This slideshow is not about the biggest companies. Instead, it focuses on some of the list’s smaller manufacturers who nevertheless made the largest improvements in our ranking of manufacturers between now and last year’s IW 500, including several who placed in the top 500 for the first time.
Some of the companies on the list, including #3, benefited from acute demand connected to the COVID-19 pandemic. Others made company-wide transformations with clear implications for their long-term performance. Regardless, every company on this list is a company to watch.