Foss Performance Materials: JD Edwards 9.2 Upgrade

About the Client

A well-known leader and pioneer in the use of nonwoven needle punch fabrics and specialty synthetic fibers in an ever-expanding number of environments and circumstances, Foss Performance Materials operates from a state-of-the-art, computerized production facility in Hampton, N.H.

Founded in 1952, the manufacturer’s primary products include rolled, needle-punched nonwoven materials for the automotive industry. The company also makes specialty fabrics, including the red and blue “felts” that are installed in automatic carwash facilities.

Challenges the Client Faced

A division of AstenJohnson Inc., Foss Performance Materials was operating on a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.12 system that was installed in 2009. This past summer, GSI, Inc., helped the 350-employee manufacturer complete a technical upgrade to the latest release of JDE EnterpriseOne.

Scot Hillebrand, Information Technology Lead, said that while the existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system was “up, running, and stable,” the company wanted to lay a foundation for its own future success.

GSI's Solution

For help achieving that goal, the manufacturer looked at several well-known consulting firms that had good reputations in the JDE world. “We leaned on GSI because we felt that its proposal was most accurate from an expectation standpoint,” Hillebrand said of the company’s decision to work with GSI. “They had an inside track on really knowing our environment; it came down to a matter of trust.”

GSI also helped Foss Performance Materials meet its intended implementation timelines. “We put a go-live date on the calendar and that date was met,” said Hillebrand, who adds that other milestones established throughout the life of the project (e.g., building the new environment, retrofitting, etc.) were also achieved in a timely manner.