealers, ready for retail sale. “Our reputation is on the line so it’s a huge issue that we’re trusting someone else with our quality…feedback from our dealers has been superb,” commented Young.

NuCanoe is based in Bellingham, WA. By shipping directly to dealers from MOD’s facility in Ohio, NuCanoe now can deliver in quantities as low as one unit at a time in only one or two days. Previously, the company had to bundle several orders on a truck and later separate them for delivery to each dealer, a process that sometimes required up to a month to reach dealers on the East Coast, who account for 66% of its sales. The streamlined logistics has cut lead times by up to 93% and shipping costs by up to 50%, according to NuCanoe. —[email protected]