Industry Week articles from March 2003

Industry Week archives from March 2003

Nurturing the motivated workforce. (Editor's Page).(Column)
March 1, 2003... TWO ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE SPEAK VOLUMES ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED to do to help your company survive through this bafflingly slow economy to a grand old age. The stories, Senior Editor John McClenahen's "Managing In A Slow Growth Economy" and Jill...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2003... Made in China, But at What Cost? Applause for the article by Mike Evans ["China As Detroit," December 2002, Page 96]. He obviously "gets it" when most of America does not. Wealth is created only through the manufacturing process. Period....

Correction.
March 1, 2003... The General Motors Corp. plant that produces the Pontiac Grand Prix and Oldsmobile Intrigue ["Y' All Come," February 2003, p. 38] is located in Fairfax, Kan., not Fairfax, Mo.

Order in the torts: despite company plans to settle asbestos claims, business continues to seek federal civil-suit limits. The states, however, may have the final word. (Litigation).(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
March 1, 2003... DON'T ASSUME THAT REcently announced plans by Honeywell International Inc., Halliburton Co. and ABB Ltd. to settle asbestos claims against them represent the final verdict on tort reform. Indeed, the emotion-charged public policy issue of tort...

Broaden the options? (Bookshelf).(Book Review)
March 1, 2003... Let's face the fact. Perceived executive greed has given stock options a very bad name--think Enron Corp., for example. That's one reason the theme at "In the Company of Owners" (2003, Basic Books) will surprise some executives, confound others...

Central America pact by year's end. (Trade).(Central American Free Trade Agreement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The U.S. and five Central American countries--Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua--expect to complete negotiations on a free-trade pact by Dec. 31. Nine rounds of negotiations aimed at creating a CAFTA (U.S.-Central...

Revised Baldrige criteria stress ethics. (Citizenship).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... THE 2003 BALDRIGE AWARD PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE criteria, issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), challenges CEOs to be "chief ethical officers." "For America to have a strong economy, we need sound businesses with...

IBM's patent/licensing connection. (Emerging Technologies).
March 1, 2003... IBM CORP. IS DESERVEDLY PROUD OF DECADE-LONG LEADERSHIP IN PATENT AWARDS, BUT LICENSING REVENUE IS THE REAL REWARD. IBM's SECRET: TREAT LICENSING AS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF BUSINESS STRATEGY WANT A BETTER BOTTOM LINE WITHOUT investing more in...

Instead of a motor. (Emerging Technologies).
March 1, 2003... Users of small electric motors and solenoids could gain strategic product advantages with a paper clip-sized alternative that directly produces linear motion. Shape memory alloys (SMAs) create the back-and-forth linear motion, explains Rod...

The secrets of your success: look for these four must-haves in a successor. (Brandt on Leadership).(Column)
March 1, 2003... WHY ARE THE SUCCESSFUL SO bad at succession? More specifically, why is it so hard for leaders to name successors who can continue an organization's growth and profitability? The classic answer, of course, is ego. If you believe what the...

Experience breeds innovation. (Executive Word).(Herbert Baum )(The Dial Corp.)(Company Profile)(Industry Overview)
March 1, 2003... Herbert Baum has been around the block in terms of executive positions. His ideas for innovation have been harvested from those experiences. INDUSTRYWEEK spoke with Baum about his role in innovation at The Dial Corp. He is surprisingly...

Secrets to longevity: innovative, resilient, focused and adaptable describe companies that stand the tests of time. (Leadership).(Industry Overview)
March 1, 2003... WINDOW MANUFACTURER Andersen Corp. traces its roots back 100 years to 1903, when Danish immigrant Hans Andersen and his family founded the Andersen Lumber Co. in Hudson, Wis. The firm, now with headquarters in Bayport, Minn., says it plans a...

Lead-to-order: making the most of the complex sale in manufacturing.(Company Profile)(Industry Overview)
March 1, 2003... The discrete manufacturing industry is sometimes unjustly accused of being slower adopters of technology than other industries. But doing business in this sector has challenges that don't exist in others. Notably, fierce competition both...

Managing in a slow-growth economy: communicating better, cutting costs and globalizing production are among 10 actions you can take to improve business performance. (Management Strategies).(Industry Overview)
March 1, 2003... NO MATTER WHAT YOUR INDUSTRY is, or what your company's 2002 performance was, or whether or not you believe the Bush Administration's economic plan ultimately will be successful, 2003 cannot be a year of business as usual. This is the year you...

A growing mission to teach. (Operations).
March 1, 2003... Teruyuki (Terry) Yamazaki believes today's machine tool buyers expect--and get--accuracy and outstanding performance. The challenge, he says, is to demonstrate the additional benefits available from the latest metal-cutting technology. FOR...

Manufacturing's public policy challenge: convincing the President and Congress to extend tax relief to big manufacturers won't be easy. (Finance).(Industry Overview)
March 1, 2003... IT'S THE BIGGEST PUBLIC POLICY challenge manufacturing has faced since October of 2001, when it became apparent that the sector had started an inexorable slide into what's fast becoming its most frustrating downturn in 20 years. That was just...

Baldor Electric Company demands dependability. (Advertisement).(Company Profile)
March 1, 2003... Silence is not golden. Manufacturing executives and plant managers expecting to hear the whirr of motors and synchronized rhythm of production lines never want to hear complete silence. With an unparalleled record of product reliability and...

Empty plant attracts Microchip Technology: Gresham, Ore., site to employ 200 by year's end. (Locations).
March 1, 2003... PLANT: New life has come to a shuttered semiconductor plant in northwestern Oregon. Chandler, Ariz.-based Microchip Technology purchased the 826,000-square-foot plant last summer for $183.5 million and will begin production there this July....

See the big picture: extended value stream mapping offers a practical approach to developing customer and supplier partnerships. (Best Practices).
March 1, 2003... OSTENSIBLY A GUIDE FOR MAPPING THE EXtended value stream, "Seeing the Whole," a workbook published by the Lean Enterprise Institute, offers a good starting point for manufacturers struggling to develop more collaborative relationships with...

CEO optimism--and unease. (Financial & Economic Trends).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... PERHAPS ITS OPTIMISM IS SOMEHOW linked to the inspiring beauty of the Alps. Whatever the reason, a PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) survey of nearly 1,000 global CEOs released at January's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, reveals the...

Five-year high. (Financial & Economic Trends).(Manufacturers Alliance business index)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The quarterly business outlook index compiled by the Manutac-turers Alliance/MAP! rose to 67% in December 2002, its highest mark since December 1997. Although it remains to be seen whether the most-recent index's increase reflects the...

SK Daifuku Corp. (People).(David C. Janke, sales vp)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... David C. Janke has been named vice president of sales and marketing for SK Daifuku Corp., a Salt Lake City-based provider of logistics systems for automated material handling in manufacturing, distribution and cleanroom environments. Janke...

The Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. (PBG). (People).(Jaime Costa Lavin, CEO of PBG Mexico)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. (PBG) announced that Jaime Costa Lavin has joined as CEO of PBG Mexico. Lavin recently was president of Gruma (a corn flour and tortilla producer) for Mexico and Latin America. He also will serve as a member of...

Eastman Kodak Co. (People).(Alain H. Popelard)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Eastman Kodak Co. has named Alain H. Popelard to lead the company's European, African and Middle Eastern Region. Popelard, associate director of Kodak's global manufacturing and logistics group, and a vice president, will become chairman of...

Intel Corp. (People).(3 vice presidents promoted)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Intel Corp.'s board of directors has promoted three vice presidents. Robert Baker, who joined Intel in 1979, is general manager of the Technology and Manufacturing group; Patrick Gelsinger, who also joined Intel in 1979, is the company's chief...

Brigade Corp. (People).(Norman Din, vp)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Brigade Corp., a provider of business process outsourcing and customer relationship management solutions, announced that Norman Din has joined the company as vice president of marketing strategy. Din will be based in Brigade's Chicago office....

CPAC Inc. (People).(Dennis E. Brinly, vp)(Fuller Brush Co.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... CPAC Inc. has announced that Dennis E. Brinly has joined its Fuller Brush Co. subsidiary as vice president, sales and marketing. Brinly assumes responsibility for the development and implementation of strategic sales and marketing objectives...

Merck & Co. Inc. (People).(Marcia J. Avedon)(Margaret G. McGlynn)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck & Co. Inc. announced two executive appointments. Marcia J. Avedon has been promoted to senior vice president for human resources, and Margaret G. McGlynn has been promoted to president of U.S. human health....

The Timken Co. (People).(Sallie B. Bailey, others)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Timken Co., Canton, Ohio, recently named Sallie B. Bailey senor vice president for finance and controller. Bailey joined the company in 1995 as a director of finance. Also, Mathew W. Happach has been named vice president for rail, replacing...

Events. (Update).(include website contact data)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
March 1, 2003... March 18-20: Shingo Prize/Utah State University Leading the Lean Conversion Workshop and Tour Corpus Christi, Texas www.shingoprize.org May 4-6: American Iron and Steel Institute General Meeting Hyatt Regency San Diego ...

Organization for International Investment. (Associations).(Julietta Guarino, president)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Julietta Guarino, a senior vice president at ABB Inc., has been named president of the Organization for International Investment, Washington, D.C. The group promotes the positive role U.S. subsidiaries play in the U.S. economy and has more than...

The Association of Manufacturing Technology (AMT). (Associations).(Brian Papke appointed to board)
March 1, 2003... Brian Papke, president of Mazak Corp., a U.S.-based subsidiary of Oguchi, Japan-based Yamazaki Mazak Corp., has been appointed to the board of directors of AMT--The Association of Manufacturing Technology, McLean, Va.

American Welding Society (AWS). (Associations).(Ray Shook, exec director)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The American Welding Society (AWS) has hired Ray Shook as executive director. Shook has more than 30 years in the welding industry. AWS has 48,000 manufacturing and construction professionals as members.

Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME). (Associations).(Basem L. Hishmeh, president)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Basem L. Hishmeh, who currently serves as chairman of two New Jersey manufacturing companies, has been selected to serve a two-year term as president of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME). Hishmeh began his industrial career at...

Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). (Associations).(Dennis J. Slater, president)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) elected Dennis J. Slater as its new president. As president, Slater will oversee the day-to-day operations of the trade group, which represents manufacturers of construction, agricultural,...

Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). (Associations).(Kathy Stover )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Kathy Stover is the new director of communications for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). Prior to joining BIO, Stover was a senior managing editor at Thompson Publishing Group Inc. BIO represents more than 1,000 biotechnology...

Alcan's North America Rolled Products. (Companies).(wins award)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Integris Metals, Minneapolis, awarded Alcan's North America Rolled Products with its 2002 Supplier of the Year award. This is the first such award granted by Integris. Integris Metals supplies aluminum and stainless flat rolled products in...

Roadway Express Inc. (Companies).(safety awards)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Roadway Express Inc., Akron, Ohio, received two first place awards for truck safety from the South Carolina Trucking Association. The awards were based on accident frequency rate and went to the General Commodities Division for the 1...

Wilson Logistics Group. (Companies).(restructured)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Wilson Logistics Group recently restructured following the acquisition of Exceed. The Nordic countries region, which formerly included Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland, is now comprised of the combined...

Collins & Aikman Corp. (Companies).(buys Logrono, Spain plant )
March 1, 2003... Auto components manufacturer Collins & Aikman Corp. has acquired Delphi Corp.'s plastic injection molding plant and related equipment in Logrono, Spain, for 15 million euros (US$16.31 million).

Emerson Motor Technologies. (Companies).(Missouri impact! Award)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Emerson Motor Technologies plant in Kennett, Mo., has received the Missouri impact! Award for Continuous Improvement in Manufacturing Excellence from Missouri Enterprise Business Assistance Center.

High on housing: the boom is not going bust, and that will work to your benefit. (Evans on the Economy).(Industry Overview)(Column)
March 1, 2003... THE HOUSING SECTOR DEFIED THE weak U.S. economy last year. Single-family housing starts rose to 1.32 million, the highest since 1978, while total starts rose to 1.73 million, the highest since 1986. This year, I think housing starts will remain...

Online poll.(manufacturing career for your kids?)(Brief Article)(Column)
March 1, 2003... Would you encourage your son or daughter to pursue a position in manufacturing? IndustryWeek.com readers respond: Yes. 49.3% No. 50.7% Visit Industry Week.com to participate in the newest online poll.