Leonard’s Syrups: Detroit Based. An American Success Story. 

Founded in 1964 by Leonard Bugajewski Sr. and his son Leonard Jr., Leonard’s Syrups is a leading supplier in Detroit, Saginaw, and Grand Rapids of craft soda, bulk CO2 beverage gas, draft beer and liquor equipment, soda machines, ice machines, slush, frozen carbonated beverages, and more. The company sells to bars, restaurants, and numerous other commercial locations. 

Leonard’s is well known in the Detroit area and throughout Michigan for its colorful vans, Detroit City Soda, assortment of soda syrups, juices, and other products, and unparalleled service. Today, Leonard Jr. continues to serve as CEO. His son Leonard III is President and daughter Sherri Iskra is Vice President, where she is involved in project management, IT, operations, and finances. A son, Steve, who was the technologist in the family, passed away about 10 years ago. Several members of the family’s fourth generation now work at the company. 
Leonard’s has 120 employees at three locations, with all manufacturing at the company’s Detroit facility. 

Increasing Sales Required a Different Approach

Based on its assortment of great products, outstanding service, and entrepreneurial attitude, Leonard’s has consistently grown. On a typical day, Leonard’s would produce 700 boxes of soda concentrate syrup, packaged in a “bag-in-box.” 
But Leonard’s bag-in-box business faced two problems: 

1. Speed

The company needed to expand capacity and produce more boxes. “We had to increase our speed if we wanted to grow,” said Iskra, who noted that the company would not be able to add more customers or distributors unless they increased their production throughput.
Leonard’s already operated six days per week during busy periods to keep up with orders. The company could increase production volume by adding a second shift , but in Iskra’s view, that would be impossible, because in the tight labor market, the company could barely find enough people to work one shift. Adding labor was not the answer.

2. Weight

Each box of the soda concentrate syrup weighs about 55 pounds. The current manufacturing process required the production crew to manually lift each box off the line and place it on a pallet. At 700 boxes per day, Leonard’s aging workforce found this repetitive lifting physically strenuous.
Iskra concluded that the company could not continue to operate the same old way. To grow and ease the burden on employees, it was necessary to make a change. After asking, “What could solve both of these problems?” Iskra found the answer in automation. Continue Reading >>