Industry Week articles from March 2002

Industry Week archives from March 2002

Capitalism at a crossroad? (Editor's Page).("The Divine Right of Capital: Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy")
March 1, 2002... Reports from the World Economic Forum, held earlier this year in New York, suggest that the concerns of Anti-Corporate, Anti-Globalization protestors detailed in our article "Beware the Coming Corporate Backlash," (April 2,2001, Page 38), have...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2002... Outlook Gloomy for U.S. Engineering The numbers you show for the decline in engineering, math, and physical science [degrees] are alarming ["Innovation: Celebrated But Threatened," The Editor's Page, Dec. 2001/Jan. 2002, Page 9]. I...

Goodbye to GAAP?: Probably not. But Enron's collapse makes changes in financial regulation likely. (Accounting).(generally accepted accounting principles)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... IN THE WAKE OF ENRON CORP'S FINANCIAL collapse, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), like the energy trading company's executives and auditors, are under intense scrutiny. The influential Economist magazine has gone so far...

The great collapse. (Book Shelf).("Rainbow's End: The Crash of 1929")
March 1, 2002... Historian Maury Klein revisits what he describes as "a pivotal moment in American history and a great mystery" in "Rainbow's End: The Crash of 1929" (2901, Oxford University Press). While few would question what he meant by tile first...

The cost advantage. (Canada).(Canada increasing cost advantage over US as business location)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Canada is increasing its cost advantage over the United States as a place to do business, says new research by professional services firm KPMG LLP. The United States' neighbor to the north is 10% less expensive than the U.S. when it comes to...

Eye on Afghanistan. (Investment).(Overseas Private Investment Corp. supportt for investment in Afghanistan)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) says it is making available an initial $50 million line of credit to support U.S. investment in Afghanistan. OPIC, a federal agency that provides political risk insurance and financing for U.S....

ADA still puzzles manufacturers: Supreme Court may clarify issues shortly. (Legal).(Americans with Disabilities Act)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... By July, two pending U.S. Supreme Court cases could give manufacturers a better idea of who is covered and who is not by the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). That's significant, says Quentin Riegel, deputy general counsel of the...

Why leaders fail. (Leadership).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The fall of Houston's Enron Corp. was swift and hard. Among the many questions it raises is that of effective leadership. While academics and others who study leadership spend considerable time devoted to answering the question "What makes a...

Merrill Lynch ups S&P earnings estimates. (Earnings).(earnings estimates for Standard and Poor's 500 companies)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... In 2001, the bull was a bit bearish. Merrill Lynch & Co., New York, figured S&P 500 operating EPS would come in at $38. Actually, says the securities firm, tile figure was closer to $39. So Merrill Lynch is now adding a dollar to its 2002 and...

Aiming for 'Autonomy': far more than a dream car, a new concept vehicle from GM is really a proposal to reinvent the automotive industry. (Emerging Technology).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Each year, on a carefully choreographed schedule, the auto shows open in the world's major cities, revealing new possibilities that emerge largely from each manufacturer's existing parts bins. This year is no different--with one important...

R&D's challenge. (Emerging Technologies).(research and development spending forecasts for 2002)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... In January, early funding predictions from R&D analysts reassured us. Although predicated funding increases were down--an overall increase of 5% was predicted in January 2001--expenditures for R&D were still expected to reach $285.6 billion in...

Creativity's true costs: Few are willing to make the investment. (Brandt on Leadership).(Brief Article)(Column)
March 1, 2002... Everywhere I turn I find CEOs who believe passionately in creativity. Only through continuous innovation, they harrumph for analysts and new employees, can we hope to create value for our customers well into the future. Wall Street applauds,...

From stand-up to boardroom. (Executive Word).(Pilot Pen Corp. of America executive Ronald Shaw)(Brief Article)(Interview)
March 1, 2002... Pilot Pen Corp. of America, Trumbull, Conn., is part of Pilot Corp. of Japan, a $1 billion manufacturer of writing instruments. INDUSTRYWEEK Senior Technology Editor John Teresko interviewed Ronald "Ron" Shaw about how his early experience as...

Locations.(Hydra Aluminum North America building aluminum remelting plant in Commerce, Texas)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Plant * Hydra Aluminum North America, a unit of Norway's Norsk Hydro ASA, is building a $37 million aluminum remelting plant in Commerce, Texas. Production is slated to start in December 2002. The plant will have the capacity to produce...

E-procurement explosion: Expected to reach $3 trillion in transactions by 2003, online purchasing is saving millions for savvy manufacturing companies. (E-Business).
March 1, 2002... "WE ARE SAVING MILlions of dollars while others are still analyzing and trying to decide if they should get started," says Michael Mendoza, global e-sourcing leader at Owens Corning Inc. "You can do it right, or you can do it wrong. The only...

Not ready for real time?: Promises to deliver a transparent view of the supply chain have fallen short. (E-Commentary).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Unlike fine wine, business information doesn't age well. Unfortunately, too many companies run their operations based on vintage data. Sure, CEOs of manufacturing companies can access their company's share price at any given moment. But...

Beyond the grave. (The Environment).(manufacturers using design for the environment concept to develop recyclable products)
March 1, 2002... IN THE OLD DAYS, A MANUFACTURER MADE A product and shipped it to the distributor, who then passed it on to a retailer, who sold it. Whether the product was a piece of furniture, a car or a computer, the "ka-ching" of the cash register pretty...

High and mighty: Industryweeks'S 2002 European Best Plants winners. (Europe's Best Plants).
March 1, 2002... Walking into a truly world-class manufacturing plant can be a bit unnerving. It's got nothing to do with the decorations in the lobby, although a certain pride is often on display there. Nor is it the appointment of the executive offices--small...

Mission critical: Customer partnerships and a multi-skilled workforce distinguish this supplier of circuit boards for military applications. (Europes Best Plants).(AMS)(Company Profile)
March 1, 2002... The test regimen at the AMS, Operations Hillend factory would flat-out destroy any ordinary printed circuit board. Destined for defense applications, the products assembled here are 100% tested and must withstand extreme temperatures, vibration...

Medical marvel: From order to invoice, Siemens Computed Tomography optimizes total logistics to serve its customers. (Europe's Best Plants).(Company Profile)
March 1, 2002... It's a simple question that manufacturers rarely get to ask in person. Before he can return home, the systems expert from Siemens Computed Tomography division has to ask it. He is visiting a customer to finalize the installation of an X-ray...

The right mix: Nichols Foods' success formula blends workplace organization, a sharp customer focus and a supercharged workforce. (Europe's Best Plants).(Company Profile)
March 1, 2002... A TOUR OF THE NICHOLS FOODS LTD. operation ostensibly begins in the "wet" blending room, where ingredients are carefully metered out according to recipe in 6,500-liter stainless steel mixing tanks. From here the soft drinks, cordials and syrups...

Ensuring your insurance: Companies face higher rates, a weaker industry. (Financials).
March 1, 2002... IN LATE SEPTEMBER, John McClary, CFO OF Windway Capital Corp., Sheboygan, Wis., learned that Windway's insurance company was withdrawing a quote for aviation coverage it had submitted earlier that month. The carrier then revised its bid,...

The low-cost, high-return production system. (Be Practices).(Toyota Production System)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Talk about gathering low-hanging fruit. With a negligible investment and without laying off any employees the American Printing House for the Blind Inc. in Louisville, Ky., turned a money-losing manufacturing venture into a money-making one,...

Maximizing ERP: Manufacturers extended enterprise resource planning's value with links to MES, business information. (Bandwidth).(enterprise resource planning; manufacturing execution systems)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... IT' S NO SECRET THAT ENTERPRISE RESOURCE planning software, commonly known as ERP, got a bad rap in recent years as a result of some much-publicized troubled installations. But many manufacturers are finding ways to extend the usefulness of ERP...

When will rates rise? (Financial & Economic Trends).(interest rates; includes related information on manufacturing output forecasts)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Two months ago, evoking memories of the Caribbean-inspired limbo dances of the 1950s, the U.S. interest-rate question was, "How low will Alan go?" The question now--in the wake of the January meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee...

Dollar dilemma: Overvalued 20% the dollar will be a drag on any recovery. (Evans on the Economy).(includes statistics on global production worker costs)(Brief Article)(Column)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Most of the commentary about whether the U.S. economy is about to recover is based on what is happening to consumption, housing and capital spending. However, one of the most striking features of the current downturn has been the plunge in...