Shingo Prize Awarded To Seven Companies

Five U.S. and two Mexican companies have been named winners of the 1998 Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing, announced the National Assn. of Manufacturers, the competition's lead sponsor, and five participating manufacturing organizations. U.S. winners are: Coach Leather Goods, Carlstadt, N.J. (a manufacturer of luxury leather goods); Freudenberg NOK's Gasket Lead Center, Manchester, N.H., (total sealing packages and other products for engines, transmissions, and brakes); Johnson Controls' Lexington, Tenn., plant (automotive power-seat adjusters, power recliners, and broached parts); Lear Corp.'s Winchester, Va., plant, (door panels, speaker grilles, quarter panels, and consoles); and Milwaukee Electric Tool Co.'s Brookfield, Wis., plant (heavy duty electric tools). Winners from Mexico are CYDSA IQUISA (Industria Quimica Del Istmo, SA de CV), Coatzacoalcos, supplier of chlorine, sodium hypocroxide, and sodium; and TREMEC (Transmissiones y Equipos Mecanicos, SA de CV), Queretaro, producer of vehicle transmissions. The prize is awarded to North American companies that demonstrate achievement in manufacturing processes, with emphasis on lean, just-in-time production. It is administered by the College of Business at Utah State University.