Company Name:	Twist-ems
Industry:	Packaging
Location:	Mfg: Fort Mohave, AZ  Sales: Fullerton, CA
Website:	twistems.com
Software Systems:	MISys Manufacturing and QuickBooks

Twist-ems

Discover how Twist-ems, the company behind the iconic twist tie and a range of steel and paper closure products, optimized its manufacturing operations with MISys while continuing to rely on QuickBooks for accounting. The result?

• Advanced manufacturing capabilities not possible with other solutions
• Seamless integration with QuickBooks, no need to switch accounting systems
• Greater visibility and control across production and inventory

This story highlights how manufacturers can gain powerful production tools without disrupting the systems they already depend on.

Twist-ems Customer Success Story

How Twist-ems improved inventory accuracy and cash flow with MISys Manufacturing

I recently sat down with the team at Twist-ems to learn about their experience using MISys Manufacturing alongside QuickBooks Enterprise.

About Twist-ems

Twist-ems is the company that invented the twist tie. Founded in 1939 during World War II, the company created an innovative closure solution by combining wire, paper, and glue to bundle vegetables when rope was in short supply.

Today, Twist-ems manufactures a wide range of packaging products for industries including produce, bakery, coffee, and medical packaging. Their products include:

• Traditional twist ties
• Label ties
• Branded rubber band solutions

Their company tagline says it best:

“Bunch. Band. Brand.”

Twist-ems is headquartered in Fort Mojave, Arizona, with sales and distribution support in Southern California.

The Challenge

Before implementing MISys, Twist-ems relied primarily on QuickBooks Enterprise and spreadsheets to manage manufacturing operations.

As the company grew, several major issues began impacting operations:

Inventory Inaccuracy

The company struggled with large inventory variances due to the precision required in their manufacturing process.

Twist-ems frequently converts measurements between:

• Weight
• Length
• Cost per foot
• Cost per inch

Some calculations required tracking values out to six or seven decimal places.

As a result:

• Monthly inventory counts were inconsistent
• Costing calculations were unreliable
• Teams lost confidence in the numbers

In some cases, inventory swings reached:

• 15,000–20,000 pounds of wire
• Tens of thousands of dollars in variance

Manufacturing Complexity

Their products involve:

• Long continuous materials
• Subassemblies
• Work-in-process tracking
• Scrap factors
• Precision BOM calculations

QuickBooks alone could not support the level of manufacturing control they needed.

Why They Chose MISys

Twist-ems began researching manufacturing solutions after becoming increasingly frustrated with system limitations.

What stood out about MISys was scalability.

The team wanted a solution that:

• Was simple enough for employees to adopt
• Could grow alongside the business
• Integrated with QuickBooks Enterprise
• Supported advanced manufacturing precision

MISys provided that balance.

The Implementation Experience

A major factor in the project’s success was the SureStart onboarding process and their coach, Darren.

According to the Twist-ems team, Darren first focused on understanding how their business actually worked before configuring the system.

This included:

• Converting weights to lengths
• Managing extreme decimal precision
• Building accurate BOMs
• Tracking WIP and scrap
• Creating import/export spreadsheets
• Structuring part numbers properly

The implementation became a collaborative effort involving multiple employees across departments.

Instead of relying on a single person, the company distributed ownership across the team, helping employees become invested in the system’s success.

The Results

Dramatically Improved Inventory Accuracy

The improvements in inventory accuracy were immediate and significant.

Before MISys:

• Inventory variances were often in the tens of thousands of dollars

After MISys:

• Variances dropped to just hundreds of dollars
• Many discrepancies simply balanced themselves out

The team now trusts the system and the data.

Better Cash Flow

One of the biggest operational wins was improved inventory turns.

Previously, Twist-ems kept roughly:

• 3 months of raw material inventory

Now they maintain:

• About 6 weeks of inventory

That reduction dramatically improved:

• Cash flow
• Working capital efficiency
• Financial visibility

According to the team, the business moved from having accounts receivable and payable closely balanced to having AR significantly ahead of AP.

Improved Employee Morale

The impact extended beyond operations.

Before MISys, employees became discouraged when inventory counts repeatedly showed large discrepancies. Team members often felt personally responsible for problems caused by system limitations.

Now:

• Employees trust the numbers
• Teams feel ownership of the process
• Morale has improved significantly
• Staff feel more confident in their work

More Accurate Pricing and Margins

With accurate bills of materials and costing data, Twist-ems can now:

• Calculate margins more accurately
• Make better pricing decisions
• Evaluate customer profitability
• Improve sales decision-making

QuickBooks Integration

Twist-ems continues using QuickBooks Enterprise alongside MISys.

Their current workflow:

• Manufacturing operations run inside MISys
• Finished goods transfer daily into QuickBooks
• QuickBooks primarily handles accounting functions

The company briefly explored QuickBooks Online during implementation but found it was not robust enough for their manufacturing requirements.

Keys to Success

According to the Twist-ems team, several factors made the implementation successful:

1. Internal Team Buy-In

Employees across the company participated in the implementation and took ownership of different tasks.

2. Strong Process Leadership

Nancy’s understanding of both accounting and operational systems helped bridge the gap between finance and manufacturing.

3. Expert Guidance

Darren’s patience, consistency, and deep understanding of manufacturing processes played a critical role in the project’s success.

4. Collaborative Implementation

Rather than outsourcing the entire project, the company invested internally in understanding and building the system correctly.

Final Thoughts

Twist-ems’ experience demonstrates how the right manufacturing system can transform:

• Inventory accuracy
• Cash flow
• Employee confidence
• Operational visibility
• Profitability

By combining MISys Manufacturing with QuickBooks Enterprise, Twist-ems created a scalable manufacturing workflow capable of handling the precision and complexity of their business.