Industry Week articles from December 2003

Industry Week archives from December 2003

A celebration of U.S. manufacturing: you've soundly disproved the myths of your demise.(Editor's Page)
December 1, 2003... IT'S FITTING THAT WE CLOSE 2003 with a group of articles that celebrate manufacturing and its bright future in the U.S. It's been another difficult year, during which we confronted the biggest challenge to U.S. global manufacturing dominance in...

Action now on China.(Letters; protectionism)
December 1, 2003... I agree that protectionism is bad policy (Editor's Page, Oct. 2003, Page 7, "Bush's Manufacturing Plan: Too Little Too Late?"). But, with respect to China, I think this may be appropriate at this point in time. If China is going to insist on a...

Thanks for nothing, President Bush.(Letters; international trade)
December 1, 2003... (Re: "Editor's Page," Oct. 2003) and the uneven playing table U.S. manufacturers are playing on verses China. Your investigations substantiate what I've been able to find out concerning what is happening to the "little guy"--me and about...

Duping the U.S.?(Letters; multinational taxation)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... James R. Hines Jr. may laugh at the assertion "Foreign companies don't contribute as much to the country... as domestically headquartered companies do", ("Bye-Bye To 'Buy American'?" Sept. 2003, Page 25), but I have talked to a friend and...

Less time to keep on truckin': new rules aimed at reducing truck-driver fatigue could raise costs for manufacturers.(Regulation)
December 1, 2003... FOR THE PAST 64 YEARS TRUCK DRIVERS have been following hours-of-service rules put in place by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). On Jan. 4, 2004, those rules will change, and according...

Getting every minute's worth.(asap; freight handling)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Schneider National Inc., Green Bay, Wis., highlights ways manufacturers can help themselves by helping drivers get the most out of their workdays. "[Customers] are going to have to place a lot higher value on a driver's time when they come...

Growing up global: Kia America Inc. ceo Peter M. Butterfield talks about building a brand in a truly global marketplace.(3 Quick Questions)(Interview)
December 1, 2003... PETER M. BUTTERFIELD IS THE FIRST American to serve as president and CEO of Kia Motors America Inc., Irvine, Calif., the fast-growing subsidiary of Seoul-based Kia Motors Corp. In 1988, Kia-America sold 12,000 vehicles from 88 dealerships. This...

Authentic leader.(Book Shelf; Bill George)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronic Inc., is an authentic leader. And even as corporate scandals continue to play out, his book "Authentic Leadership" (2003, Jossey-Bass) is a powerful economic and moral argument for managing a...

Classic comeback sputters.(Time Machine)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Last November Frank O'Connell, chairman of Indian Motorcycle Corp., spoke to INDUSTRYWEEK about his desire to help revive a classic brand that had been out of business for more than 40 years. The original Indian Motorcycle, which ceased...

2004 preview: Merrill Lynch sees higher growth--and joblessness.(Economy)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... IT'S ONLY ONE OF THE DOZENS OF 2004 economic forecasts that will be forthcoming between now and the end of this year. But the outlook from Merrill Lynch & Co., New York, is strangely intriguing. The securities firm's economists foresee U.S....

Executives calling in the bean counters.(Governance)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... WHEN IT COMES to corporate governance, it seems accountants have become the beasts of burden. In a survey by executive recruiters Robert Half Management Resources, Menlo Park, Calif., 77% of executives stated that their accountants are...

Intelligent fasteners could change everything: use them to rethink and improve the design, manufacturability and features of parts and products.(Emerging Technologies)
December 1, 2003... DON'T THINK OF TEXTRON'S NEW intelligent fastening system as a substitute for conventional fasteners. Instead consider how the concept's broad capabilities could enable new, more competitive generations of products, says K.L. (Seshu) Seshasai,...

Nanosprings as sensors?(Emerging Technologies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Will nanostructures evolve into biomedical sensors? Shown is a new class of nanometer-scale structure with that potential, says professor Zhong L. Wang, director of the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at Atlanta's Georgia Institute of...

Home-run hitters: four manufacturers are confronting globalization--and winning--by maximizing the strategic advantages of U.S.-based production.(Last Of A Seven-Part Series)
December 1, 2003... YOU MAY NOT GET A BRAND BOOST WITH THE "Made in America" label anymore, but manufacturing in the United States still can be a lucrative business. Just ask a few of the companies that have chosen to capitalize on the advantages of U.S....

Come on, get happy. The sad truth about unhappy companies: they won't be around much longer.(Brandt On Leadership)
December 1, 2003... IT NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE HOW completely the managers and employees of unhappy companies--whether actively failing or merely mired in mediocrity--can convince themselves that their troubles are unique. Invariably, I'm told that their...

Interconnecting innovation: for 36 years, Nicholas M. Donofrio has helped IBM Corp. and its customers innovate toward greater value. Now responsible for IBM's technology and manufacturing, he wants to accelerate that process by making a more direct connection between R&D and customer needs.(Technology Leader Of The Year)
December 1, 2003... WHAT'S THE NEXT BIG THING? That should be the perfect question for the senior vice president in charge of technology and manufacturing at the world's premier technology corporation. For nearly a century, IBM Corp. has been a leader in putting...

Innovative solutions.(industrial electric power)
December 1, 2003... Bottom-line Value from Utilities Outsourcing More and more, large industrial processing and manufacturing companies are using utilities outsourcing as a way to lower energy cost, reduce risks, and increase plant performance through...

Making a material difference: Aluminum Vehicle Technology (AVT) from Alcan Inc. helped Jaguar introduce its 2004 XJ, an industry-first use of rivet-bonding, monocoque (unit body) construction.(Technologies Of The Year)
December 1, 2003... PREDICTION: WITHIN 25 years, the production of aluminum automobiles will exceed those made of steel. That's the operating presumption that has led Jaguar Motor Cars Ltd. to go beyond dabbling in aluminum via prototypes or limited volume...

IBM's Millipede march: company leads the way to probe-based data storage that is cheaper, denser and more compact than current methods.(Technologies Of The Year)
December 1, 2003... SOME SAY THE INFORMATION Age began with the invention of the PC. For others, it's the birth of the Internet, the development of the silicon chip or the global crisscrossing of fiber-optic cable that shifted our societal pivot from...

RFID in a box: Manhattan Associates designs a pre-configured solution.(Technologies Of The Year; radio frequency identification)
December 1, 2003... EVEN BEFORE WAL-MART sent its infamous memo to suppliers to jump on the RFID (radio frequency identification) bandwagon or else, Manhattan Associates was working on an RFID solution that would enable companies to bid farewell to barcodes. ...

Tool for teamwork: Wildfire, a new release of ProEngineer CAD software, features revolutionary collaboration capability.(Technologies Of The Year)
December 1, 2003... COLLABORATION AMONG engineers in a virtual computer-aided design (CAD) space, where each participant can exercise control and contribute to a 3-D solid modeling session in real time, has been a dream of the product-development community for...

From art to part: STEP Tools Inc. introduces the first-ever commercial software products for early adopters of the emerging STEP-NC data standard for computer-aided manufacturing.(Technologies Of The Year; )
December 1, 2003... IN A DEMONSTRATION AT NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., the time required to program a computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine for a complex multi-axis machining operation was cut from 105 minutes to just 15 minutes....

Investors who love manufacturing: more numerous than you might think, they're putting serious money into companies that make things. Most aren't after a financial flip.(Finance)
December 1, 2003... WILBUR L. ROSS IS PROBABLY THE MOST-PUBLICIZED OF the people who are now pouring substantial amounts of money into manufacturing. His nearly two-year-old International Steel Group purchased the steelmaking assets of LTV Corp. in April 2002, the...

Lights out? No. Lights dimmer? Yes. Automation continues to help boost output while contributing to shrinking manufacturing employment.(E-Commentary)
December 1, 2003... MOST MANUFACTURERS TODAY are making a lot more goods with a lot fewer workers. One big reason is automation. Expect this to continue as technology and software find still more applications not only on the plant floor but in factory management...

Avon calling--on Russia: huge market potential brings manufacturing plant to Moscow region.(Avon Products Inc.)
December 1, 2003... BEAUTY MAY BE ONLY SKIN DEEP, but its breadth is global. That's a lesson Avon Products Inc. has learned well. The New York-based direct marketer's beauty products are sold in more than 100 countries by 3.9 million independent sales...

Return On Management (ROM): new measure could help boards determine whether you're worth what you get.(Executives)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... CHANCES ARE your employees already believe that you and your senior management colleagues are making too much in salary, bonuses and other incentives. Now Donald P. Delves wants your board to take a hard look. Being urged on by some...

Techs running short.(Stock Options)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... NEARLY THREE-FOURTHS OF PUBLICLY held technology companies surveyed this past summer by Deloitte & Touche LLP said they expect to run out of stock options to grant to employees within two years. Shareholder activism is cited as one reason....

Different-colored carrots.(Bottom Line)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Although salary increases and bonuses won't be on the chopping block next year, companies are changing the ways they offer employee incentives. according to the Watson Wyatt 2003/2004 Survey of Strategic Rewards and Pay Practices. "The...

Talking the talk: motivational lessons from the professionals.(continuous improvement)
December 1, 2003... I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A SUCKER FOR MOTIVATIONAL speakers. Part storytellers, part pop psychologists and modern philosophers, the best ones mostly offer hope and tips for fixing everything that's wrong in our companies and our messed up lives. ...

Talent scouts: Hillenbrand Industries gets the right people on the bus.(Best practices)
December 1, 2003... A FEW YEARS AGO, PREPARING HIS ANNUAL report for Hillenbrand Industries compensation committee, David Robertson, vice president of administration, made a simple observation. While leaders could measure and adjust pay and benefits packages...

Deficits do matter: 'good jobs at good wages' could fall victim to continuing federal red ink.(Evans On The Economy)
December 1, 2003... MANY ECONOMISTS HAVE long argued that the major problem with continued federal budget deficits is they crowd out private-sector investment. The way it works, according to the economists, is that additional government bonds must be sold to...