Carolina Nonwovens
Selected: Plex Quality Management System, Plex Manufacturing Execution System
Manufacturing context
Industry
Nonwoven materials manufacturing
Country
United States
Plants
2
Scale
2 manufacturing facilities
Starting point
Type
Fragmented systems
What was in place
Legacy ERP implemented in 1999 and a separate outdated MRP system operated independently. Teams manually transferred data between systems. Production information also relied on Excel and manual tracking, while quality checks used paper sheets.
What they needed
Reason for the MES decision
Improve operational visibility, integrate core manufacturing information, improve material and yield tracking, and replace disconnected and manual processes.
Selection
Selected
Plex Quality Management System (Rockwell Automation / Plex); Plex Manufacturing Execution System (Rockwell Automation / Plex)
Why it was selected, according to the source
Two Carolina Nonwovens customers already using Plex gave strong endorsements. During evaluation, Plex was reported as intuitive and aligned with the company's operational needs.
Integration and operational requirements
Quality
Paper quality check sheets were replaced with digital workflows and control plans.
Traceability and genealogy
The implemented system improved material traceability, including identification of vendor bales used in products.
Implementation
Rollout
Implementation began in late April 2024 and the company went live just over five months later without running parallel systems.
Duration
Just over five months from the start of implementation in late April 2024 to go-live.
Internal resources
Dedicated internal resources were assigned exclusively to the project.
Implementation partner
Cumulus Consulting LLC
Reported results
The source reports improved production visibility, scrap analysis, scheduling visibility, inventory visibility, and quality management.
These outcomes are reported by a vendor-controlled source. They have not been independently verified.