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IW Best Plants

The goal of IW's Best Plants award program is to recognize plants, located in North America, that are on the leading edge of efforts to increase competitiveness, enhance customer satisfaction and create stimulating and rewarding work environments.


2009 IW Best Plants Winners: Focused on Excellence
World-Class Manufacturing flourishes among IndustryWeek's 2009 Best Plants Winners.

One purpose behind IndustryWeek's annual salute to manufacturing excellence is to recognize plants that are on the leading edge of efforts to increase competitiveness, enhance customer satisfaction, and create stimulating and rewarding work environments. Now in its 20th year, the 2009 IW Best Plants competition once again is demonstrating that manufacturing excellence continues to flourish across North America.

For example, at E-Z-GO in Augusta, Ga., a relentless pursuit of continuous improvement has helped this maker of golf and utility vehicles bring back in-house work that previously had been outsourced. Lean manufacturing has driven improvements in performance metrics ranging from inventory turns and first-pass yields to productivity.

Read on to see the rest of the list.

IW Best Plants Articles & News
2009 IW Best Plants Winners: Focused on Excellence

World-Class Manufacturing flourishes among IndustryWeek's 2009 Best Plants Winners.

Batesville Casket Co.: IW Best Plants Profile 2009

Creating a Culture of Self Improvement: Lean isn't just a project at Batesville Manchester; it's becoming part of the plant's foundation.

Carrier - Carlyle Compressor Facility: IW Best Plants Profile 2009

Unwavering Focus: At Carrier - Carlyle Compressor Facility, ACE methodology drives a structured approach to excellence.

E-Z-GO: IW Best Plants Profile 2009

E-Z-GO Charts a Course for Competitiveness: Benchmarking initiatives and employee engagement help increase market share and profitability.

General Cable Corp. - Altoona Plant: IW Best Plants Profile 2009

Competing With the World: With savvy market moves and a passion for continuous improvement, the General Cable Altoona plant is meeting the competition head on and winning.

General Cable - Piedras Negras: IW Best Plants Profile 2009

Operators Lead the Way: An empowered workforce is the foundation of success for General Cable's Piedras Negras, Mexico, facility.

Masco - Builder Cabinet Group: IW Best Plants Profile 2009

Masco Takes It 'One Kitchen at a Time': Single-piece flow process has helped plant endure one of the worst housing downturns in U.S. history.

Nordson Corp.: IW Best Plants Profile 2009

The Right Attitude: At Nordson Corp. in Dawsonville, Ga., meeting customers' needs is job one.

Philips Professional Luminaires: IW Best Plants Profile 2009

Spreading the Light: Though the lighting market continues to change, so does Philips' Sparta, Tenn., facility, adopting flexibility and new competencies.

Philips Respironics: IW Best Plants Profile 2009

Working Hard So Others Can Breathe Easy: Philips Respironics' meticulous attention to production results in healthcare products patients can rely on.

 
IW Best Plants Winners

Scan records for all winners, from 1990-2009 or view a complete list of all IW Best Plants winners.



2010 IW Best Plants Competition

Competition Guidelines
View general information about North America's Best Plants program, such as eligibility requirements, the competition timetable and the selection process.

2010 IW Best Plants Program
Download your 2010 IW Best Plants application here. For additional information, contact Jill Jusko at jjusko@industryweek.com or (216) 931-9311.



2010 IW Best Plants Conference

Find out what makes IW Best Plants winners the 10 best manufacturing plants in North America. Their award-winning strategies are the focus of IndustryWeek's Best Plants Conference at the Nashville Convention Center in Cleveland on April 19-21, 2010. Please see the IW Best Plants Conference site for more information and a review of the 2008 conference.

Plant tour registration is first-come, first-served, so register today to get your choice of plant tours, including Nissan, Jack Daniel's, Batesville Casket, Singer Medical and Philips.



Best Plants Videos

How and Why to be an IW Best Plants Winner: All about the IW Best Plants Program
IndustryWeek Best Plants awards coordinator Jill Jusko, discusses the benefits of being an IW Best Plant and walks you through the IW Best Plants application.

Best Plants Winners Interviews -- Cargill Corn Milling-Team Wahpeton
Ron Fiala, Total Quality Manager and Red Geurts, General Manager/Assistant Vice President, from 2007 IW Best Plants winner Cargill Corn Milling-Team Wahpeton.

Best Plants Winners Interviews -- Rieter Automotive Canadian Carpet
Tim Quinlan, Manufacturing Manager, from 2007 IW Best Plants winner Rieter Automotive Canadian Carpet.

Best Plants Winners Interviews -- Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control at Orlando
Mel Schubert and Matthew McCloud from 2007 IW Best Plants winner Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control at Orlando.

Lockheed Martin MFC Orlando Fire Control Factory Reconfiguration Video
Defense contractor does double-time reconfiguration of factory floor (time-lapse video).

See more videos, including presentation sessions from the IW Best Plants Conference



Best Practices from IndustryWeek's Best Plants

Continuous Improvement E-Newsletter
Pick up pointers from the top manufacturers in North America, and identify action steps that can make your facility shine. The Continuous Improvement e-newsletter will give you previously unpublished best practices, benchmarking charts, and lessons learned -- straight from the winners and finalists of IndustryWeek's annual Best Plants competition.

Subscribe today.