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2022 at Thern was a year filled with productivity, navigating obstacles, and having a blast solving challenging customer applications. Last year took Thern to new heights, and we embraced the growing nature of the company. To showcase Thern’s 2022 achievements, we’ll highlight three categories: new products, company development, and community involvement. Read below to find out what Thern accomplished in 2022!
A Breakdown of Our 2022 Achievements
New Products
2022 was another great year for Thern as we innovated and launched new products. To start, Thern introduced the 4BP Electric Power Winch. The 4BP’s electric motor operates at a high level of performance while maintaining maximum energy efficiency. This customizable winch can lift or pull from 30,000 up to 50,000 pounds. A few of the potential applications of this winch consist of barge positioning, rail car pulling, bulk material handling, and more. Read the 4BP winch blog to learn more here.
Thern also launched the 2K Liberty® Electric Capstan Winch. This capstan winch has all the same innovative features of Thern’s best-selling 1,000-pound model, with double the lifting capacity.
Take a look at what our Product Manager, Chris Reilly, has said about the product launches in 2022: “The wheels of innovation were really turning at Thern in 2022. Even with all the challenges we faced with the global supply chain and labor shortages, we were still able to deliver multiple innovative products to the market. Our new 4BP heavy-duty electric power winch series add some serious power to our standard line. We also expanded and improved our Liberty capstan winch series by incorporating new design features and adding a 2,000 lbs capacity unit. In addition to these new products, we also introduced a standard line of davit cranes configured specifically for applications with long lifts. We now have an off-the-shelf davit crane solution for our customers needing 100, 200…even 300 ft or more of lift! We’re not slowing down yet though. With several new projects in our development pipeline, everyone on the Thern team is excited to see what 2023 brings!”
Company Development/Rearrangements
In 2022, the Thern headquarters in Winona underwent some big changes. Starting with the office, the staff enjoyed new furniture as we remodeled to make workspaces lighter, brighter, and more ergonomic. It was a long-awaited update, and everyone was excited to be a part of it. Simultaneously, the shop floor received numerous improvements. To further enhance safety, lines were painted for pedestrian and forklift traffic. The shipping warehouse has been transformed with new paint and additional racking to help improve the flow of product. Furthermore, we eliminated wasted motions and processes to reduce costs and meet heightened customer demand, flowing product more efficiently throughout the facility.
Our Human Resources Manager, Stephanie Hemker, had nothing but positive things to say about the improvements: “If an organization is going to continue to grow, it needs to be able to step back and ask two questions: what’s working and what’s not working. In 2022, we developed a game plan to transform the way we flow our parts through production because it felt like a pin ball machine with no sense of order. The biggest and hardest first step is getting all the excess/obsolete material out of the way. We knew we needed to conduct a major cleanup effort in our production areas to clear space for what we envisioned. With that step complete, teams of people worked on moving racking, painting, marking aisle ways, part consolidation, cell moves, finished goods moves, part analysis, etc. While we aren’t done, we will continue to push forward with changing the way we do things and asking ourselves those two important questions…what’s working and what’s not working.”
Community Involvement
Thern, Inc. was extremely involved within the Winona community in 2022. We attended the Goodview Days parade showcasing to residents what we do at our company and the products we make. Thern representatives visited career fairs at area colleges recruiting for internship opportunities, as well as full time hires and connecting with students. We also held multiple fundraiser events for causes like fighting cancer and the American Heart Association. To prove that work doesn’t always have to be serious, we had fun with our fellow employees by hosting a dress up week for Halloween and a day for sampling treats during the holiday season.
In conjunction with our global sales and marketing meeting during the month of July, Thern held an employee picnic with “Thern Olympics” to follow. It was a great way to get the entire company together and get to know each other face-to-face with great food and fun activities. In the days prior to the festivities, our sales and marketing representatives from around the world met to strategize about distributor development, new product concepts, and digital marketing efforts. Since we’ve been unable to meet and celebrate in person recently, it was extremely exciting for so many Thern employees to participate.
Our Industrial Market Manager, Jay Atienza, stated: “It’s always nice to get a chance to visit my co-workers in Winona. Not only did I get some face-to-face time with people that help me do my job on a daily basis, but it’s also reassuring to spend some time with quality employees that I rely on to help take care of customers and deliver a great product. There’s never a shortage of challenges, especially in the last few years, but it’s always motivating to be in a team with great intentions.”
As our 2022 achievements show, it’s been another very successful year for Thern. With 2023 upon us, we embrace the opportunity to continue to solve our customers’ most difficult challenges, facilitate positive change, and drive growth for our employees, our company, and our community. Many thanks to you for continuing to follow us and wishing you health, happiness, and success in the new year.