Vertellus Specialties Employees Receive Six Sigma Training

INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Vertellus Specialties Inc., a specialty chemicals company creating key ingredients used in nutrition, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, medical, personal care, plastics, coatings and many industrial markets, is investing in Six Sigma – by the end of 2014 the organization will have 25% of its salaried workforce trained. The company completed its second round of Six Sigma green belt/lean training in November 2013 at Vertellus' corporate location in Indianapolis, IN.

Vertellus officials describe Six Sigma as a methodology to determine and understand where you are, where you want to be and a systemic approach to bridging the gap between the two. It's often referred to as the DMAIC Process: Define  Measure  Analyze  Improve  Control.   The training participants learned to make process improvements, eliminate waste, and find better ways to execute and perform respective roles in their functional areas.

The training serves as an enabler for Vertellus to realize significant savings through the Lean Six Sigma effort, providing short-term payback and ongoing savings as processes are continuously improved – the company has already reaped the benefits from projects that emanated from the initial rounds of training conducted in 2013.

Tara Toner, a Vertellus Lean Engineer, says while this training is essential for Vertellus, the results will also benefit our customers.  "A variety of projects are being worked on, including variation reduction, cycle time improvement, yield improvements, flow of information, scheduling, waste, QA/QC, product specifications development, design of experiment studies, etc.. The outcomes of these efforts   have the potential to translate to any number of products; benefits such as a greater consistency, higher purity, improved environmental profile, shorter lead times, lower costs, and in many cases greater throughput enabling Vertellus to increase its supply of products to the market." 

Purdue University Technical Assistance Program has provided on-site instruction, mentoring and Six Sigma project reviews, with members from multiple Vertellus locations including Seal Sands, United Kingdom; Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania; Zeeland, Michigan; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Indianapolis, Indiana. This team brought diverse cross-functional representation from operations, supply chain, product management, quality, R&D, information technology, regulatory management and finance.

Future training will continue to encompass employees at all levels of the organization, allowing for certifications at yellow belt, green belt, and black belt levels, expanding and positioning Vertellus' Six Sigma team to deliver continual process improvement.

About Vertellus Specialties Inc.
Vertellus is a specialty chemicals company focused on the manufacture of ingredients used in pharmaceuticals, personal care, nutrition, agriculture, and a host of other market areas affected by trends favoring "green" technologies and chemistries. Vertellus is the #1 global producer of pyridine and picolines, specialty pyridine derivatives, DEET, castor oil derivatives and systems, and a world leader in Vitamin B-3 and citrate polymer additives and systems. Vertellus benefits from a technically advanced global manufacturing base and has approximately 800 employees. Vertellus is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

About Purdue Technical Assistance Program(TAP)
TAP provides productivity, growth and workforce solutions to business, industry and healthcare sectors through its advisors and specialists located in seven statewide offices.  To learn more:  http://www.tap.purdue.edu/

TAP Contact:
L. David Snow, Director
800-877-5182
[email protected]

SOURCE Vertellus Specialties Inc.