Philips' New Kensington, PA, assembly plant was designed from the ground up with three things in mind: people, lean manufacturing and the environment.

The Assembly Plant of the Year award was initiated in 2004 to showcase world-class production facilities in America, and the people, products and processes that make them successful. All manufacturers that assemble products in the United States are invited to nominate their plants. Unlike many other awards, there is no entry fee.

The Assembly Plant of the Year award is sponsored by ASSEMBLY Magazine and The Boston Consulting Group Inc. (BCG), a global management consulting firm that is the world’s leading advisor on business strategy.

The goal of the Assembly Plant of the Year award is to identify a state-of-the-art facility that has applied world-class processes to reduce production cost, increase productivity, shorten time to market or improve product quality.

An official nomination form appeared on the magazine’s Web site earlier this year. Nominations were received from a diverse group of manufacturers that reflect the magazine’s demographics.

All nominees were evaluated by ASSEMBLY’s editorial staff and by BCG’s operations practice, based on criteria such as: