By implementing lean manufacturing initiatives, Batesville Casket Co.'s assembly plant in Manchester, TN, has streamlined its operations. Assemblers use continuous improvement activities and lean tools to identify and eliminate waste in the production process.
Many manufacturers talk about being green. But, when it comes to action, few companies can match International Business Machines Corp. (IBM). Big Blue's High-End Server Plant in Poughkeepsie, NY, which has focused its efforts on a variety of lean and green initiatives, is the recipient of the 2008 Assembly Plant of the Year award.
More than 500 individuals work at the Schneider Electric/Square D plant in Lexington, KY. They assemble 2 million load centers and safety switches annually. More than 50 percent of the employees have been at the plant for 20 years or more. Click here to view a slideshow featuring some of the men and women who work on the line at the 2007 Assembly Plant of the Year.
The typical load center is a plain metal box that most people never think about unless their television or computer suddenly stops working. Hundreds of them are assembled every day at Schneider Electric/Square D Lexington, the recipient of the 2007 Assembly Plant of the Year award presented by ASSEMBLY magazine.
Teams of employees at the Lear Seating Plant in Montgomery, AL, manage their own budgets, attendance, job assignments, housekeeping and performance discipline: an innovative approach to labor relations is paying big dividends.
The $250 billion global printing industry is in the midst of its biggest revolution since Johannes Gutenberg unveiled his movable type press 550 years ago. Printers everywhere are converting to digital production presses. Ironically, the company that's leading the digital charge is also undergoing a radical transition.
