WICHITA, KAN. — Premium raw pet food company Stella & Chewy’s has partnered with Weavix, a provider of frontline workforce enablement solutions, to introduce communication technology to Stella & Chewy’s manufacturing facilities in Oak Creek, Wis. According to pet food company, the technology has helped it improve food and employee safety. 

Stella & Chewy’s deployed Weavix’s Walt® Smart Radio System at three manufacturing plants in Oak Creek and has seen strong results since the implementation over the past year.

“The Walt Radio System by Weavix has been a game-changer for our business,” said Michael Carter, senior vice president of operations at Stella & Chewy’s. “It’s wild to see how the adoption and utilization continue to exceed our expectations over time, even a year after we deployed. Our people-first initiatives, including enabling Walt Smart Radios across our facilities, have improved food and worker safety, employee satisfaction, and team camaraderie. The innovative solution has been a critical piece to our digital transformation and connected worker strategies.

“This was less about replacing our radio but more of a leveling up of our communications overall for everybody,” he added. “This is especially impressive since nearly half of all messages received were translated from English to Spanish or vice versa. In fact, 12 other languages were transcribed and translated in real-time by the incredible Walt AI translation engine for our employees at just one facility.”

Source: Stella & Chewy’s and Weavix

Weavix’s Walt Smart Radio system is specifically designed for challenging environments, like food processing and manufacturing facilities. Using reliable, sophisticated communication technology, the system can help improve workplace communication and overall safety, according to Weavix, serving as an alternative to walkie-talkies and two-way radios. The system includes push-to-talk (PTT) functionality, as well as picture and video messaging capabilities for improved communication. 

It also includes real-time language translation powered by Artificial Intelligence to help break down language barriers and ensure effective communication. This language translation ability allows employees to communicate with colleagues and their managers in their native language, helping improve Stella & Chewy’s operational efficiency. According to the companies, use of the system led to accelerated response times when addressing operational issues and also strengthened its team’s sense of connection to the organization. 

“Weavix’s business model works well for us, allowing the platform to be accessed across every plant and every employee on a site to close many communication gaps and language barriers,” Carter said.

“Before we introduced the Walt Smart Radios to our facility, most of our employees didn’t have a way to communicate with each other because of language barriers or not having a smart radio,” he added. “One aspect of using the radios that wasn’t appreciated until we deployed them was their ability to take a diverse employee base and to help them feel included and feel like they belong here. Walt Smart Radio is a game-changer for Stella & Chewy’s.”

Additionally, Walt by Weavix includes a mass emergency alert system and man-down safety features with high-indication displays and loud alerts, quickly informing workers and allowing them to act. The alert system can be customized to fit any specific situation or even target a specific set of employees, maintaining overall employee safety. 

“At Weavix, we believe in the power of technology and in giving every worker a voice,” said Kevin Turpin, founder and chief executive officer of Weavix. “By equipping each employee with a Walt smart radio, thousands of safety-focused competitive companies like Stella & Chewy’s can improve communication and create a more inclusive workplace where every team member has direct access to one another enabled by tools they need to succeed.”

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