The top 1,000 corporate spenders on research and development invested $492 billion in 2007, according to the latest research by consulting firm Booz & Co.
That's nearly 10% more than in 2006 and significantly more than the compound annual growth rate of 6.7% since 1999. Two-thirds of that R&D spend went to just three industries in 2007: computing and electronics (29%), healthcare (22%) and automotive (16%).
Bio: Jill Jusko is executive editor for IndustryWeek. She has been writing about manufacturing operations leadership for more than 20 years. Her coverage spotlights companies that are in pursuit of world-class results in quality, productivity, cost and other benchmarks by implementing the latest continuous improvement and lean/Six-Sigma strategies. Jill also coordinatesIndustryWeek’s Best Plants Awards Program, which annually salutes the leading manufacturing facilities in North America.
