Industry Week articles from September 2003

Industry Week archives from September 2003

Our divided house win not stand.(Editor's Page)(Editorial)
September 1, 2003... We're living in what I believe is one of the "inflection" points economists are always talking about. The dramatic economic, political and social upheaval that we're now experiencing--and how we as leaders respond to it--will define this era...

Wanted: fair trade.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2003... Omitted from the "Unruly Trade" discussion [July 2003, Page 48] was the inflicted costs manufacturing in the United States suffers from our own state and federal governments, and from our legal system. The countless thousands of regulations by...

Shape up to ship out: new anti-terrorism rules will affect air, rail, ship and truck cargo beginning Oct. 1.(Regulation)
September 1, 2003... UNLESS SOMETHING TOTALLY unexpected delays them, new federal anti-terrorism cargo security rules will take effect Oct. 1. The rules could slow the movement of goods along some manufacturing supply chains, but even when fully implemented,...

Getting ready.(ASAP)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... U.S. Customs & Border Protection is expected to publish final anti-terrorism cargo regulations Sept. 15 in the Federal Register. The rules are stated to go on the books Oct. 1, will full implementation in 2004. In the meantime, "there is...

Expensing stock options jeopardizes competitiveness: stock options stimulate employees to benefit shareholders.(3 Quick Questions)(Interview)
September 1, 2003... Craig R. Barrett, CEO of Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel Corp., has been very vocal about expensing stock options. An opponent of the practice, he feels the current expensing method--Black--Scholes is far from accurate. He goes as far as saying...

21st century leadership.(Book Review)
September 1, 2003... "The Power of Management Capital" (2003, McGraw-Hill) seems like a title for one of those intense but sometimes substantively suspect specials that PBS stations air during their pledge weeks. Fortunately, it's not. It's the title of a...

The two sides of Tobias? Former Eli Lilly CEO's 'Moose' is his Big Pharma ties.(Yea And Nay)
September 1, 2003... IS FORMER ELI LILLY CEO AND chairman Randall Tobias a savior or a snake? Time will tell, but as the U.S.' first global AIDS coordinator, appointed in late June by President George W. Bush, Tobias will undoubtedly find himself under a...

"Unassuming yet bold ... a great motivator ... a determined leader who wants results--fast".(Time Machine)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... That's how INDUSTRY WEEK opened its Nov. 2, 2000, profile of Dennis Kozlowski, the hero-turned-villain former CEO of Tyco International Ltd. who was always controversial and always made money. Tyco under Kozlowski epitomized how the technology...

Disastrous results.(Strategy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... What do you mean you still don't have a business continuity plan? Although CFOs, of all people, should comprehend the financial hardships a company could face in the wake of disaster, about 36% of them report that their companies are still...

Notable/quotable.(Strategy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... "Due to the negative impact of exchange rates we anticipate that earnings in the full year 2003 will be below [the] previous year's level." Hubertus Erlen, chairman and CEO, Schering AG Executive Board, commenting on the negative impact...

It's Greek to to me.(Communicate)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... TIRED OF READING ABOUT PROCESSES that "facilitate the rapid enablement of strategic initiatives in order to greatly accelerate mission-critical competitive advantages?" Huh? Enough with the business jargon, says Deloitte Consulting. "If...

Who's at fault? Management bears blame if labor relationship goes South.(Workforce)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... MANY THINGS ARE NOT rocket science, including forging a good labor-management relationship, says Bob Matha, a partner with Matha MacDonald, a Chicago-based consulting firm. In fact, he says, "it's pretty simple stuff." "The top thing,"...

PLM reaches for smaller firms: early adopters in automaking and aerospace consider product lifecycle management (PLM) a key competitive strategy. Now IBM also tailors the tool for smaller firms.(Emerging Technologies)
September 1, 2003... QUESTION: WHAT PLM BENEFITS ACCRUE to small and midsize manufacturers? Answer: Regardless of company size, PLM improves product development of complex designs and enhances the use of product-related information. In tailoring a PLM solution...

Molding composites.(Emerging Technologies)(toolling process devised by Diaphorm Div., Solectria Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Thinking of molding short to medium runs at structural thermoplastic composites? Per-part costs could be cut by 70% with a new approach to tooling and equipment, says Vasilios Brachos, engineering and operations manager at Diaphorm Div.,...

Are you a pricing pussycat? Toughen up with these rules on protecting your margins.(Brandt On Leadership)
September 1, 2003... MANAGEMENT LESSONS ARrive in the strangest places. Consider, for example, the concept of the Louie DePalma Number. DePalma, in case you've forgotten, was the volatile and venal dispatcher on the television series Taxi. The predicament of the...

Bye-bye to 'buy American'? Today's U.S. consumer marketplace is a melting pot of people, products and paychecks. Manufacturers need to ask: does 'made in America' matter to their customers anymore?(Part Four Of A Seven-Part Series)
September 1, 2003... WAL-MART'S STORY IS AS ALL-AMERICAN AS they come. It grew from a regional chain in the 1960s to $245 billion in revenues as of January 31, 2003--quadrupling sales in the past 10 years alone. Leadership, culture and logistical skills aside, the...

D-day for steel: following a report due this month by the U.S. International Trade Commission, President Bush will make a decision to keep, alter or repeal controversial tariffs on imported steel. No matter what he decides, he will be hurting U.S. manufacturers.(Steel Showdown)
September 1, 2003... CONSIDERING ALL OF THE tumultuous events that have occurred during George W. Bush's presidency, one wonders for what the brash Texan will be most-often remembered. Will it be for being the country's CEO during the heinous Sept. 11 attacks? For...

Angling for the right software: manufacturers benefit from a melding of custom and packaged software. The end result--configurable solutions.(Software)
September 1, 2003... At the table in the IT department, there were three software solutions. CEO Joe Manufacturer was desperate. He tested the solution from the custom-software provider first. "This solution is too expensive!" he exclaimed. So, he tested the...

It starts with parts: manufacturers find outsourcing of equipment parts often the first step in improving MRO strategy.(Plant Strategies)
September 1, 2003... WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DECADE MAKES. When managers at International Truck and Engine Corp.'s Indianapolis plant considered entering an extended service agreement for equipment maintenance five years ago, they took two years to decide to move...

A typical agreement.(Plant Strategies)(parts leasing agreements)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... ACCORDING TO STEVE STALL, EQUIPMENT--parts leasing agreements benefit manufacturers by increasing productivity because spare parts are onsite or nearby, and asset carrying costs are reduced. With Rockwell, the agreements vary and are based...

Yes, Nicholas, it does matter: information technology is more than a commodity.(E Commentary)(Nicholas G. Carr's Harvard Business Review essay )
September 1, 2003... A CONTROVERSIAL ARTICLE that appeared in a recent issue of Harvard Business Review (HBR) was entitled, "IT Doesn't Matter." Don't believe it. The essay, by Nicholas G. Carr, HBR's editor-at-large, raised a stir in manufacturing...

Toyota trucks to Texas: with the opening of its San Antonio assembly plant in 2006, Toyota will expand annual Tundra production capacity by 150,000.(Locations)
September 1, 2003... PRODUCTION OF AN ARCTIC-SOUNDING truck is coming to 2,000 acres of decidedly non-Arctic ranch land just south of San Antonio. By 2006, some 90 to 100 acres will be under roof as the sixth North American assembly plant of Toyota Motor Corp. is...

CEO + $ = better ROI: payback on supply-chain investments rises with chief executive involvement.(Supply Chains)
September 1, 2003... ARE YOU A CEO DISAPPOINTED BY the return-on-investment (ROI) in supply-chain improvements? You might try getting more involved in setting the supply-chain strategies for acquiring basic materials, transforming them into products and...

Growing private.(Bottom Line)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Sarbanes-0xley legislation seems to be the main reason many public companies nave decided to go private, according to Grief Thornton, a Chicago-based business advisory firm. Indeed, the number of public companies going private since July...

The virtues of vertical integration: an intense focus on design supported by vertically integrated manufacturing gives Crown Equipment Corp. an edge in a mature market.(Best practices)(Company Profile)
September 1, 2003... CROWN EQUIPMENT CORP. SEEMS ON FIRST impression to be a company that time forgot. Tucked away in the small Ohio town of New Bremen (population: 2,909) that prides itself on its 19th century streetscape, the company has leveraged vertically...

What's your biggest headache? Asking, answering questions along the path to enlightenment.(Continuous improvement)
September 1, 2003... AS A JOURNALIST, I MAKE A living asking questions and listening to what people have to say. When I'm visiting manufacturers, one of the first things I ask about is what is their biggest headache. It's never too hard to get people to talk about...

Praxair.(People)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... * Danbury, Conn.-based Praxair realigned management responsibilities as the result of a planned retirement of an executive vice president. Stephen F. Angel, executive vice president, will take on additional responsibilities; Ricardo S....

Omron Electronics.(People)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Craig Bauer has been appointed Omron Electronics' chief operating officer, while Frank Newburn has been promoted to the position of co-CEO. Newburn will maintain his title as president as well as continuing his responsibilities as president of...

Kyocera Mita.(People)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Kyocera Mita, a manufacturer of computer-connectable peripherals, has named Tony Pater president, Kyocera Mita America, in addition to his current responsibilities as executive vice president of sales. Akihiro Nasu, current president of Kyocera...

Cattron-Theimeg.(People)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Cattron-Theimeg President and COO Jim Robertson has announced a reorganization that includes the creation of two new business units: Marketing & Sales and Operations. Jim Kingerski, who had been senior vice president/railroad operations, has...

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.(People)
September 1, 2003... Jost Hellmann, managing partner of Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, Osnabrueck, Germany, announces the creation of Hellmann Integrated Logistics Solutions, a separate division focusing on integrated logistics solutions. Update is compiled by...

Events.(Update)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
September 1, 2003... Sept. 21-24: Material Handling & Logistics Conference Grand Summit Resort Hotel Park City, Utah www.hksystems.com, mhcreg@hksystems.com Oct. 5-8 International Iron and Steel Institute Annual...

Whatever happened to monetary policy? The stock market, more than low interest rates, will drive economic recovery.(Evans On The Economy)
September 1, 2003... HERE COMES THE RECOVERY. Again. The most recent U.S. recession officially ended in November 2001. But for the next six quarters, the economy advanced in a no-man's land, with higher unemployment accompanying anemic real growth. Now, most...