Acomprehensive dedication to excellence and manufacturing performances that shine. These are the qualities IndustryWeek seeks -- and finds -- each year in its annual pursuit of the leading manufacturing plants in North America.
This year is no exception. The IndustryWeek Best Plants competition, now in its 17th year, has narrowed its search to 25 finalists and salutes their efforts to continuously improve.
The automotive industry is strongly represented among the finalists with such facilities as GDX Automotive in New Haven, Mo.; Lear Corp.-Liberty Plant in Liberty, Mo.; and Magee Rieter Automotive Systems in Bloomsburg, Pa. Once again the defense industry makes its presence felt with two Lockheed Martin facilities.
Other finalists operate in industries that include the manufacture of commercial ice-making units; skin care and hair care products; and school buses. IndustryWeek will select the 10 winners of the 2006 competition from this sterling crop of finalists. Profiles of those Top 10 leading plants will appear in the October issue.
IndustryWeek's Best Plants 2006 Finalists
Advanced Filtration Systems Inc., Champaign, Ill.
AK Steel Corp.-Rockport Works, Rockport, Ind.
Alcoa Wheel Products Mexico, Cienega de Flores, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Batesville Casket Co.-Batesville Operations, Batesville, Ind.
Blue Bird North Georgia, LaFayette, Ga.
Cordis de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico
GDX Automotive, New Haven, Mo.
General Cable-Indianapolis Compounds, Indianapolis, Ind.
General Cable de Latinoamerica S.A de C.V., Tetla, Tlaxcala, Mexico
General de Cable de Mexico del Norte S.A. de C.V., Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico
John Deere Power Products, Greeneville, Tenn.
Lear Corp.-Liberty Plant, Liberty, Mo.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control-Camden Operations, Camden, Ark.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Fire Control Factory, Orlando, Fla.
Magee Rieter Automotive Systems, Bloomsburg, Pa.
National Gypsum Co., Wilmington, N.C.
Olay Co. Inc., A Procter & Gamble Co., Cayey, Puerto Rico
Respironics, Murrysville, Pa.
Schneider Electric, Peru Operations, Peru, Ind.
Scotsman Ice Systems, Fairfax, S.C.
Siegel-Robert Automotive Farmington, Farmington, Mo.
Siegel-Robert Automotive Ripley North, Ripley, Tenn.
Weir Minerals North America, Madison, Wisc.
Whirlpool Cleveland Cooking Products, Plant 3, Cleveland, Tenn.
Whirlpool Corp. Amana Refrigeration Products, Amana, Iowa
