These days, while tales of U.S. manufacturing's woes are well documented, less so are its stories of excellence. The 2008
IndustryWeek Best Plants winners provide some of those stories, and they do so in myriad ways.
At
Greatbatch in Alden, N.Y., there is a strong focus on lean manufacturing, including the creation of standard work. The standard work is not simply for production associates, however, as it also extends to the leadership team. For example, among the standard work for J. Michael Druding, operations director-Alden, is a weekly report card to a customer addressing shipments for the week. On Tuesdays, he attends the weekly engineering meeting.
Travel south and you come upon
Nordson Corp.'s Swainsboro Assembly facility in Georgia. Among the toughest tasks in any improvement initiative is maintaining the gains. First an
IW Best Plants finalist in 2007 and now a winner in 2008, Nordson has demonstrated a level of consistent excellence that is difficult to achieve. Cross-training helps spread the knowledge among this workforce of 67.
Head up to New England and drop in on
General Cable Corp.'s Manchester, N.H., plant. This facility, which makes electronics and communications wire, operates from a historic building that makes certain continuous improvement measures a challenge. A challenge, maybe, but not an insurmountable obstacle by any stretch. Indeed, among its accomplishments the plant has reduced its manufacturing cycle time by 60% in the past three years.
And at
DST Output East in Connecticut and
Lockheed Martin MS2 Tactical Systems -- Clearwater Operations, located in Florida, the judicious introduction and integration of leading-edge technologies are making their presence felt.
These five plants, as well as the additional five that comprise
IndustryWeek's 10 Best Plants in 2008, each have their own story to tell on their journey to world-class manufacturing. The products they make are different, the manufacturing processes they employ vary, and the demands of their customers present each with a different challenge.
What they all recognize, however, is that their pursuits of excellence continue. Not one would ever say, "We're as good as we can get" or "There's nothing more we can learn." Nor would they overlook the immense contributions their employees, their suppliers and their customers make to their own success.
And their success is significant: Among the 2008
IW Best Plants winners, the median finished-product first-pass yield is 98.6%. In the past three years, those same facilities have reduced their scrap and rework costs by a median 33.9%. And their on-time delivery? Again, it's nearly as good as it gets at a median 99%.
What the 2008
IW Best Plants winners also recognize is that good ideas come from everywhere -- from every industry sector, from both process and discrete manufacturers, from plants of every size, and even from outside of manufacturing. As
IndustryWeek notes every year -- and it bears repeating -- in these following pages, you can be certain to find many good ideas to assist your own improvement efforts.
IW's 2008 Best Plants
Baldor Electric Co.
Weaverville, N.C.
Baxter Mexico S.A. de C.V.
Jiutepec, Morelos, Mexico
Cordis LLC
San German, Puerto Rico
DST Output East LLC
South Windsor, Conn.
General Cable -- Manchester Plant
Manchester, N.H.
Greatbatch
Alden, N.Y.
Lockheed Martin MS2 --
Tactical Systems
Clearwater Operations
Oldsmar, Fla.
Nordson Corp. --
Swainsboro Assembly Facility
Swainsboro, Ga.
Thermo Fisher Scientific LLC
Marietta, Ohio
UT Electronic Controls (UTEC), a unit of Carrier Corp.
Huntington, Ind.
