Industry Week articles from July 2003

Industry Week archives from July 2003

Online Poll.(opinions about manufacturing industries in China)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
July 1, 2003... ONLINE POLL In terms of your overall manufacturing strategy, how would you characterize China? IndustryWeek.com readers respond: Major Opportunity 26.1% Minor Opportunity 9.9% Major Threat 52.3% Minor Threat ...

Keep fighting for manufacturing. (Editor's Page).(Column)
July 1, 2003... THE HARD WORK OF COMMUNICATING TO OUR NATION'S LEADERS about steps they must take to ensure a vital U.S. manufacturing sector is beginning to pay dividends but must forcefully continue. We've moved manufacturing closer to the top of the...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... Innovation: Smokescreen Or Savior? Re "When New Technology Becomes Old," Editor's Page, Page 9, May 2003. History proves the power of U.S. innovations, but none of the previous manufacturing losses to other countries affected the metal...

Innovating innovation. (Bookshelf).('Open Innovation' by Henry W. Chesbrough)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The history of innovation shows that the business success of industrial nations is signaled by the ability to turn science into commercially successful technology. In "Open Innovation," (2003, Harvard Business School Press), author Henry W....

Road to excellence. (Best Plants).
July 1, 2003... IndustryWeek's 2003 best plants finalists' journey to world-class follows disciplined approach and resources dedicated to improvement. A LOST DRIVER ON the side streets of Cleveland once stopped for directions and was told, "You can't get...

Few smiley faces for HR. (Work Force).(survey of executives about human resources and training)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... CEOs and other senior corporate executives continue to rank recruiting and retaining skilled employees and improving work-force performance among their companies' most important strategic priorities. However, a work-force study from consulting...

In product testing, PCs gaining on PLCs. (Emerging Technologies).(personal computers to likely replace programmable logic controllers)
July 1, 2003... THIS CHANGE AGENTS: MANUFACTURING'S NEED FOR HIGHER PRODUCT TOLERANCES, MORE DETAILED MANAGEMENT REPORTING AND RESULTS ARCHIVING. THE ENABLER IS THE MATURITY OF THE PC. QUESTION: IN PRODUCT TESTING SYSTEMS, will PCs overtake programmable...

Stay focused on mission, employees, customers. (Executive Word).(William R. McLaughlin, chief executive officer of Select Comfort Corp.)
July 1, 2003... Founded in 1987, Select Comfort Corp. manufactures and markets adjustable firmness, air chamber mattresses. The most popular mattress set, a queen-sized, pillow-topped model, costs $1,699. The company has factories in Salt Lake City and Irmo,...

ERP learning to be lean. (E commentary).(enterprise resource planning systems )
July 1, 2003... 'Flow' modules attempt to bridge planning, efficiency. FOUR YEARS AGO I WROTE AN ARticle in these pages called "Lean vs. ERP." It chronicled how many manufacturers were finding enterprise resource planning systems to be a hindrance, not a...

Finding your place under the sun. (Brandt on Leadership).(Column)
July 1, 2003... Summer is a great time to walk away from your shadows and go for it! NO SUMMER VACATION IS complete without a little homework. And the best homework for leaders during their time at the beach is the kind that doesn't involve e-mail. With...

A place at the table. (Leadership).(women executives in manufacturing)
July 1, 2003... Women, while still relatively rare in executive ranks, are becoming an increasingly strategic asset for global manufacturing companies. Some companies excel at attracting and keeping them, but slow-to-change attitudes mean many companies are...

Case studies: modern day business lore. (Special Advertising Section: Introduction IW Case Study Collection).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Had the printing press, television, and Internet never been invented, today's business executives would still be painting "case study legends" onto the walls of their high-rises to chronicle their corporate anthropological history. ...

Solution creates greater efficiency while reducing emissions. (Special Advertising Section: Cinergy Solutions; IW Case Study Collection).
July 1, 2003... When the State of Texas decided that it was time to improve the air quality in and around the City of Houston, the people at British Petroleum (BP) were well prepared. While compliance with government statute was important, reducing emissions...

PeopleSoft's real-time demand planning helps belvedere respond to the SARS crisis with agility and speed--not paralysis. (Special Advertising Section: Peoplesoft; IW Case Study Collection).
July 1, 2003... There's an old adage that says, 'The only thing you can expect is the unexpected." Consider, for example, the current Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) crisis. A year ago, who could have predicted that a severe acute respiratory illness...

Shifting shipping strategies satisfies supply chain solutions. (Special Advertising Section: Fedex; IW Case Study Collection).
July 1, 2003... When two major companies decide to merge, there's bound to be some overlap in the services their common vendors supply. That was the case when Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Compaq Computer Corporation merged in May of 2002. Needless to say, these...

Automated supply chain offers clear profit windows. (Special Advertising Section: Microsoft; IW Case Study Collection).
July 1, 2003... If you've ever had a windshield damaged by a rock or something else kicked up on the highway, you know that after quality of the replacement glass, getting your vehicle back on the road as cheap and as convenient as possible is key. Replacing...

An ounce of prevention, provides pounds of protection. (Special Advertising Section: Great Lakes Chemical Corp.; IW Case Study Collection).
July 1, 2003... Safety, effective risk management, and reducing downtime are top priorities for automotive manufacturers. For fire prevention engineers, choosing the right fire protection system is not only a matter of managing risk, but also a matter of life...

Air products makes a "chilling" case for understanding its customer's business. (Special Advertising Section: Air Products; IW Case Study Collection).
July 1, 2003... Growing pains are a natural part of any business, but for Sauget, IL-based Holten Meat Incorporated it posed a special problem. A family-owned business founded by Elwyn "Red" Holten in 1960, the meat processor had grown from just four employees...

Nature vs Nurture: Unique arrangements help manufacturers break from the traditional adversarial union-management relationships to improve both business performance and company morale. (Labor).
July 1, 2003... STRIKE. LOCKOUT. ARBITRATION. GRIEVANCES. UGLY WORDS. ADVERSARIAL WORDS. A union-management relationship gone sour can be ugly--and costly. The entire public as well as manufacturers saw that last September as a management lockout of the...

Unruly trade. (Part Two of a Seven-Part Series).
July 1, 2003... As the global economy grows, the rules of international trade take on greater significance. Not every nation plays by the rules--nor sees them the same way. And that makes a world of strategic difference for u.s. manufacturers. WHEN...

Immersion therapy. (Be Practices).(Kraftmaid Cabinetry Inc. management and training practices)
July 1, 2003... Kraftmaid Cabinetry Inc.'s continuous-improvement program includes plucking key people from their usual jobs for months at a time to learn best practices from around the globe. GO AWAY. DON'T VISIT. DON'T CALL. DON'T write. Forget us. ...

Prosperity on a devalued dollar? (Financial & Economic Trends).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... FROM FEBRUARY 2002 THROUGH April of this year, the value of the U.S. dollar, measured against other major currencies, fell 13%, figures the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Washington, D.C. If the trend continues, U.S.-based...

Encouraging signs. (Financial & Economic Trends).(manufacturing industies)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Although the Tempo, Ariz.-based Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) closely watched index showed the manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy failed to grow in May for the third consecutive month, there were two encouraging signs. At...

Mavericks see niche in aluminum extrusion. (Locations).(Service Center Metals opens for business in former home home of Reynolds Metals Co.)
July 1, 2003... Three executives launch new company, build plant in prince george county, va. WHO SAYS IT'S NOT A GOOD time to be in manufacturing? Or to start your own business? Three executives with experience at large aluminum producers say it's the...

The bleak future of U.S. manufacturing. (Evans on the Economy).(Industry Overview)(Column)
July 1, 2003... Job Losses will continue, workers will be poorer. DURING THE PAST THREE years, U.S. manufacturing employment has declined by 2.1 million, some 700,000 jobs per year. Some may blame the recession. But it's not the main reason. Jobs have been...

Baldor Electric Company Value: as perceived by the customer! (Advertisement).(Advertisement)
July 1, 2003... Baldor Electric Company, a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of industrial electric motors, drives and generators in North America, has earned their leadership position by consistently doing one thing right over and over again,...