America's Best: IndustryWeek's Guide to World-Class Manufacturing Plants

In 1990, IndustryWeek magazine established a prestigious new competition, the America's Best Plants Award, designed to recognize and honor the top manufacturing operations in the nation. To date, sixty-two companies―from such well-known names as Hewlett-Packard, Sony Electronics, Steelcase, and Xerox to smaller companies such as Zytec, John Crane Belfab, and Lord Corporation―have earned the illustrious designation of being one of America's Best Plants.

Now these award-winning plants are profiled in America's Best, a unique reference that takes an in-depth look at leading-edge manufacturing practices. Detailing the individual components of world-class manufacturing, while providing personal experience from the field, America's Best offers practical guidelines that will help managers make strategic decisions regarding their own organizations.

The book begins with the nine essential components of world-class manufacturing, their individual make-up, and how they interact with each other. These components―customer focus, quality, agility, employee involvement, strong supplier relations, technology, new product development, green manufacturing, community involvement―come together to create the basis of manufacturing excellence and will serve as a road map for improving your organization, your products, and your people.

Profiles of each of the 62 Best Plant winners celebrate individual excellence in the field. Highlighting these profiles are on-site visit reports by IndustryWeek editors; detailed coverage of the many unique programs, tools, and techniques currently in use at each plant; and a listing of contact information for individual plants. Also included is a complete set of the winners' statistical measurements for use in benchmarking your own organization, as well as an assessment survey to help you determine how your plant measures up against the best.

Filled with helpful data, advice, "lessons," and firsthand stories from Best Plant leaders and employees, America's Best will be essential reading for managers in executive suites to the shop floor who are charged with the success of their manufacturing organization.

"A clear and exciting depiction of the dramatic changes taking place in manufacturing and the innovative approaches used to sustain world-class excellence." ― Jerry J. Jasinowski President, National Association of Manufacturers

"Highly readable and packed with relevant examples of what makes the best, best." ― Carla O'Dell, PhD President, American Productivity & Quality Center

"A rousing standing ovation for Ted Kinni and the editors of IndustryWeek. America's Best is a benchmark book, and Kinni and colleagues have pulled off an Olympian feat. . . . If you've set a course for excellence, you must read this book." ― Jim Kouzes, coauthor The Leadership Challenge and Credibility, Chairman and CEO The Tom Peters Group/Learning Systems

Advanced Filtration Systems, Inc.

Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.

Allen-Bradley Company

Baxter Healthcare Corp.

Chesebrough-Pond's USA Co.

Cincinnati Milacron, Inc.

Coherent, Inc.

Continental General Tire, Inc.

Copeland Corporation

Corning, Inc.

Dana Corporation

Digital Equipment Corp.

Edy's Grand Ice Cream

Engelhard Corporation

Exxon Chemical Co.

Fisher-Rosemount, Inc.

Ford Electronics & Refrigeration Corp.

Ford Motor Co.

The Foxboro Company

GE Fanuc Automation NA, Inc.

General Electric

General Motors

General Motors Corp., Cadillac

Gilbarco, Inc.

Hewlett-Packard Company

Honeywell, Inc.

IBM Corporation

John Crane Belfab

Johnson & Johnson Medical, Inc.

Kennametal, Inc.

Lockheed Martin Corp.

Lord Corporation

Marlow Industries, Inc.

MEMC Electronic Materials

Mettler-Toledo, Inc.

Milwaukee Electric Tool

Motorola, Inc.

New United Motor Mfg., Inc.

Nippondenso Mfg., USA, Inc.

Northrop Grumman Corp.

Pella Corporation

Rockwell International

Siemens Automotive

Sony Electronics, Inc.

SPX Corporation

Steelcase, Inc.

Stone Construction Equipment, Inc.

Super Sack Manufacturing

Symbiosis Corporation

Tennessee Eastman Company

Texas Instruments, Inc.

The Timken Company

TRW Vehicle Safety Systems, Inc.

Unisys Corporation

Varian Associates, Inc.

Wilson Sporting Goods Company

XEL Communications, Inc.

Xerox Corporation

Zytec Corporation

THEODORE KINNI is the Director of Books for IndustryWeek magazine and the founder of The Business Reader, a company marketing books directly to businesspeople and corporations internationally. He is also a contributing editor to Quality Digest.