Industry Week articles from June 2006

Industry Week archives from June 2006

Danish Green: Manufacturer Danfoss S/A seeks to help U.S. OEMs be more competitive and environmentally friendly.(REGULATION)(United States Original Equipment Manufacturers)(Company overview)
June 1, 2006... AS REGULATIONS MANDATE greater energy efficiency for such products as home appliances and commercial air conditioners and environmental-protection standards become stricter, more U.S. OEMs could be turning to a Denmark-based component and...

Education revolution: Larry M. Davis, president of Daman Products Co. Inc., wants the nation's educational system to add lean management principles to its K-12 curriculum. Here's why.(3 QUICK QUESTIONS)(Interview)
June 1, 2006... DAMAN PRODUCTS CO. INC. PRESIDENT LARRY M. DAVIS SAYS HIS company's embrace of lean principles has transformed the Mishawaka, Ind.-based manufacturer of hydraulic valve products by spurring productivity, eliminating waste and encouraging...

More praise for HON.(Georgia Manufacturer of the Year Award by Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education, Georgia Department of Economic Development)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... THE HON CO.'S CEDARTOWN, GA., manufacturing plant continues to collect accolades for its manufacturing prowess. The facility, which makes metal and wooden casegoods, file cabinets and bookcases, in April received its latest award--the 2006...

Unconvinced: top executives uncertain about benefits of corporate blogs.(COMMUNICATIONS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... BLOGGING MAY BE ALL THE rage among the Internet-savvy, but top company executives have been slow to bestow any credibility to corporate blogs as a new communications medium, recent survey results show. Just 5% of executives said they were...

Theory y can still work.(The Human Side of Enterprise)(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2006... READ "THE HUMAN SIDE OF ENTERPRISE" (2006, McGraw-Hill) by Douglas McGregor, newly released in an annotated edition, updated and with commentary by Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld of MIT's Sloan School of Management. That imperative is about as...

Feature-based cost analytics: direct spend cost reduction is the primary bottom-line benefit, says Akoya Inc.(PROCUREMENT)
June 1, 2006... ROUTINELY HARASS PART suppliers with demands for across-the-board price cuts? Not Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar Inc. Instead of beating up on suppliers with unfocused demands, two Caterpillar managers, Nelson Jones and Syamala Srinivasan,...

Thinking inside the box: a word of advice for those who would give it: don't.(Editorial)
June 1, 2006... I WAS TIRED. I WAS BORED. AND, OK, YEAH, I WAS a little down after a series of lousy sales calls that left me feeling like one of the sad sacks in "Glengarry Glen Ross." ("We're adding a little something to this month's sales contest. As you...

2006 winners.(New Online)
June 1, 2006... View INDUSTRYWEEK's report, complete with Web-exclusive profiles, on the 50 best publicly held U.S. manufacturing companies. www.industryweek.com/iw50best-2006 Get the latest news on these companies in our weekly...

Upcoming webcasts: www.industryweek.com/webcasts.(Brief article)(Calendar)
June 1, 2006... May 24: Streamline Your Manufacturing Operations: Boost Flexibility And Agility With A Service-Oriented Architecture Sponsored by Epicor and Progress Software June 1: Sharing Information, Improving Profits: How To Manage...

Archive.(New Online)
June 1, 2006... Better Lean Practices Through Mobile Plant Maintenance Sponsored by Symbol Technologies Renowned Lean Expert Dr. Jeffrey Liker Expounds on The Toyota Way Sponsored by SAP, in association with Intel and HP

Snuffing out scrap: realistically, scrap is difficult if not impossible to eliminate. But manufacturers that acquiesce to scrap are missing opportunities to cut wasteful material and save on labor costs.
June 1, 2006... PLANT OPERATORS frequently play the role of garbage collectors at the expense of manufacturers. Instead of producing, they're gathering scrapped parts and materials to be recycled, reused or discarded. Facing foreign competitors who already are...

500 largest U.S. manufacturers.(Table)
June 1, 2006... 500 LARGEST U.S. MANUFACTURERS REVENUE NET INCOME '06 (US$ (US$ RANK COMPANY/HEADQUARTERS MILLIONS) ...

Automating accounting: for manufacturers, the devil lies in the exceptions.
June 1, 2006... EXCEPT FOR MAKING PRODUCTS that keep customers happy, there are few processes in manufacturing that are more important than accounts receivable and accounts payable. Making sure customers pay on time and, in turn, making sure vendors and...

GE asks the ultimate question: would the customer recommend GE to friends?
June 1, 2006... WANT TO MAXIMIZE business growth? Factor in a customer-focused continuous-improvement process. A key challenge for management is to monitor customer relationships as rigorously as profits are scrutinized, says Richard Wargo, vice president of...

Economic insight.(of manufacturing industries)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION (2002=100) MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION picked up in March following a tenth-percent dip in February. Production rose at an annual rate of 5.4% during 2006's first quarter. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] MANUFACTURING...

More immigrants: the economic arguments are compelling for the United States to welcome immigrants, provided they become citizens.
June 1, 2006... WHICH U.S. STATE CURRENTLY HAS THE biggest cash surplus? Answer: Florida. And which state has led in job creation for each of the past 41 months? Again, Florida. And which is the only large state with an unemployment rate more...

U.S. Manufacturing's global future: here's what we can learn from big energy's strong IW showing.(Editorial)
June 1, 2006... WITH THEIR SPECTACULAR REPORTED FINANCIAL results, it should be no surprise that energy companies dominate this year's IW U.S. 500 and IW 50 Best Manufacturing Companies lists. But this mature industry's strong showing causes me to wonder: What...

Scaring our readers?(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2006... Re "Gentle Persuasion," Page 37, April 2006, an article about greenhouse gases and global warming, reminds me of the global cooling article in Newsweek (April 28, 1975) entitled "The Cooling World," which claimed, "the present decline [in...

Lack of values laughable.(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2006... Re "Quality Takes A Beating," Page 46, March 2006. I had to laugh when reading your article in the March edition of INDUSTRYWEEK. If you dug a little deeper into all those supplier problems noted by your OEMs, I'm betting you find that most of...

R-E-S-P-E-C-T.(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2006... Re "Business Travel Tips For Bozos," Brandt On Leadership, Page 25, March 2006, I agree completely, but I have one question: Why is it necessary for some to remove their shoes as soon as they sit down on the plane? Especially if they're...

Who's in, out, up, down? This year's IW U.S. 500 highlights oil's obvious boom, but still delivers some surprises.(500 LARGEST U.S. MANUFACTURERS)(Industry Week)
June 1, 2006... QUICK. WHAT HAS 33 INDUSTRIES, REPRESENTS 40 STATES AND BOASTS NEARLY $4.9 TRILLION IN REVENUE? The answer: This year's IW U.S. 500, a list of the nation's largest manufacturers as ranked by revenue. INDUSTRYWEEK has been tracking the successes...

Gas hogs: petroleum producers dominate this year's list of INDUSTRY WEEK's 50 best manufacturing companies.
June 1, 2006... IT'S NOT AS THOUGH you need to be told that petroleum is king. After all, filling your car or truck is testament enough that the big oil companies are enjoying record revenues and profits, thus putting them on the throne, complete with cape and...