Resumen en español

The plant of smelting of IMUSA S.A., like many productive plants of the metal mechanics sector that export their products, has complex and changing processes that, in addition to being flexible to the different exigencies from the market, must be prepared for a constantly variable demand. In this paper the present situation of the smelting plant is described and a practical application for the reduction of inventories, the improvement of the cash flow and capital under the methodology is formulated by Theory of Constraints TOC. This paper becomes a guide for the possible improvements that can be obtained in a plant, following the stages of TOC and using the resources at the correct moment. This work is based on a particular plant, but the improvements and changes can be applied to any industrial or service sector.