When Jon Howland joined the Spee-Dee team four years ago with a mechanical engineering degree and experience in areas like aerospace engineering and nuclear manufacturing, he noticed something significant: there wasn't a formal quality system in place.
After all, at the time, Spee-Dee had built a reputation as a family-owned, Made in the USA manufacturer that developed and delivered high-quality filling and checkweighing solutions across the packaging industry.
"It wasn't really in my mind to give Spee-Dee a quality system at the time, because I knew it would be a huge undertaking," Jon said. But as he learned more about how Spee-Dee operated, he realized he could tailor his knowledge and experience to fit our needs.
"We're not launching anything into space where we need specs upon specs upon specs,” Howland said. “But we can get a lot better as far as quality goes—be more consistent and standardized."
Today, as our Quality Manager at Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery, Jon has transformed our approach to quality. Not by imposing rigid systems, but by building quality into our culture itself. Read on to find out how!
The Power of Buy-In
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For a quality system to work, it can't just be one person's initiative—it needs to be woven into how everyone operates. Jon understood this from the start, so he got the buy-in he needed from Spee-Dee's leadership team, including Dave Navin, Spee-Dee's President and CEO; Jaime Schultz, the company’s COO (and Jon’s boss); and Mark Navin, Spee-Dee's Vice President of Business Development.
"I started out slow with it. I didn't want to scare anyone," he says. Howland introduced changes in small, comfortable groups, showing people exactly where things were going and how to use the new systems. Most importantly, he shared ownership. "We all share that dedication to the final product—to succeed in meeting our standards and then exceed our customers' expectations."
Our adoption of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) further reinforced this cultural shift.
"It's not just one or two departments looking at improving things. It's everybody," said Mark Navin. "Prior to Jon, and prior to developing our Quality Program, we had a lot of different departments running very differently. Now we're all on the same page, all looking at quality and continuous improvement collaboratively."
Starting with the Fundamentals of Quality
Jon’s approach began with something deceptively simple: documentation. He implemented a Non-Conformance Report (NCR) system that gave everyone in our company the power to raise their hand and say, "Hey, I see something wrong here."
"We weren't really recording our problems before," Howland explains. The impact was immediate. "It's been like night and day—just looking at the data, looking at the trends. What are our heavy hitters, what can we attack next?"
One vendor alone accounted for 16% of all of Spee-Dee's NCRs initially. Through collaborative work and consistent feedback, that's been reduced to about one NCR per quarter – well within an acceptable range.
"I think showing results, that things are improving, was a big help," Howland said.
Quality Built Into Every Decision
At Spee-Dee, quality isn't just a final inspection—it's embedded in every process and decision we make. We now conduct 100% inspection of everything that comes in from vendors and perform first article inspections on any new part.
"Quality here really isn't just a final inspection. It's built into every decision, every process, and every part that we produce," Jon emphasizes. "The sum of the machine is only equal to the sum of its parts."
This philosophy extends to innovation as well. Our R&D projects go through the same rigorous review, inspection and testing as production runs. When we developed a new seal in a different color, we tested it extensively because pigment can slightly change mechanical properties.
"We want to be certain we deliver for our customers and meet the standards they've come to expect from us," Mark Navin said. “That’s a high bar, and the advancements we’ve made not only will keep us there, but help us to push Spee-Dee's quality standard forward even more.”
The Human Side of Quality
What makes our approach unique is how we balance accountability with collaboration. When working with vendors who have quality issues, Jon takes a partnership approach rather than an accusatory one.
"I'm usually non-accusatory, like, 'Hey, this is an issue, let's try and fix it,'" Howland said. "Taking more of a collaborative approach rather than just, 'Hey, you need to be accountable for this.'" We address issues proactively while maintaining positive vendor relationships.
Quality You Can See
The results of our cultural commitment to quality are visible. "We're not only mechanically capable but visually stronger," Jon observes. "Our standards for what we're willing to give to the customer are a lot more stringent than what I've seen—even at trade shows and industry events like PACK EXPO."
If something's scratched up, our team takes time to polish it. We don't want customers receiving anything that looks damaged or subpar. "It's not just about working well. You want it to look right too. You want customers to be proud to have Spee-Dee filling and checkweighing equipment."
The Bottom Line Impact
Our quality improvements directly impact profitability, though Jon is working to quantify this more precisely. A recent internal study revealed that catching non-conformances during inspection versus later in assembly creates a huge cost difference. "The further along a part gets, the more people and processes are involved, and the more expensive it is to fix. Catching it early saves money, which we can then pass on to the customer and also reinvest in the business," Howland said.
A Phased Approach to Transformation
Jon describes his strategy as turning a dial. "Something that can go to 11 if we wanted to, but we started at like a one or a two. Now we're probably dialed up to a three or four. And I just want to crank that dial a little bit more in a sustainable way."
He broke the transformation into three phases:
1) development
2) procedure and implementation
3) expansion
"I wanted to make sure it wasn't a shock to the system—to suddenly start with quality and holding ourselves accountable."
Beyond Quality: A Culture of Care
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Beyond quality control, Jon is also chairperson of our Safety Committee, conducting a company-wide PPE assessment to specify appropriate protective equipment for each task rather than applying blanket rules.
"We want everyone to leave in the same condition they came in," he says simply.
This holistic approach reflects our broader philosophy—one that trusts internal experts to do their jobs and empowers them to make meaningful differences. Quality, safety, innovation, and customer service aren't separate initiatives but interconnected elements of a culture that values excellence at every level.
Jon’s journey here at Spee-Dee demonstrates that sustainable quality improvements aren't about imposing systems from above. They're about building quality into organizational culture. By starting small, earning buy-in, showing results and empowering everyone to contribute, we've transformed from a company without a formal quality system to one where quality is simply how we do business.
Sometimes the best person for an impossible job is someone who understands both the challenge and the opportunity, and who has the patience to build something that lasts. At Spee-Dee, we're proud that Jon Howland is one of those people, and we're excited about where our commitment to quality—and to each other—will take us next.
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