Industry Week articles from April 2004

Industry Week archives from April 2004

Online poll.(short-term interest rates)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 1, 2004... ONLINE POLL When do you expect the Federal Reserve to begin raising short-term interest rates? IndustryWeek.com readers respond: First Half 2004 5% Third Quarter 2004 29% Fourth Qaurter 2004 29% First Quarter 2005...

The enemy is within our shores: fighting within the U.S. is doing more damage to our manufacturing sector than overseas competition.(Editor's Page)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... U.S. BUSINESS EXECUTIVES like to complain about the U.S. government, deriding how long it takes to get things done, how much it spends, its glaring inefficiencies, and the complexity of its legislation and regulation. But the next time a group...

What does BPM stand for?(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... In our department BPM usually stands for "blood pressure maintenance," which is one of my personal goals when we receive an assignment from above with a trendy new term like "business process management" [Re: "Does BPM Have Legs?" February...

Six Sigma redux.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... It's "deja vu all over again." The good of Six Sigma has been overridden by the need for certification and the appearance for improvement, rather than the need to improve ["Six Sigma Stigma," February 2004, Page 61]. Just like the touted...

MEP fights for survival.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... It is amazing to me that the Bush administration's budget for defense spending is $[402] billion even without the added "homeland defense" appropriations that will add substantially to it ["MEP Supporters Fight For Funding," February 2004, Page...

Little time left: companies confront November deadline to certify financial reporting controls.(Sarbanes-Oxley)
April 1, 2004... MANUFACTURERS DON'T HAVE MUCH time left. Not much time left, that is, to comply with some additional and particularly complex requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the 2002 law aimed at changing the way U.S. industry accounts for itself in...

Pond ponders monetary policy: Fairchild Semiconductor Corp.'s Chairman and CEO, Kirk Pond, hopes to promote education and economic development as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.(3 Quick Questions)(Interview)
April 1, 2004... Kirk Pond believes that meaningful economic development can't take place without a significant and strong educational infrastructure. Earlier this year he was appointed a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, where he hopes to apply...

Growth lineup.(Book Shelf)
April 1, 2004... As the 2004 season's opening day approaches in the U.S., management consultant Ram Charan's baseball metaphors seem especially appropriate. In "Profitable Growth Is Everyone's Business" (2004, Crown Business), he's urging companies to come...

COOs: who needs 'em? Study shows poorer performance among companies with both CEO and COO.(Leadership)(Chief Executive Officer)(Chief Operating Officer)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... ARE TWO HEADS BETTER THAN ONE when it comes to running a business? A new study by two university professors shows that companies that employ both a chief executive officer and a chief operating officer underperform firms that employ only a CEO....

Beijing needs to open markets: 'stop wasting time with currency issue.'.(China)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... THE WASHINGTON, D.C.-BASED NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS (NAM), among others, is just plain wrong to insist that China let market forces determine the value of its currency, contends James M. Zimmerman, chief representative and a...

PaYS paying off.(Time Machine)(Partnership for Youth Success)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... In July 2001 INDUSTRYWEEK highlighted a U.S. Army recruiting program called Partnership for Youth Success (PAYS), At that time the program, which was devised to help manufacturers gain trained employees and offer incentive to increase the...

"Notable quotable".(U .S. Sugar Industry Group)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... "The decision not to increase the import limits for Australian-grown sugar is extremely regrettable. Other countries cannot take us seriously in seeking true tree-trade agreements if, at the same time, we pursue special protections for this...

Raspberries to blackberries.(Communication ethics)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Multitasking during meetings is rude, says Celia Rocks, Pittsburgh-based communications expert."... and people are taking it to absurd new heights," says Rocks, president of Rocks-DeHart Public Relations. "Checking your e-mail during a...

Global CEOs say it's time to grow the bottom line: cost-cutting remains a focus.(Strategy)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... THE WORLD'S CEOs ARE ONCE AGAIN focusing on revenue growth. So says a survey conducted by IBM Business Consulting Services in partnership with The Economist Intelligence Unit and Nikkei Research Inc. When asked to identify key areas of...

Higher standards=higher director pay: compensation increases; more outsiders take the lead.(Compensation)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... CONVENTIONAL WISDOM SAYS MORE pay should come with more responsibility. That appears to be the case for board members. Compensation and benefits consultants, HayGroup, Chicago, recently analyzed data on S&P 1500 companies to test its theory...

3-D chemistry builds complex micro-structures: try it for complex structures that would be difficult to build layer-by-layer with 2-D lithographic processes.(Emerging Technologies)
April 1, 2004... "WE BELIEVE THIS TECHNIQUE PROVIDES a real competitive advantage for making complicated 3-D microstructures." That's Georgia Institute of Technology Researcher Seth Marder (at the left) describing what he terms "a disruptive platform technology...

New automation via fluid analysis software.(Emerging Technologies)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... With the trend toward mass customization, physical prototyping and testing issues loom larger--more product variations but less time to do the analysis. Virtual prototyping and testing via software has given some relief. For example, fluid...

The value of failure: pitfalls are full of lessons about your products, your company and yourself.(Brandt On Leadership)
April 1, 2004... IN A SERMON SOME YEARS BACK, a pastor offered the following observation: Failure is the key to the kingdom inside. Success may require hard work and persistence, he explained, but it also demands such single-minded devotion that it usually...

Manufacturing unwired.(Plant Strategies)
April 1, 2004... It all started as a handy way to wirelessly access the Internet from hot-spot access points that rapidly appeared in universities, coffee shops, malls and other public places. Now the wireless local area networks (WLANs) also known as Wi-Fi...

Wi-Fi basics.(Plant Strategies)
April 1, 2004... THE WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORKING CONCEPT KNOWN as Wi-Fi began infiltrating the business, manufacturing and consumer worlds at the end of the 1990s. With the Wi-Fi Alliance certifying interoperability of products, the concept is redefining how...

The two sides of trade: manufacturers are full of praise and criticism as the WTO's influence spreads. Meanwhile the 146-member group finds itself at a crucial crossroads as globalization alters the trade landscape.(Manufacturing Agenda)
April 1, 2004... THE IMPACT of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the fortunes of U.S. manufacturers is indisputable. In recent months, the sometimes-pilloried, sometimes-championed global trading body's decisions on a host of international trade disputes...

China's cultural challenge: to succeed in China, U.S. manufacturers must capitalize on its cultural traditions, paying particular attention to business and personal relationships. NCR, a long-time China player, and Nordson, a relative newcomer, are masters of the practice.(Globalization)
April 1, 2004... IN CHINA, CULTURE COUNTS. AND FOR U.S. manufacturers seeking success in this 26th year of China's experiment with modern capitalism, no aspect of culture counts more than guanxi, the ages-old practice of continuously cultivating and valuing...

Faster but not better: improved manufacturing times don't always result in comparable cost reductions.(Operations)
April 1, 2004... THE PAST THREE YEARS HAVE BEEN TRYING TIMES FOR the U.S. economy and its manufacturers. Nonetheless, many plants cite improved operations metrics over the past three years in spite of the economy and, in some instances, in spite of themselves....

Bagging the big one: how small and midsized manufacturers can land "big league" contracts.(Management Strategies)
April 1, 2004... IT WAS AMID THE SLEEK DESIGNS AND HULKING displays at the annual office furniture show, NeoCon, in June 2001 that Inscape Corp., Toronto, had its first taste of the big league. Representatives from Best Buy, which was planning to build a...

Making ends meet! Manufacture's seek to connect supply chain with customer systems.(Information Technology)
April 1, 2004... IF "CONNECTING SUPPLY CHAIN AND CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP Management Systems" were the title of a mystery, the suspects in this whodunit would be few and far between. That's because not many manufacturers have done it. In the best of all...

Welcome to technospeak! What can technology do for you? The answer may confuse you.(E Commentary)
April 1, 2004... COMPUTER MANUFACTURERS use it. Software companies thrive on it. Information technology consultants swim in it. Most industrial folks' eyes glaze over like a blurred windshield when they hear it. The "it," in this case, is technospeak. More...

New space for satellites: Spectrum Astro's manufacturing and test facility in Gilbert, Ariz., is "go" for business.(Spectrum Astro Inc.)
April 1, 2004... UNDER ARIZONA SKIES, WHOSE very vastness naturally leads the eyes to the heavens, Spectrum Astro Inc.'s $37 million stateof-the-art satellite manufacturing and test facility in Gilbert, southeast of Phoenix, is now open for business. Dubbed by...

Pricing power returns: higher interest rates could follow.(Corporations)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... EVEN AS U.S. MANUFACTURING'S recovery from the 2001 recession broadens and deepens, manufacturers increasingly are having to pay more for the materials they purchase--in many instances from other manufacturers. Pricing power, after an extended...

Manufacturing benefits.(Bottom Line)(benefits of tax cuts observed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Whatever the economic merits of the 2003 U.S. tax cuts--and that's a matter of debate--they could prove to be a good thing for manufacturers--if Americans choose to spend rather than to save. "This spring we wig see significantly higher...

Ground support: lean efforts bring armored vehicles to soldiers faster and open revenue streams for defense contractor.(Best Practices)
April 1, 2004... WAR DOESN'T WAIT FOR A SLOT on a production schedule. Or room in a warehouse. Or the ironing out of a supplier bottleneck. Fortunately for U.S. soldiers facing enemy guns, explosives and other life-threatening weapons in Iraq, lean culture...

Follow the black sheep: lean recruiter seeks leaders who can transform companies.(Continuous Improvement)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... THERE'S A SCENE NEAR THE END of the movie "Animal House" when Bluto, the mildly deranged character played by John Belushi, tries to get his Delta House fraternity brothers to rise up and fight Dean Wormer's final injustice. He gives his version...

Rockwell Automation Inc.(People)(elected Keith Nosbusch as a new president and CEO)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Rockwell Automation Inc., Milwaukee, has a new president and CEO. The board of directors has elected Keith Nosbusch to the post. Nosbusch succeeds Don H. Davis, who will continue his role as chairman of the board. Nosbusch began his career in...

Indium Corp.(People)(appointed Karl Pfluke as a market development specialist)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Karl Pfluke has been named market development specialist at Indium Corp., Utica, N.Y. Pfluke has worked at Indium for three years as a technical support engineer. The company manufactures electronics assembly materials and has factories in...

Republic Windows & Doors, Chicago.(People)(appointed Tim Widner as a director of manufacturing )
April 1, 2004... Tim Widner, formerly director of glass operations, has been named director of manufacturing at Republic Windows & Doors, Chicago. Widner joined Republic in 1998 as glass manufacturing manager.

Aras Corp.(People)(appointed Frank Carrabba as a vice president)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Aras Corp., a provider of product-lifecycle-management technology, has named Frank Carrabba vice president of engineering. Carrabba will lead the development of Aras' business application suite, and oversee the company's Aras Innovator Engine.

Walker Information.(People)(appointed Phil Bounsall as a executive vice president )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Phil Bounsall has been named executive vice president at Walker Information. Bounsall returns to Walker Information, where he served as chief financial officer from 1994 to 1996 and a member of the company's board of directors from 1999 to...

Outsourcing could hurt, help the U.S.: consider lost wages, quality and consumer savings.(Evans On The Economy)
April 1, 2004... THE DEBATE ABOUT THE BENEFITS of outsourcing jobs has, as usual, deteriorated into a political football match. Hardly anyone seems to care about the underlying economic issues. There have always been pluses and minuses to foreign trade. On...