Industry Week articles from April 2002

Industry Week archives from April 2002

The path to profit: Measure it! (Editor's Page).
April 1, 2002... One of the more tantalizing conclusions of the INDUSTRYWEEK 2002 Value-Chain Survey research reported in this issue (Page 53) is that many of today's value chains could be dramatically improved if managers only knew and tracked a few more...

Letters.
April 1, 2002... New Technology Not A Panacea [Re: "Closing The Technology Gap," February 2002, Page 91 While I agree that investment in manufacturing equipment is often worthwhile, it is not a panacea. Wasn't that the lesson learned by General Motors in...

Looking for trouble: Employees' backgrounds face closer scrutiny in the wake of Sept. 11. (Security).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... HIRED ANY TERRORISTS lately? An extreme question, maybe, but in the wake of Sept. 11, backgrounds of employees and potential employees are facing increased scrutiny. Manufacturers are paying close attention to new laws and security guidelines...

Hiring picture remains cloudy. (Work Force).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Even as economists continue to forecast U.S. joblessness as high as 6.5% this year, there's a sign that some hiring in the U.S. is about to happen. Several of tile seasonally adjusted data for the second calendar quarter of 2002 from...

Mission to China. (Trade).(Commerce Secretary Donald Evans leads trade mission to People's Republic of China)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Barring some unforeseen development, U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans will lead a trade mission to the People's Republic of China April 21-25. President George W. Bush informed Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji of the planned trip during his...

OSHA breaks language barrier. (Outreach).(Occupational Safety and Health Administration unveils Spanish-language Web site)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Employers and employees who are looking for health and safety information translated into Spanish have a new resource. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has unveiled a Spanish-language rendition of its English-version Web...

Benefits costs below average. (Human Resources).(employee benefits as percentage of payroll costs)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... U.S. manufacturing companies paid an average of 32.5% of their payroll in benefits during the year 2000, some five percentage points lower than the all-business average of 37.5% reveals the most recent annual employee benefits study from the...

Retro marketing: Automaker promotes the past with replica of first Benz. (Automotive).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... One car buffs lament: "If today's manufacturing operations are so flexible and the supply chain so sensitive that lot sizes of one can be economically produced, then why can't I order automobiles by vintage year as well as by model?" While...

The real Bluetooth wireless payoff: is there any potential greater than manufacturing? Start planning for PDA connectivity. (Emerging Technologies).(wireless networking protocol)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Three years ago researcher Sandy Harper couldn't make a business case for investigating wireless Bluetooth control of aerospace vehicles. But now her employer, Parker Hannifin Corp., Cleveland, has bought her recommendations on what some...

Porous silicon sensor. (Emerging Technologies).(new sensor could reduce power demands and offer enhanced sensitivity)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Need to detect gaseous compounds important to environmental, food and biomedical applications? A new type of sensor based on porous silicon and a unique metallization process could offer enhanced sensitivity, reduced power demands, and lower...

Falling behind by keeping up: Sometimes our jobs prevent real work. (Brandt on Leadership).(Brief Article)(Column)
April 1, 2002... I bet this never happens to you: I was supposed to write a column on leadership last Monday--the most important thing I'd do all week--but I had a few other job-related tasks to finish first. After all, if the column was my critical task,...

R&D strategy is key to success. (Executive Word).(LM Ericsson executive Kurt Hellstrom)(Brief Article)(Interview)
April 1, 2002... L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co., with annual sales approaching $30 billion, is one of the world's largest manufacturers of telecommunications equipment. INDUSTRYWEEK contributing editor Tom Mudd spoke with Kurt Hell-strom recently about the lessons...

LG.Philips Displays. (Locations).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Plant * A joint venture between the Netherlands' Royal Philips Electronics NV and South Korea's LG Electronics Inc., LG.Philips Displays late last year celebrated the opening of a US$170 million factory in Hranice na Morava in the Czech...

ITT champions Six Sigma. (Be Practices).(organizational initiative pioneered by GE)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Every day in more than two dozen countries from the U.S. to the People's Republic of China, ITT Industries Inc. is fielding teams of champions. They are black belts and other employees who are making a comprehensive performance-improvement...

The book on the one-day close: Streamlining financial reporting promises time savings, greater efficiency and better decision-making. (E-Business).
April 1, 2002... THE ONE-DAY CLOSE--PULLING TOgether a company's financials in a day or less--is a little like the personal goal of getting down to a healthy 165 pounds from an out-of-shape 235. To achieve it, junk food must go, and rigorous exercise must...

Another national I.D.? We must decide how much security, and at what cost. (E-Commentary).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... America's Lord of the Files, Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison, says his firm has given the government software to develop a highly secure national identification database, although he believes it should be voluntary for everyone except non-U.S....

Answering energy's challenge. (Operations).(energy costs to manufacturing industries)(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Not since overhead pulleys and belt-powered manufacturing have manufacturing managements had to undergo so fundamental a rethinking of energy use. Can equipment builders and users turn adversity into good fortune? Gary JONES RECOGNIZED THE...

Robots evolution: at GM and Xerox, new applications are redefining both the strategic value and appearance of robots. (Robotics).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... ROBOTS PRECEDED STEVE HOLLAND AT General Motors Corp., (GM) but now as their "boss," he knows where they're going and their growing strategic value. Holland's automatons first entered GM plant floors in 1961, a decade before he joined and...

The accelerated Value Chain: Supply chain management just got smarter, faster and more cost-effective, thanks to a groundbreaking alliance between Intel and i2 technologies.
April 1, 2002... During the 1990s, manufacturer spent millions on information systems designed to make their factories run more efficiently. "Companies focused on optimizing operations at a single plant, between two plants, or within five plants," observes...

Getting down to brass tacks: Value-Chain management moves from dream to reality. (Value-Chain Survey).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The short-term economic outlook aside, these are heady days for value-chain leaders. Mostly because information technology is finally beginning to live up to its promises, allowing a few intrepid manufacturers, their suppliers and their...

Not all dollars and cents: Despite the downswing in the economy, manufacturers continue to strive for collaborative procurement partnerships. (Procurement).
April 1, 2002... LOOKING TO REIN IN COSTS AND REAP POTENTIAL savings from your supplier network? If so, you aren't alone. Even during booming economic times, controlling the costs of materials and components has always ranked as a high priority for...

Rough road ahead: Logistics and distribution managers face an unmarked path in their pursuit of a strategic advantage. (Logistics and Distribution).
April 1, 2002... OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS WHAT LOGISTICS and distribution strategy will have the greatest impact on your company? A) Network restructuring. B) Collaboration with supply-chain partners. C) New information technologies. D) Outsourcing. ...

? Out of order: Survey respondents demonstrate some best practices in customer-order management, but better tracking of costs could lead to greater efficiencies. (Customer-Order Management).
April 1, 2002... EVERYBODY WANTS MORE customers and more orders. But does your company know how costly those customers and their orders are? It should. And some companies do, based on the results of the INDUSTRY-WEEK 2002 Value-Chain Survey on...

Lesser royals: the customer may be king, but too often he's given less than the royal treatment. (New Product Development).(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... NEW-PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT IS A LOT LIKE real estate. Well, OK, it's a little like real estate. In each case, success is dependent on just three factors. You already know what drives real estate: location, location and location. According to...

The big squeeze. (Supply Chain).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... SMALL AND MIDSIZE MANUFACTURERS SAY PRICE-CUT MANDATES AND ONLINE REVERSE AUCTIONS COMPROMISE QUALITY AND ENDANGER THEIR BUSINESSES. SUPPORTERS OF THE PRACTICES SAY THE STRONGEST SUPPLIERS WILL SURVIVE, MAKING SUPPLY CHAINS MORE EFFICIENT. ...

Bidding without boundaries: Public manufacturing companies will need to reach out to a world of investors as stock exchanges go global. (Globalization).(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... WHILE IT'S TRUE THAT NO ONE CAN PREDICT exactly where stock prices are headed, it's fairly clear where the stock exchanges themselves are going: global. Over the next five to 10 years, transactions increasingly will be between companies...

Scheduling for complexity: Automotive manufacturers take different approaches to sequencing vehicles on the assembly line. (Bandwidth).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... AS GENERAL MOTORS CORP.'S (GM) medium-duty truck operation in Flint, Mich., gears up to produce two new vehicles this year, the various configurations of options are enough to boggle a corporate planner's mind. "It's important that we...

Investment Recovery Association (IRA). (Associations).
April 1, 2002... The Investment Recovery Association (IRA) recently released a benchmarking study that should make its members--asset recovery managers--feel good about their work. (Asset recovery involves the identification, and reuse, recycling or disposal of...

National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. (Associations).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors has elected 2002 officers, including: W. Grady Rosier, president and CEO of McLane Co., chairman; Alan B. Vidinsky, chairman of Valin Corp., immediate past chairman; Andre B. Lacy, CEO of LDI...

APICS-The Educational Society for Resource Management. (Associations).
April 1, 2002... L. Drew Rosen, associate professor of operations management at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, was recently elected president of the board of directors of APICS-The Educational Society for Resource Management. Rosen, who took...

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). (Associations).
April 1, 2002... The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) announced that Larry Fineran has been promoted to vice president for regulatory and competition policy. In his new role, Fineran will be responsible for handling regulatory and legislative issues...

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). (Associations).
April 1, 2002... Two publications of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and its research and education affiliate, the Manufacturing Institute, have been recognized with awards for excellence by the 2001 Association Trends' Publications Competition....

Aerospace Industries Associations (AIA). (Associations).
April 1, 2002... Marshall O. Larsen, president and COO, aerospace, Goodrich Corp., has been named chairman of the Aerospace Industries Associations (AIA). Vance D. Coffman, chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp., has been named vice chairman of the board....

Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). (Associations).
April 1, 2002... The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has launched a new Web site for the construction and agriculture equipment industry at www.AEM.org. Visitors to this interim site can find information on the new association and what it...

Construction Industry Manufacturers Association (CIMA). (Associations).
April 1, 2002... Gerard Geraghty, president of Specialty Equipment of IR Co., Annandale, N.J., and Gary MacDonald, executive vice president of MacDon Industries, Winnepeg, Md., have been elected co-chairmen of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)....

Events. (Update).
April 1, 2002... April 8-11: NA 2002 (The Material Handling & Logistics Show & Conference) Cobo Hall Detroit www.NA2002.com April 10-11: Total Design Solutions Show and Conference Hartford Civic Center Hartford, Conn. ...

General Electric Corp. (Companies).
April 1, 2002... * General Electric Corp. announced the appointment of three company officers. Jeffrey Malehorn has been named CEO of GE Capital Global Financial Restructuring; Glen A. Messina has been named vice president and CFO of Card Services at GE...

The Cattron Group Inc. (Companies).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... * The Cattron Group Inc., parent company of Cattron-Theimeg companies, has appointed James C. Robertson as president and COO. Prior to his appointment, Robertson was vice president and COO. Cattron-Theimeg, Sharpsville, Pa., develops and...

BDP International Inc. (Companies).
April 1, 2002... * Thomas F. Donahue III has been named general manager of the BDP International Inc., regional transportation/logistics operating center in San Francisco. Donahue will be responsible for operations, customer service and business development for...

IBM Corp. (Companies).(alliance with MatrixOne)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... * IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., is partnering with MatrixOne Inc. to provide collaborative product commerce (CPC) solutions to initially target the consumer-packaged goods and life sciences industries. The joint solutions, which will use MatrixOne's...

Saddle Creek Corp. (Companies).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... * Saddle Creek Corp., a provider of warehousing, transportation and logistics services, recently named Clifford K. Otto to the newly created position of executive vice president. He initially assumes responsibility for management of Saddle...

GE Glegg Water Technologies Inc., which provides pure water solutions for industrial and engineering companies worldwide. (Companies).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... * GE Glegg Water Technologies Inc., which provides pure water solutions for industrial and engineering companies worldwide, has formally announced its new name, GE Water Technologies Inc., a division of GE Power Systems. GE Water Technologies...

Michael Boxberger, president and chief executive officer of Horton International. (Companies).
April 1, 2002... * Michael Boxberger, president and chief executive officer of Horton International, and Philippe Bouvard, chairman of Switzerland-based Leaders Trust International, have announced that the two companies are partnering in a combined...

Georgetown University's Center for Business & Public Policy. (Companies).
April 1, 2002... * Georgetown University's Center for Business & Public Policy will be the nation's first business school institute primarily dedicated to workplace safety issues. The center, which officially opened its doors in February, is aimed at engaging...

AMB Property Corp. (Companies).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... * Tom Mercer has joined AMB Property Corp., San Francisco, as senior vice president of build-to-suit development. Mercer will head a nationwide development of customized, high-speed distribution facilities from 50,000 to more than 1 million...

Pembroke Consulting. (Companies).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... * Pembroke Consulting announced that Mark Dancer has joined the firm as vice president. Philadelphia-based Pembroke Consulting provides strategic management consulting about distribution channels and marketing strategy for manufacturers,...

Delphi Automotive Systems. (Companies).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... * Delphi Automotive Systems, Troy, Mich., has announced that Dave Nelson has joined as vice president of Global Purchasing. Nelson will be responsible for $15 billion in purchased materials and 1,900 purchasing employees worldwide. He will...

Cygnal Integrated Products Inc. (Companies).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... * Cygnal Integrated Products Inc., a manufacturer of mixed-signal system-on-chip microcontrollers, has elected Timothy Cox to its board of directors. Cox has most recently been providing consulting services to private technology companies and...

At last, a capital spending recovery. (Industrial Equipment Leads).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Although they should know better, economic pessimists have wondered for several months whether there would ever be an end to recent declines in U.S. spending on industrial equipment, computers, telecommunications gear and other capital goods....

Waveset Technologies Inc. (Companies).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... * Waveset Technologies Inc., a provider of secure identity management solutions, named Chris Ostertag, former vice president of sales and services at Bowstreet, as senior vice president of worldwide sales. Joining him, Michael D'Eath, former...

Money to burn: High-end purchases continue to rise as consumers save less and spend more. (Evans on the Economy).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... This has been a most unusual recession. With the upward revision in fourth quarter GDP, plus the strong likelihood of a substantial gain this quarter, it appears that real GDP declined in only one quarter, for a total net reduction of 0.3%. Yet...