March 18, 2025 Weavix’s Walt Smart Radios Transform Communication

Stella & Chewy’s employees transmitted six million Walt Smart Radio messages in 2024 with AI-powered real-time translation in 12 languages.

WICHITA, Kan. — Weavix, the pioneer in frontline workforce enablement solutions and the maker of the Walt® Smart Radio System, today announced that Stella & Chewy’s, the category leader in the premium raw pet food space, has seen strong results by deploying Walt Smart radios by Weavix across all Oak Creek, Wisconsin manufacturing facilities for three plants, delivering roughly six million total messages over the past year. This strategic deployment successfully democratized communication technology at the manufacturer’s facilities for the first time.

“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.”

He continued: “This was less about replacing our radio but more of a leveling up of our communications overall for everybody. 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.”

Weavix’s ruggedized Walt Smart Radio is explicitly built for challenging environments like manufacturing or food processing facilities, combining reliability with sophisticated technology to improve workplace communication and safety. Historically, most facilities at Stella & Chewy’s used just a few supplied walkie-talkies or two-way radios for select staff.

Carter continued: “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.”

The Walt Smart Radio System includes push-to-talk (PTT) functionality and picture and video messaging capabilities for improved communication via its Walt device or companion app. Its AI-powered real-time language translation helps break down language barriers and allows people to communicate with one another.

Giving employees the ability to communicate freely to colleagues and managers in their native language improved the company’s operational efficiency, accelerated response times when issues arose, and strengthened the team’s sense of connection to their team to the greater organization.

“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,” continued Carter. “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.”

Walt by Weavix includes a mass emergency alert system and man-down safety features that allow workers to be informed and aware. The alert system can be customized to fit any situation or target specific workers. The high-indication display and loud alerts make these easily noticeable for workers to act. This capability ensures that employees have reliable communication tools when seconds count to maintain safety and coordination.

“At Weavix, we believe in the power of technology and in giving every worker a voice,” said Kevin Turpin, Founder and CEO 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.”

About Weavix
Weavix’s mission is to connect every disconnected worker. Born in the field, not the boardroom, we understand the daily challenges industrial teams face because we’ve lived them. This real-world experience drove us to create Walt – the world’s most advanced frontline engagement and communications system leveraging the power of AI.  Weavix serves customers across manufacturing, construction and hospitality including Kraft, Panasonic, and Hanes.

For more information, visit www.weavix.com.

About Stella & Chewy’s
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Oak Creek Wisconsin, Stella & Chewy’s strives to provide the highest quality raw and natural pet food with an emphasis on nutrition, palatability, safety and convenience. The company’s dog and cat products include frozen patties and morsels, freeze-dried dinners and meal mixers, baked kibble, stews, broths and treats.

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