Industry Week articles from November 2005

Industry Week archives from November 2005

Online poll.
November 1, 2005... OnLine Poll In the aftermath of Katrina are you revising your disaster contingency plans? IndustryWeek.com readers respond: YES, we are making changes 23% YES, we are now creating a plan 23% NO, our plan is complete...

Filling manufacturing's leadership void: tired of lipservice, new leaders are taking matters into their own hands.(Editorial)
November 1, 2005... AT JUST THE TIME WHEN THE U.S. MANUFACTURing sector needs strong leadership to help it navigate what many agree are historic structural changes, those from whom we'd expect such guidance are missing in action. Worse, they are failing to...

Reviving GM's survival.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2005... Re "Can GM Survive?" On The Economy, Page 72, lane 2005. It sure seems to me that you miss the central point: GM is designing and producing a lot of cars that are not highly appealing. In the article's sub-title, the biggest issue is deemed...

Getting to know you: at the close of Al Frink's first full year, he counts CAFTA, energy and tort reform as wins but says currency policy is not his job.(Albert A. Frink,. Jr.)
November 1, 2005... ALBERT A. FRINK, JR., the U.S.' first assistant secretary of commerce for manufacturing and services, closed his first full year last month with a sense of accomplishment but with a substantial list of work yet to be done. Tort reform, CAFTA...

Qualifying, monitoring key to supply-chain success: geography and quality issues can impact performance.(Solectron Corp.'s president Mike Cannon)(Interview)
November 1, 2005... SOLECTRON CORP.'S CEO AND PRESIdent, Mike Cannon, talked to INDUSTRYWEEK about best practices in global supply-chain management. Solectron, based in Milpitas, Calif., is a $3 billion company that provides electronics manufacturing and...

Beyond outsourcing.(Multisourcing)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2005... First, a few words about what "Multisourcing" (2005, Harvard Business School Press) is not about. It is not about contracting with any number of firms for production of goods in multiple locations around the world. It is, stress authors Linda...

A kinder, gentler corporation.(corporate citizenship)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... A MAJORITY (81%) OF U.S. COMPANIES BELIEVE corporate citizenship should be a priority, a new survey says. And 64% of executives believe that integrating community, social and ethical concerns into the management of their businesses benefits...

Database predicts supplier risks: both financial and operational health considered.(Open Ratings Inc. develops SBManager to predict supplier instabilities)
November 1, 2005... WHAT'S THE best way to monitor for supplier instabilities--or better yet--predict them? With the quest for efficiency driving ever-tighter manufacturer/supplier dependencies, the question becomes more critical. Providing an answer inspired...

Bite-size BI.(Edge Dynamics Inc. introduces business intelligence software Edge Dynamics 3.0)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... IT'S RARE FOR VENDORS OF BUSINESS INTELLIgence software to claim specific revenue and profit potential. But the latest version of Edge Dynamics 3.0 delivers 1% and 5% respectively to the unusual product marketing dynamics of the pharmaceutical...

VPs unite! It's cushy job vs. pushy upstart: imagine a boss who wants performance, not PowerPoints. It's ugly.(BRANDT ON LEADERSHIP)
November 1, 2005... FELLOW VPs, I'LL GET RIGHT TO THE POINT: Tulley--our fair-haired peer, the CEO's flavor of the month--has gone off the deep end. In the space of a week the man has become a menace to our reputations, to our careers, and to our expense accounts....

The U.S. manufacturing landscape: a summary of results from the 2005 IW/MPI Census of Manufacturers.(CENSUS OF MANUFACTURERS)(Cover Story)
November 1, 2005... PLANT PROFILE WHILE MANY ASPECTS OF U.S.-based manufacturing have been debated in recent years--usually with the goal of "fixing" manufacturing--two attributes have not been widely addressed: We are old and stubborn. * Like elderly parents...

Driving success: learn performance improvement strategies from the best in the business.(Executive Insights)
November 1, 2005... Pricing power increased and revenues skyrocketed as U.S. manufacturers enjoyed robust economic growth this year. However, despite this market upturn, storm clouds are gathering on the horizon and bottom line profits are at stake. Why?...

It's time to fix the kitchen sink: census data show that manufactures that don't invest in employees will have higher turnover rates--at a time when skilled employees are becoming scarcer.(ANALYSIS)
November 1, 2005... U.S MANUFACTURERS SEEM TO BE treating the skilled labor shortage like a leaking kitchen sink. They are ignoring it because the kitchen can still function, but eventually, that hidden pipe will rot the floor, and the sink will crash into the...

The China factor: navigating risk in a land of opportunity.(Advertising Section)
November 1, 2005... For manufacturers struggling to map their future in a global economy, where the signs and landmarks shift with dizzying speed, the question of the moment is this: What will be the impact of China? Manufacturers know that China will...

Practicing the principles: company social responsibility, appropriately, remains a serious work in progress.(MANUFACTURING & SOCIETY)
November 1, 2005... HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HEARD A child ask, "Are we there yet?" The responsibilities that manufacturers have to society--to their employees, their customers, their suppliers, the communities in which they operate and, if they are publicly held,...

A house divided.(MANUFACTURING IN CRISIS)
November 1, 2005... GONE ARE THE DAYS WHEN U.S. manufacturers united to compete against the likes of Germany and Japan, pumping out high-quality goods under the protective shelter of the world's most vibrant economy. Today, amid liberalized trade and widely...

Capture competitive advantage through response management.
November 1, 2005... Many organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to position themselves for market success because market situations are changing faster than strategies can be developed. New competitors appear with unique approaches, product life...

Leaders supporting growth with IT: but are finding ways to do more with less.(E-BUSINESS)
November 1, 2005... ANYONE PLACING A BET ON A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN spending on information technology and profitability would be wise to hedge that bet with an equal wager on Lucky Lightning, the 16-1 shot in the sixth at Santa Anita. In fact,...

IW 50 best manufacturing companies.(E-BUSINESS)(Illustration)
November 1, 2005... IW 50 BEST MANUFACTURING COMPANIES Revenue Profit Company ($ millions) Margin(%) Amphenol Corp. $1,530.45 10.67...

From scrap to savings: new furnace brings tax break to steel plant.(North American Steel Corp.)
November 1, 2005... TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A tax break for recycling waste, the North American Stainless (NAS) steel plant in Ghent, Ky., plans to install an electric are furnace. The $50 million investment will give the plant a backup furnace in the short term and...

Solid expansion still in sight: but energy costs a cause for concern; hurricane damage a mixed bag.(U.S. ECONOMY)
November 1, 2005... DESPITE THE HUMAN toll and regional costs of this year's hurricanes, the magnitude of the federal budget deficit, the huge trade deficit with the rest of the world and concerns that housing is a bubble about to burst, the U.S. economy will...

Pro-active protection: Toro attacks product liability, personal injury and property damage claims head-on--and estimates savings at $13 million per year.(PRODUCT LIABILITY)
November 1, 2005... WHILE IT SEEMS EVERY one else in the manufacturing community is wringing their hands over tort reform, the team over at The Toro Co., Minneapolis, is busy perfecting a 14-year-old program that's reduced the time and cost of resolving product...

Ignore the bubble babble: despite what the alarmists contend, U.S. housing prices will continue to rise in 2006 and 2007.(ON THE ECONOMY)
November 1, 2005... U.S. HOUSING PRICES, ON AVERAGE WILL RISE 2% to 3% next year, the same as the rate of inflation. In 2007, they will rise 4% to 5%. These projections are obviously well below the average rise in housing prices of the past four years. But they...