An inside take
Brr, I woke up this morning to a chilly 5F and the sun will get up at 9:30AM and stay up until 1:27PM..!
It is that time of year when we barely get the sun over the horizon, the downside to having midnight sun in the summer.
Took a 30 minute walk with my best four-legged friend Milton on the Skellefteå Disc Golf Terminalen that is empty this time of year. You can definitely see a course in a different way in the winter time.
During the walk I looked forward to going to work and get into the main production facility and the automated machines we use to produce the discs for Latitude 64, Dynamic Discs and Westside Discs. Getting in there in the winter and seeing the guys and girls working in shorts is a surreal picture.
Now we are in the period of the year when the disc golf season has come to an end in most parts of the world. However, we are now going full speed on production to be able to meet deadlines for the spring orders.
Improvements made
So how do I summarize 2018 as far as our company and factory goes?
Well this year we have taken massive steps I would say. The biggest change within how we work on a daily basis is that we have been running with Lean production and 5S for the last 12 months. This has had its challenges but asking around, nobody wants to go back to the way we worked before and we have barely scratched the surface of this working philosophy. There are years ahead of us of further steps that will enable us to be even more productive, increase quality and have a more stress free work environment.
The last months we have also worked very hard with R&D that we haven’t done in a systematic way and this has opened up new potential for what we can do in 2019 and forward.
The cages around the machines has also been improved to have an even safer work environment while giving the operators a better position to trouble shoot and maintain an even higher quality standard. I am thrilled that we have switched to working with the robots rather than against them.
In order to be more efficient and improve coordination between the three different brands we we will now have a Team Director. I am very impressed with what has been put in place for 2019 and I see that we will serve the team better than ever.
Generation change
Yes. Going into 2019 we decided it was time for a generation change and that has been put into motion. While the manufacturers battle for top players has increased, what’s expected of the players has also increased. To evaluate a player today you have to look at talent, social media skills, commercial mindset, interactions with people, being a role model. etc. It is a new world today compared to when you could just focus on playing.
Latitude 64 will continue to see the team as an important part of our business.
Of course the organizational changes as well as adding new skilled people has been a blast. I feel really strong moving forward, we have the right people in place to drive our company and the sport forward. I see how our great crew is evolving all the time. I know I need to get better to compliment them.
Finally I want to take the chance to let people speculate some more.
The biggest news for us has yet to be announced. Stay tuned for more news coming in early 2019.
Time to get going and get to work. By the way I have never seen this as Work. It is an adventure that I am privileged and proud to be a part of.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holidays to you all!
Best Regards,
David Berglund, CEO at Latitude 64°
