Telescope Casual, a Granville, N.Y.-based outdoor furniture manufacturer, will be recognized as Supplier of the Year at the fourth annual Casual Living Conference, “Inside Outdoor – Are You In It To Win It?,” set for Feb. 18-20, 2015 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla. In business since 1903, Telescope recently has been transforming its production process to maximize efficiency to serve the ever-changing needs of the marketplace. Many of its 285 employees have been involved with the transformation process, which began last summer in conjunction with lean consulting group, Honsha, Inc., using the philosophies and principles learned at Toyota. Telescope Casual CEO Kathy Juckett said she thinks employees at the factory, as well as dealers and sales reps, will be excited to learn of the honor, which will be presented at the All-Star Award dinner on the evening of Feb. 19. “They’re going to be thrilled, absolutely thrilled because they’re working very hard not only just at their regular jobs, but with our transformation that we’re undergoing to become the premier mass customization facility,” Juckett said. “They’re doing a lot of extra things along the way, and to have some recognition from the industry means a lot.” Kathy Juckett, Telescope Casual CEO Juckett went on to describe the initiative as “a complete and total cultural transformation of our entire facility.” The 111-year-old manufacturer was originally set up for mass production of products with very little variety. Over the past decade, consumer demand has caused the variety of its products to increase at an incredible rate. Non-value steps have been eliminated from its metal department, the company’s largest department. Juckett said sales reps who visited last week for the company’s annual sales meeting were astonished at the difference. “It’s basically been driven by what the customer wants,” Juckett said of the initiative. Casual Living’s editorial and research staff nominates vendors for this annual award with the final winner selected from a vote by the committee as well as with input from key retailers of each supplier. The vendors nominated are ones that best fit the criteria for the award, which honors manufacturers that “take their company and the industry as a whole to a new level through creativity, innovation and decisive and bold actions.” Source: http://www.casualliving.com/article/494348-telescope-casual-be-honored-casual-living-conference