Managing Automation - September 2007 - (Page 31)

ESSIVE G HIGH Nine companies received highest honors in Managing Automation’s Progressive Manufacturing Awards for their mastery in a variety of manufacturing disciplines. Their stories, which follow, should inspire manufacturers everywhere. BY JEFF MOAD hen times are tough, competition is bearing down, and customers are proving impossible to please, it’s often tempting to search for the silver bullet — that one quick, easy change that promises to turn things around overnight. But transforming your business is rarely — if ever — that easy. Just ask the winners of this year’s Managing Automation Progressive Manufacturing High Achiever Awards. The nine companies profiled in this issue have proven that it takes much more than implementing a new software solution or adopting a new management slogan to respond successfully to the challenges brought by increasingly intense global competition. It requires a willingness to take on the hard work of forcing often difficult cultural change onto an organization and backing that up with technology investments and process improvements that sometimes go against conventional thinking. Take Glatfelter, a $1 billion maker of paper products and the winner of the Innovation Mastery High Achiever Award for 2007. Facing increasing pressure from larger, offshore competitors, Glatfelter decided its best bet for survival was to grow through product innovation. The company expanded and centralized its new product development function, standardized NPD processes, invested in technology, and, within four years, increased its annual new product contribution to revenue from 15% to 50%. Glatfelter and the other seven winners of the 2007 High Achiever awards were recognized — on June 14 in Las Vegas at a ceremony during MA’s third annual Progressive Manufacturing Summit Conference — by a group of eight distinguished manufacturing experts who make up the Progressive Manufacturing advisory and judging panel. From all of the nominations for the awards, the panel picked eight manufacturing companies that demonstrated the highest achievement in mastering the eight disciplines that define Progressive Manufacturing: Business Model Mastery, Customer Mastery, Data & Integration Mastery, Education & Training Mastery, Innovation Mastery, Leadership Mastery, Operational Excellence Mastery, and Supply Network Mastery. In addition, the judging panel identified one company that demonstrated the highest level of achievement in mastering multiple Progressive Manufacturing disciplines. That company, Livingston & Haven, was named this year’s Progressive Manufacturer of the Year. We trust that reading their stories will inspire you and help you understand that, although there are no quick fixes, with the right determination, inspiration, and investment, it is possible to transform your business and thrive. September 2007 31 Photo: Robert Glusic/Corbis

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - September 2007

Contents Take 1 Europe’s Automation Chiefs Upbeat on ’08 Business Prospects Vendor Coalition Pushes Human Element of SOA Wireless: Users Still Approaching with Caution One Year Later, IBM Shows Plan for MRO’s Maximo Study: More Work Needed to Lure Next-Gen Talent Executive Q&A Notes Cover Story: 2008 Companies to Watch Special Report: The 2007 Progressive Manufacturing High Achievers Progressive Manufacturer of the Year Business Model Mastery Innovation Mastery Customer Mastery Supply Network Mastery Data & Integration Mastery Education & Training Mastery Operational Excellence Mastery Leadership Mastery Transformation: Orchestrating the Multi-Tier Supply Network Integration: The Timeless Quest for Accurate Data Industries: Maintenance No Longer on Schedule Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - September 2007

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