How Rockline Industries Strengthened Ownership and Accountability Across 7 Sites
INDUSTRY
Consumer products
manufacturing
Process Based Leadership® and Visuant® helped Rockline connect frontline teams and leadership, clarify ownership, and strengthen follow-through on corrective actions.
LOCATION
Seven sites in
the U.S. and U.K.
SOLUTIONS
Process Based Leadership®
& Visuant®
PARTNERSHIP
CSI’s partner
since 2010
THE CHALLENGE
A growing company needed clearer ownership and more reliable communication
Unclear expectations & visibility
Performance targets weren’t consistently communicated or reviewed with the right people.
Communication gaps
Performance updates, daily plans, and quality and safety issues weren’t consistently shared up and down the organization.
Rockline began as a coffee filter maker with 30 associates in a small Wisconsin town and grew into a multi-site manufacturer under three generations of family leadership. When Rockline and CSI began working together in 2010, the company needed to reinforce its strong culture with more consistent ownership and accountability.
Inconsistent meetings
Meetings lacked focus, missed key issues, and produced few clear actions.
Weak ownership & engagement
Corrective actions lacked clear owners and follow-through, while engagement was low and turnover was high.
Identified the critical few metrics each organizational tier directly controls.
Meetings begin with action register, capturing causes and corrective actions.
HOW CSI HELPED
Making ownership visible and communication actionable
Competitive Solutions Inc. (CSI) introduced Process Based Leadership® (PBL) and Visuant® to connect frontline teams and leadership, clarify accountability for performance gaps, and track corrective actions through completion.
More than 300 colleagues trained and coached on the system.
Tier meetings with the same standing agenda at every level.
Pass-up / pass-down connects frontline teams and executives at every tier.
Used Visuant® to connect scorecards, actions, meetings, and results in one system.
MEASURED RESULTS
Stronger ownership. Clearer accountability. Measurable progress.
FINANCE
$400,000+
saved in workforce costs from lower turnover
Following its adoption of Process Based Leadership® and Visuant®, Rockline reported improved equipment effectiveness, higher employee retention, and lower workforce costs, alongside 3× revenue growth.
EQUIPMENT
$20M
+6 points
OEE improvement
PEOPLE
50%
reduction in plant turnover
FINANCE
3x
revenue growtH
BEFORE: Unclear Communication & Ownership
Performance expectations weren’t consistently communicated
Performance misses lacked ownership
Meetings lacked focus & clear next steps
Information didn’t reliably flow up/down
Limited visibility into actions & progress
BEFORE & AFTER
From communication gaps to connected teams and visible accountability
PBL and Visuant helped Rockline turn performance discussions into clear commitments, improve information flow, and make corrective actions easier to track.
AFTER: Connected Teams & Visible Accountability
Clear priorities and targets reinforced through scorecard reviews
Documented actions with owners, due dates & visible follow-through
Standing agendas and action reviews keep meetings focused
Pass-up/pass-down communication connects frontline & executives
Visuant connects scorecards, actions & meetings in one system
Hear it from Rockline Leaders
Ladio Hanzes, General Manager, shares how Visuant strengthened plant communication and accountability.
“Visuant helps us hold everyone accountable. We’ve made a 6-point improvement in OEE, and we’re able to focus on the next set of improvements because we’re no longer firefighting the day-to-day issues”
Pat Rusch, General Manager of Manufacturing, shares how aligned leadership transformed performance across a large scale operation.
“Visuant and PBL brought our disconnected approaches into one system. We’ve seen significant productivity improvements, world-class safety results, and turnover cut almost in half, saving over $400,000 in recruitment, training, and replacement expenses.”
TAKEAWAY
Rockline strengthened ownership and accountability by connecting clear expectations, regular communication, and visible follow-through. Teams gained a clearer understanding of performance, who owns each corrective action, and what needs to happen next.
About Rockline Industries
Rockline Industries was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Sheboygan, Wis. It is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of coffee filters and consumer, health care, industrial and institutional wet wipes. A family-owned company, Rockline has repeatedly created first-to-market product design solutions for the wet wipe consumer and continues to provide innovative products to the nonwovens industry. Rockline employs nearly 2,500 people worldwide and has manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin, Arkansas, New Jersey, Tennessee and England. For more information on Rockline Industries, visit www.rocklineind.com.
YOUR NEXT STEPS
Strengthen communication. Make accountability visible.
Talk with CSI about how Process Based Leadership® and Visuant® can help your teams clarify priorities, take ownership, and follow through on corrective actions.