Industry Week articles from February 2002

Industry Week archives from February 2002

Closing the Technology Gap. (Editor's Page).(Brief Article)(Editorial)
February 1, 2002... In our hunt for more of the magic elixir that sparked the United State's longest economic expansion in history, it seems we're in danger of over looking the obvious. Increased productivity--producing more with the same or less--is at the heart...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2002... Familiar Face of Bad Management A number of readers voiced their huzzahs in response to John Brandt's November 2001 column "Worst Practice Management, "Page 19. Below are excerpts from several of the best. I, too, believed at one point...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2002... In the article "Lydall Puts E-Business On The Front Burner" (IW December 2001/January 2002, Page 28), the corporate headquarters location for Lydall Inc. is Manchester, Conn.

Steely Determination: LTV closing doesn't mark an end in Cleveland, just the beginning of another fight. (The Economy).(steel company LTV Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... By now it has become a familiar story, full of cliches. Another giant steel company twists and ultimately tumbles in the winds of change. Another beleaguered community first reels then quickly rallies to keep a tradition-and the powerful...

Renewing the Lean Battle. (Bookshelf).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... "As Kermit the Frog didn't quite say, it isn't easy staying lean," writes manufacturing authority Richard J. Schanberger in the preface of his latest book, Let's Fix 11! Overcoming the Crisis in Manufacturing" (2001, The Free Press). The...

Taiwan officially joins WTO. (Trade).(World Trade Organization)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Not quite two months after the then-142 members of the world Trade organization approved its membership on Nov. 10, 2001, Taiwan officially became the group's 144th member an Jan. 1, 2002. Immediately preceding Taiwan in WTO membership was the...

Mill shipments shrink. (Textides).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... In 2001 U.S. textile mill shipments declined for the sixth consecutive year, reports the American Textile Manufacturers Institute, Washington. Totaling $46.8 billion, last year, shipments were 12% less than the $53.1 billion recorded in 2000....

Leaner merit increases. (Human Resources).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Expect trimmed-back merit-pay increases in 2002, says human-resources consulting firm Towers Perrin, New York. While companies' merit budgets increased by 4% or higher in 2001 for all categories of employees, a majority of respondents (59%) to...

A failure to capitalize: New research outlines causes of U.S. auto industry's woes. (Automotive).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The numbers simply don't compute. U.S. automakers and their suppliers added nearly $5,400 to the value of each vehicle they produced from 1990 to 2000, including upgrades, regulatory requirements and inflationary increases. Yet the price...

Meeting mental health needs: New partnership combats psychological fallout of disaster. (Workplace).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The National Partnership for Workplace Mental Health has a straightforward goal: to make sure U.S. employers have the tools to combat the psychological fallout of terrorism, economic uncertainty and other trauma on the workforce. The...

Kodak tightens supply-chain focus: Division designs, then optimizes end-to-end view. (Emerging Technologies).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... It's hard to dispute that manufacturers that have control over the most costly parts of manufacturing--the supply chain--have the key to market dominance. Yet it is not at all unusual for manufacturers to rely on haphazard "rules of...

You are the key to effective hiring: Three questions can help find the treasures, eliminate the jerks. (Brandt on Leadership).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... It's a new year and, if the pundits are to be believed, a new bottom for the economy. Yet ugly as the current view is, I'm taking perverse encouragement in the fact that if we're at the nadir of the business cycle, we must be about to climb...

Manufacturing deserves investment. (Executive Word).(Timken Co)(Interview)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Timken Co. is a $2.5 billion manufacturer of industrial equipment based in Canton, Ohio. INDUSTRYWEEK Managing Editor Tonya Vinas recently interviewed W.R. "Tim" Timken about the misconceptions many analysts and investors have regarding...

Locations.(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
February 1, 2002... Plant * Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. is building a $930 million vehicle manufacturing plant in Canton, Miss., that will encompass 2.6 million square feet and produce about 250,000 units annually. Three vehicles will be produced at this...

Manufacturer goes for the gold. (Be Practices).(O.C. Tanner Co., 2002 Winter Olympics medals)
February 1, 2002... Like an athlete pushing his physical limits, O.C. Tanner Co. stretched its capabilities to manufacture more than 800 gold, silver and bronze medals for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City this month. Employing some 2,000 people, the...

Meetings makeover: Restrictions on travel funds and time, as well as safety concerns, are making virtual meetings more popular. (E-Business).(Industry Overview)
February 1, 2002... CLAUDIA GARBER HAD AN EMBARrassment of riches. As manager of communications and brand promotion for Racine, Wis.-based Case IH, which makes agricultural equipment, she was in charge of presenting new products to trade journalists who cover the...

Gates skates: Microsoft walks away with a sore wrist and a slice of apple's pie. (E-Commentary).(Brief Article)(Column)
February 1, 2002... It was the Slap Heard 'Round the World. That wimpy "thwack" sound you heard was Microsoft Corp. getting a swift wet one on the wrist from the U.S. Government's rubber noodle out back of the Justice Department woodshed. I mean, that cheeky...

The King of Customer: Tom Siebel's obsessions with customer service and technology have led to the founding of a successful company and a burgeoning industry. (CEO of the Year).(CEO of the Year)(Company Profile)
February 1, 2002... For most CEOs, 2001 was no picnic--unless it's the kind where the bull, the red ants and the thunderstorms invite themselves. But for Thomas M. Siebel, chairman, CEO and founder of Siebel Systems Inc., INDUSTRY WEEK's CEO of the Year, it wasn't...

Pro forma's Bottom Line: Be careful what you say and how you say it. (Financials).(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
February 1, 2002... IN EFFECT, THE U.S. SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION (SEC), the federal regulatory agency that polices the financial statements of publicly traded companies, will be slapping warning labels on many of the annual reports and quarterly earnings...

Made in China: Strategic growth makes this the time to be manufacturing in the People's Republic. (Markets).(factories)(Industry Overview)
February 1, 2002... CHINA IS MADE FOR MANUFACTURING. And to meet and beat their competition, the world's market-smart manufacturers are putting plants into the People's Republic. They are attracted by remarkable economic growth, an abundant and increasingly...

Enter the Dragon: Synergy energizes Lincoln Electric's China strategy. (Markets).(Lincoln Electric Co. operates joint venture in China)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... IN THE LATE 1990s, LINCOLN ELECTRIC Co. ENTERED a joint venture with Taiwan's Kuang Tai Metal Industrial Co., one of East Asia's largest producers of welding wire. By January 2000, the Cleveland-based manufacturer of arc-welding products and...

Controlling Connection Costs: Reviewing, managing telecommunications can yield savings. (Telecommunications).(how to review telecommunications bill to reduce costs)
February 1, 2002... WHEN DAVID ROSATI, FINANCIAL CONTROLLER with $1.5 billion Del Monte Foods Co., began reviewing the processes his firm was using to manage telecommunications expenses, his immediate concern was boosting efficiency. Just a year ago, Del Monte was...

Reaching New Heights: Lockheed Martin and partners employ dazzling advanced manufacturing technologies to fulfill rich Joint Strike Fighter contract. (Aerospace).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... FOR LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP., Northrop Grumman Corp., and Britain's BAE Systems PLC, the celebrating is over. In late October the three firm team, led by Lockheed Martin won the competition with Boeing Co. to pursue the next phase of the Joint...

Leeds Looks to the Future: The Northern England City builds on its Historic Manufacturing Base. (World Watch).(Leeds, England)
February 1, 2002... I'LL NEVER FORGET THE FIRST TIME I saw Leeds," said the man at the cocktail party. "It was during the war, and I was on a train. We went for miles through this gorgeous countryside, and then I saw this great pall of smoke." That's the...

The Steel Service Center Institute. (Associations).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Steel Service Center Institute has named M. Robert Weidner III as president. Weidner has experience in investor, public and media relations; integrated marketing communications; corporate events and human resources.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) recently made these elections. (Associations).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) recently made these elections: Arthur D. "Don" Wainwright, chairman and CEO of Wainwright Industries, was elected chairman of NAM. Archie W. Dunham, chairman, president and CEO of Conoco Inc., has...

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and its research and education affiliate, the Manufacturing Institute, have published a 48-page compendium of data and case histories. (Associations).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and its research and education affiliate, the Manufacturing Institute, have published a 48-page compendium of data and case histories that tell the story of small and medium-sized manufacturers in...

The Boards of Directors of the Equipment Manufacturers Institute (EMI) and the Construction Industry Manufacturers Association (CIMA) have selected a name for the newly consolidated CIMA-EMI associations. (Associations).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Boards of Directors of the Equipment Manufacturers Institute (EMI) and the Construction Industry Manufacturers Association (CIMA) have selected a name for the newly consolidated CIMA-EMI associations--the Association of Equipment...

The National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM), established in 1915, has renamed itself the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). (Associations).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM), established in 1915, has renamed itself the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) in recognition of the mounting strategic and global significance of supply-chain management.

The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). (Associations).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has created a new "one-stop-shop- ping" Web site called "INVEST JAPAN!" for foreign companies interested in learning about or taking advantage of investment opportunities in Japan. The site provides...

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). (Associations).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) released "Financially Correct," a video program that it has produced to help educate the public about why high-quality financial reporting is so important to investors and the efficiency of the...

MRO Software Inc. (Companies).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... MRO Software Inc., provider of software solutions for industrial collaboration, announced the opening of operations in Tokyo. The new office will be a hub for the region's direct sales and professional services activities for such clients as...

Johnson Controls. (Companies).(awards to industrial suppliers)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... * In recognition of exemplary performance and leadership, Johnson Controls presented the Supplier Performance and Leadership Awards to 39 suppliers at their celebration held in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Nov. 30. These awards are presented...

KoSa. (Companies).(owned by Koch Industries Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... KoSa, a polyester manufacturer, has completed an ownership change. Koch Industries Inc., previously a 50% shareholder, has become the sole owner after purchasing the 50% ownership position held by the company's partner in the venture, IMASAB SA...

Osram Sylvania. (Companies).(names Alan Weiss of Electronic Control Systems)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Osram Sylvania, a division of Osram GmbH, has named Alan Weiss vice president and general manager of Electronic Control Systems. Electronic Control Systems, based in Lake Zurich, Ill., develops, manufactures, and markets ballasts for general...

Osram GmbH. (Companies).(forms Global Photo-Optic division)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Osram GmbH in Munich, Germany, has announced the formation of a Global Photo-Optic division. Bernd Schaefer has been appointed general manager of this division and will be responsible for manufacturing, sales and marketing, financial control...

Roadway Express. (Companies).(forms Roadway Air)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Roadway Express, based in Akron, Ohio, has entered the air freight business with a new air freight forwarding operation named Roadway Air.

Deloitte & Touche LLP consultancy has announced the combination of three service lines to form a new practice. (Companies).(Global Employment and Individual Solutions)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Deloitte & Touche LLP consultancy has announced the combination of three service lines to form a new practice--Global Employment & Individual Solutions. This new practice, targeted to multinational corporations, concentrates on international...

Events.(industrial suppliers)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Feb. 6-7: Work in America Institute Three Extraordinary Organizations that have Achieved Successful Transformations Los Angeles www.workinamerica.org Feb. 25-27: Institute for Supply Management Purchasing and the Law: The Basics You Need...

Reduce through Reuse: Companies with shrinking budgets and staffs are investing in the reuse of software programming. (Bandwidth).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... MOST LARGE MANUFACTURERS WOULD balk at the thought of hand-building every car or router that they make instead of relying on preassembled components. Why then, asks Charles Stack, do those companies or their vendors still build much of their...

2002: A Slow-Growth Year. (Financial & Economic Trends).(world economy)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The next twelve months promise to be a period of slow growth for the economic world. Indeed, New York-based Merrill Lynch & Co. foresees global growth of only 1.5% in 2002. Even with a "sharp, vigorous" recovery from recession in the...

Recovery will inch along: This year will be better than last, but not much better. (Evans on the Economy).(Brief Article)(Column)
February 1, 2002... Those who put their faith in the index of leading indicators believe that the recession is just about over, and the recovery could start any time. While the leading indicators have never missed a turning point, they have given several false...