LEWISTON — Maine-made Bourgeois guitars have earned a reputation among professional musicians for being among the finest crafted acoustic guitars in the world.

The small firm that manufacturers them is earning a reputation among investors for being one of the best performing companies in the state.

Pantheon-Bourgeois Guitars, LLC, recently received the first Achievement Award from the Small Enterprise Growth Fund. The award recognized the company’s outstanding productivity and revenue growth in the past year. That growth was driven in part by a project in the spring of 2012 with the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership that helped the company streamline its production process and improve production efficiencies.

In April 2012 Maine MEP began working with Pantheon-Bourgeois Guitars to review its production process. Maine MEP Project Manager Wayne Messer examined how the company could streamline its production process within its existing facility.

Utilizing lean manufacturing tools and techniques, the project team analyzed the process flow and brainstormed ideas for overcoming bottlenecks in terms of material and human movement. Diagrams highlighted areas of improvement. Most importantly, the team developed a plan for continuously improving the production process and an ideal layout for the facility.


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