Innovation in Action: Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement

In September 2026, Novo Lean Solutions was recognized for its commitment to innovation at the Made in CT Manufacturing Summit, receiving an Innovation Award during the event held at the Connecticut Convention Center.

The summit brought together more than 1,000 manufacturing professionals, industry leaders, and innovators from across Connecticut to celebrate the state's manufacturing community and highlight the companies developing solutions that are helping shape the future of the industry.

The Innovation Award recognizes Novo's continued efforts to develop practical, forward-thinking solutions that address real-world manufacturing challenges. Through Novo Lean Solutions, the company applies its manufacturing experience and Lean principles to create solutions that can benefit not only its own operations, but manufacturers across a wide range of industries.

“Novo is able to innovate and create solutions not only for their facilities but able to create solutions for other manufacturers,” - Phoebe Gonzales, Business Development Advisor at CONNSTEP.

CONNSTEP: Who We Are and What We Do » CBIA

The recognition reflects Novo's longstanding Kaizen culture, which emphasizes continuous improvement and encourages employees to consistently look for opportunities to make processes better, safer, and more efficient.

For Novo Lean Solutions, innovation isn't limited to a single product or project. It is an ongoing process of identifying challenges, developing solutions, and continuously improving the way manufacturing work gets done.

The Innovation Award serves as a recognition of that commitment—and a reminder that the best solutions often begin with a simple question: How can we do this better?

Innovation Starts With a Better Question

Manufacturing challenges aren't always obvious. Sometimes, improving a process means taking a closer look at how people move, where materials are stored, how information is accessed, or how a workstation is organized.

At Novo Lean Solutions, we believe innovation starts by asking:

Is there a better way to do this?

Our team works alongside manufacturers to identify opportunities for improvement and develop solutions around the specific needs of their operations. Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach, we focus on practical solutions designed for the people and processes using them every day.

Kaizen: Small Improvements, Big Impact

Kaizen is at the heart of how we approach continuous improvement.

The philosophy of Kaizen focuses on making ongoing, incremental improvements. In a manufacturing environment, those improvements can take many forms—from reorganizing a workstation to reduce unnecessary motion to developing a completely new solution for a complex production challenge.

Each improvement may seem small on its own, but together, they can create meaningful changes in productivity, efficiency, ergonomics, and overall workflow.

That's the mindset we bring to every Novo Lean Solutions project.

Turning Innovation Into Practical Solutions

Innovation only matters when it solves a real problem.

Novo Lean Solutions combines Lean principles with engineering, fabrication, automation, and hands-on manufacturing experience to create solutions that work in real production environments.

Our solutions are designed to help manufacturers:

Improve workflow and material flow

Reduce unnecessary motion and waste

Create more ergonomic workspaces

Improve organization and accessibility

Increase production visibility

Build flexible and scalable processes

From customized workstations to specialized Lean solutions, our goal is always the same: create a better way to work.

Putting People at the Center

A strong Lean culture recognizes that the people doing the work often have the best insight into how a process can be improved.

That's why operator experience is an important part of our approach.

By designing workstations and solutions around the people who use them, we can help create environments where tools, materials, technology, and information are positioned to support the work—not get in the way of it.

This combination of people, process, and innovation is what makes continuous improvement possible.

Recognizing a Culture of Innovation

Receiving the Innovation Award at the Made in CT Manufacturing Summit is an exciting achievement for Novo and Novo Lean Solutions.

The award represents more than a single product or project. It reflects the creativity, problem-solving, collaboration, and continuous improvement that go into developing solutions for today's manufacturing challenges.

Most importantly, it reinforces what we believe at Novo:

Innovation isn't a destination. It's part of a culture.

Our Kaizen culture encourages us to keep asking questions, challenging existing processes, and searching for opportunities to make things better.

And as manufacturing continues to evolve, we'll continue evolving with it.

At Novo Lean Solutions, we're not just building solutions. We're building a better way forward—one improvement at a time.

A Second Challenge: Automating Nickel Strip Production

In another application, the goal was different: develop an economical automated solution for a relatively low-volume nickel strip operation.

The system needed to feed and straighten .187-inch-wide by .010-inch-thick nickel strip, roll form a crown-shaped section, cut the material into 3-inch lengths, stack 16 finished pieces into a cassette, and automatically position an empty cassette for the next production cycle.

Novo again utilized the #2 Servo Feed System, this time pulling material from a motorized payoff through a single-plane #1 PWS Precision Straightener.

Special contour-ground feed wheels formed the required crown into the strip. Because the forming process could affect material straightness, a custom post-feed straightening station was incorporated to recalibrate the material and provide consistent flatness for stacking.

A standard #3 pneumatic cutter head cut each piece to the required length. The following feed cycle then transferred the finished blank into a positioned cassette.

Once 16 blanks had been loaded, an automatic cassette indexing station moved the completed cassette onto an exit track and positioned the next empty cassette from a preloaded stack.

Servo Feeders & Control Systems | Novo Precision

One System, Customized Around the Application

These applications demonstrate the versatility of Novo Precision's servo feed technology. Although the production requirements were very different, both solutions combined standard equipment with application-specific engineering to automate multiple manufacturing steps within a single process.

From long medical guide wires requiring precise cutting and automatic segregation to formed nickel strips requiring straightening, cutting, stacking, and cassette indexing, the equipment was configured around the needs of the application.

Have a production challenge that could benefit from automated feeding, straightening, cutting, or material handling? Novo Precision can help determine whether a customized servo feed system is the right solution for your application.

Why Companies Choose Novo Precision for Assembly Services

In today's manufacturing environment, companies are under constant pressure to improve quality, reduce costs, shorten lead times, and minimize supply chain risk. Whether you're launching a new product, scaling production, or looking to bring manufacturing back to the United States, your assembly partner plays a defining role in your success.

For more than 40 years, Novo Precision has helped companies in many industries solve manufacturing challenges through comprehensive assembly solutions. From sub-assemblies to complete finished products, we provide the expertise, flexibility, and support needed to turn ideas into reality.