Production Floor Primed For Post-Auction TV Repack

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Dielectric_DTVA pioneer in purpose-engineered antennas and RF systems for TV and radio broadcasters has reorganized its production floor strategy in preparation for the impending TV spectrum repack.


Mike Spugnardi, recently appointed Manufacturing Engineer at Dielectric, will lead the strategic initiatives around inventory control, production planning and maximizing capacity facility-wide. This includes revised floor plans to better accommodate specific operations across TV and radio projects and departments.

Mike’s appointment to this position also marks his return to Dielectric. From February 2012 through July 2016, he served as OM of Nestlé Waters North America in Hollis, Maine. He worked at Raymond, Maine-based Dielectric from 1999 through 2010, most recently holding the role of Product Line Manager/Broadcast Antennas.

“A lot of our factory changes are around making our current processes more efficient, which is especially important as early repack orders continue to roll in,” said Dielectric VP/GM Keith Pelletier. “We continue to develop new broadband technologies across antennas, filters and transmission line that will help us respond quicker to customer orders, as well as new modeling software to minimize time and labor in the design phase. Mike’s depth of experience in implementing new strategies around operational efficiency, both inside and outside of Dielectric, makes him the ideal candidate for this important position.”

At Nestle Waters,  he was focused on Total Performance Management, overseeing the operational aspect of a heavily automated, single-piece flow, 12-line bottling plant for Nestle Waters products.

“It’s still something of a single-piece flow here, as we design one piece at a time,” said Spugnardi. “However, Dielectric continues to move toward more software simulations for product and systems design that takes weeks out of the upfront design work, and reduces bottlenecks. This will complement my overarching initiatives as Manufacturing Engineer. By removing some of these manual design processes from the main production floor and into specialized labs, we will be well-equipped to maximize square footage for product inventory and assembly.”

Spugnardi notes that these changes will support a more intelligent inventory approach to service TV and radio customers quicker.

“We will now be able to very quickly pull stock products that we can tune for each channel, and accelerate overall production and deliver for TV broadcasters working under a very tight repack deadline,” he said. “Our radio customers seeking quick shipments of tunable filters and broadband antennas for FM and HD Radio systems also benefit from these changes.”