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Sourcing a Critical Part for Smurfit Westrock in Yakima

MCC sourced a Siemens heavy-duty disconnect it does not stock for Smurfit Westrock’s Yakima plant, finding the only available unit in the country and getting it on its way across the U.S. in under 34 hours.

Last updated: October 27, 2026

Executive Summary

At 3:45 p.m. on September 2, 2026, the Smurfit Westrock corrugated packaging plant in Yakima, Washington was down. The facility needed a Siemens HNF664J heavy-duty non-fused disconnect, a part Motors & Controls Corporation does not stock and a brand MCC does not distribute. Fifteen minutes later, MCC inside sales veteran Phil Lizee had located what appeared to be the only available unit in the United States, at a vendor in New Jersey, and sent a quote.

By 6:30 that evening, Phil had worked the vendor's after hours line and coordinated with Westrock's freight forwarder to set up an early morning pickup. The 80-pound pallet left New Jersey the next morning and was scheduled to reach Yakima at approximately 1:30 a.m. on September 4, less than 34 hours after Westrock's first call.

Quick Review: Motors & Controls sourced a Siemens HNF664J heavy-duty disconnect — a part and brand MCC does not carry — finding the only available unit in the U.S. within 15 minutes and scheduling the part to arrive in less than 34 hours, versus a 14-week lead time elsewhere.

Project type: Emergency sourcing and expedited freight coordination for a non-stocked electrical component

Industry: Corrugated Packaging / Manufacturing

Scope: Locate, quote, purchase, and ship a Siemens 200 amp, 600 volt non-fused heavy-duty safety switch from New Jersey to Yakima, working with the customer’s freight forwarder

Role: Motors & Controls located the part, quoted it within 15 minutes, arranged the vendor’s after-hours pickup, and coordinated freight with CAP Logistics, keeping the customer updated at every step.

Project Background

Smurfit Westrock's Yakima plant manufactures corrugated boxes and custom packaging for customers across the region. When a plant like this stops, finished orders stop with it, and every hour of downtime carries a cost in idle labor and delayed shipments.

Westrock has been an MCC customer since 2014, and sales to the Yakima facility have grown steadily over the past three years. The account is supported by MCC outside sales representative Jenny Colgan and by Phil Lizee, an inside sales representative at MCC since 1996. When Westrock Maintenance Coordinator Kim West needed help that afternoon, MCC was one of her first calls.

The Challenge

Kim West reached out at 3:45 p.m. with an urgent quote request. The facility was down, and the fix required a Siemens HNF664J: a 200 amp, 600 volt, six-pole, non-fused heavy-duty safety switch in a Type 3R/12 enclosure. Westrock was hoping to find the part in-stock locally for a same-day repair.

Local stock did not exist. Some national online distributors listed the switch as in stock, but its listing carried a 14-week lead time. Time of day mattered. With less than an hour of the business day left in the Pacific Northwest, it was already 6:45 p.m. on the East Coast, and most suppliers there had closed for the day.

Implementation

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Phil started calling and emailing suppliers the moment the request came in. Within 15 minutes he had found a vendor in New Jersey with one unit on the shelf. As far as Phil could determine, it was the only one available in the country. At 4:00 p.m. he sent Kim a quote for next-day shipment.

Westrock uses CAP Logistics as its freight forwarder, and the plan was for CAP to pick up the part early the next morning and get it moving west the same day. Once Kim approved the purchase, Phil reached the vendor through its after-hours line and arranged an 8:30 a.m. Eastern pickup. He then walked through CAP's pickup options with Kim, and the plan was finalized at 6:30 p.m. At 7:00 p.m., Phil emailed Kim the order confirmation, the vendor's confirmation, and a status update.

Phil did not wait for start of business to tell him whether the plan held. At 6:00 a.m. Pacific, on his way into work, he called the vendor to confirm the pickup was set. He dialed the number from memory. Phil has a near-photographic memory for numbers. By 6:15 a.m. he had left Kim a voicemail confirming everything was on track, and he texted Jenny Colgan so she could update everyone involved at Westrock.

By 8:00 a.m. Pacific, CAP Logistics had picked up the 80-pound pallet in New Jersey. From there, the part had to cross the country. CAP could not secure a flight into Yakima's small regional airport, and the shipment was scheduled to arrive at the plant at approximately 1:30 a.m. on September 4.

Results

MCC turned an urgent request for a part it does not stock, from a brand it does not carry, into a confirmed solution in 15 minutes. The full plan, covering vendor, after-hours pickup, and freight, was locked in by 6:30 p.m. on the day of the call. The part was in transit by 8:00 a.m. the next morning and scheduled to reach Yakima in less than 34 hours from Kim's first call, against a 14-week lead time from the only other listed source.

Kim and the Westrock team were kept informed at every step, through a written confirmation that evening, a voicemail before 6:30 the next morning, and updates to the wider team through Jenny Colgan.

Conclusion

MCC does not limit its help to the products on its own shelves. When a customer is down, the job is to find the right part wherever it is and get it moving. That means knowing which suppliers to call, reaching them after hours, and working with the customer's own freight partners to close the gap.

For Smurfit Westrock, the difference was experience. Phil Lizee brought 30 years of inside sales knowledge to a part MCC had never carried, and he followed it through from the first call to the morning pickup. That is what a 12-year customer relationship looks like when it is tested.