Managing Automation Announces Winners for the 2008 Progressive Manufacturer of the Year & High Achiever Awards

Winners Were Honored at the Progressive Manufacturing Summit Black Tie Gala June 12, 2008 at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas

Managing Automation, a Thomas Publishing Company, LLC publication, has announced the winners of its fourth annual Progressive Manufacturing Awards Program which recognizes manufacturers who have used technology to improve competitiveness and capitalize on growth opportunities.

In recognition of its efforts and outstanding results, General Dynamics has been awarded the Managing Automation Progressive Manufacturer of the Year Award. The award was one of nine High Achiever awards bestowed on manufacturing companies at the fourth annual Managing Automation Progressive Manufacturing Summit, which took place in Las Vegas this June. General Dynamics' Markus Yatskievych accepted the award from Managing Automation Editor-in-Chief David Brousell and Livingston & Haven's Bruce McKay, winner of the 2007 Progressive Manufacturer of the Year award.

General Dynamics' 7-year Orion Project replaced a largely manual, paper-based manufacturing and quality system at the company's Advanced Information Systems unit in Scottsdale which makes and tests printed circuit boards and systems for space satellites. The system, based on integrated quality and MES software, resulted in a paperless shop floor and a state-of-the art level of automation for the aerospace industry. The system includes a repository of all production-related data which has allowed General Dynamics to do such things as access quality and testing information related to specific locations on specific boards in minutes rather than days. And that has allowed the plant to quickly support critical go/no-go launch decisions

The Progressive Manufacturing Awards program recognizes manufacturing companies that have clearly demonstrated mastery of one or more of eight disciplines that will be keys to the success and prosperity of manufacturing companies in the coming years. A panel of thirteen distinguished judges evaluated Progressive Manufacturing nominations from a record number of manufacturing companies this year, identifying 50 that have demonstrated significant mastery of one or more of the disciplines (see the complete list of the Progressive Manufacturing 50). From the Progressive Manufacturing 50, the judges selected nine High Achievers. Those were the manufacturers receiving the highest scores in each mastery category, as well as the Progressive Manufacturer of the Year, which, in the eyes of the judges, demonstrated mastery of multiple Progressive Manufacturing mastery categories. The 2008 Progressive Manufacturing High Achiever Award winners, and their mastery categories, were:

The 2008 Progressive Manufacturing High Achievers are:

Business Model: Emerson Electric
Innovation: Livingston & Haven
Customer (Tie): Juniper Networks & IBM
Supply Network: Intertape Polymer Group
Data & Integration: Freescale Semiconductor
Education & Training: E.J. Ajax & Sons Inc.
Leadership: Card-Monroe Corp.
Operational Excellence: Dole Foods

Project nominations were reviewed by an independent judging panel chaired by David Brousell, Editor-in-Chief, Managing Automation. Judges included Lisa Bodell, CEO, FutureThink; Bill Canis, Vice President for Research and Innovation, The Manufacturing Institute at the National Association of Manufacturers; Douglas A. Engel, Partner and Former Vice Chairman Manufacturing Industry Practice Leader, Deloitte; Chris Knuffman, Lean Manufacturing Champion, Quincy Compressor (2006 Award Winner); Larry Lapide, Ph.D., Director, Demand Management, MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics; Paul E. Martin, Global Chief Information Officer, Rexam Plc (2005 Award Winner); Bruce McKay, Executive Vice President, Livingston & Haven (2007 Progressive Manufacturer of the Year); Scott Mingus, Global Director, New Product Development, Glatfelter (2007 Award Winner); Eric Mittelstadt, CEO, The National Council for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM); James A. Robbins, Partner, Accenture Industrial Equipment Practice; Maureen Steinwall, President, Steinwall Inc. (2006 Award Winner); Steven Vidakovic, Technology and Knowledge Integration, Global Supply Chain, Pfizer Inc. (2007 Award Winner).

Judges evaluated and scored nominated projects based on the following criteria: project scope, business impact, customer impact, technology use and scale. The Progressive Manufacturer of the Year and the High Achievers are the result of the companies receiving the highest total scores.

The Progressive Manufacturing award winners were honored and presented with their awards at the Progressive Manufacturing Awards Gala Dinner held on the last day of the 2008 Progressive Manufacturing Summit, June 12, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas.

"Our Progressive Manufacturing Awards Program has significantly expanded since its inception in March of 2005 and response continues to grow," said Managing Automation Publisher Heather Mikisch. "These award winning, progressive manufacturers, will make a lasting mark on today's manufacturing community."

"These companies are mastering the business models and processes necessary to become leaders in today's global marketplace," explained David R. Brousell, Editor-in Chief of Managing Automation. "They are deploying automation and information technologies that generate competitive advantage for their companies."

About Managing Automation

Managing Automation, published by Thomas Publishing Company, LLC, provides a complete set of decision-support informational tools for progressive manufacturers -- companies who are using information and automation technologies to transform their businesses and create a sustainable competitive advantage. Its monthly magazine, website, information technology comparison and match database, and executive conferences reach the entire integrated technology buying team -- executives, line-of-business managers and IT management -- at every stage of the technology buying process. Additional information can be found at www.managingautomation.com.