Meat&Poultry - February 2011 - 49

Cher-Make invested in a rich, new packaging look for its family of sausages, which its executives feel matches the superior quality of their products. New packaging featuring photos of local athletes and community heroes create excitement. (Photo courtesy of
Cher-Make Sausage Co.)

the plant’s continuous-improvement efforts. “They offered to do a complete audit of our plant,” Chermak says. “Six people sat in the lunchroom and talked with our employees. They came back with 200 recommendations. They looked at everything from turns of inventory to the moods of our people. Then they said, ‘How can we attack this?’” WMEP’s field rep, Larry Franke, eventually joined Cher-Make as vice president of fi nance. This exercise convinced Chermak the company had to make changes whenever necessary to remain successful. “So, we created teams. I was involved in one team that worked on net weights, while other teams worked on eliminating waste throughout the operation,” Chermak says. “Then we got into Total Quality Management. We had technical-skills experts come in and teach us different methods. Then we said we have to get the right culture here so everyone read a book that everyone liked and agreed on titled ‘An Ounce of Application is Worth a Ton of Abstraction: A Practical Guide to Implementing Total Quality Management’ by J. Michael Crouch. “Everyone from office personnel to line people got a common language and we really worked on culture,” Chermak adds. “The last big step we took was deciding to hold continuous

improvement meetings once a week run by a different employee each time. “We encourage our people to speak out,” Chermak continues, “and they aren’t afraid to say anything. They get in front of supervisors and run meetings. In private-label and copack, customers give us their brand and have our people involved so if they’re stuffi ng a product and if the product should be but doesn’t look like Andouille sausage, for example, they are empowered to stop the line.” Cher-Make also has a group of veteran supervisors called The Docs, who know how to address any problem, Chermak says. “We have some people who have been here more than 30 years and they know what they’re doing. We work well together,” he adds.

Looking ahead
Chermak says his company needs good equipment that’s going to yield consistent product, superior food safety and allow the flexibility to make different products in a variety of grinds. And the company just began putting together a five-year building plan to improve product flow in the plant. “We have no immediate need to expand, but we have the physical space to grow,” Chermak says. But, Chermak insists, Cher-Make will continue to depend more on em-

ployee craftsmanship than further automation. “Speed is important. But if automation compromises our product or creates more waste, then we defeated our goal of creating quality products.” Cher-Make’s short-term challenge is addressing increasing material costs. “Nobody wants to see price increases, but they’re coming,” Chermak warns. “But I still think there’s a place for premium products like ours and if people are going to pay more, they want the best.” Long-term challenges include staying true to what it processes and identifying new customers who find value in carrying premium, authentic products. “Cheapening formulations and higher automation can get you some things, but how we make our sausage through our craftsmanship is what real sausagemaking is all about,” Chermak says. The company’s major opportunity remains helping customers differentiate their products from the competition. “We can help them to grow and differentiate,” Chermak says. “Private-label can be exciting and unique…and it is. We must continue to align ourselves with companies that want to develop products that set themselves apart. I see that as a real opportunity.” ■
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