No matter what type of product they make, all manufacturers walk the same fine line and face many of the same burdens. For example, when the path to profitability reaches a T or a Y, management often must make a critical decision: go left and invest in assembly automation technology, or go right and outsource production.
Teams of employees at the Lear Seating Plant in Montgomery, AL, manage their own budgets, attendance, job assignments, housekeeping and performance discipline: an innovative approach to labor relations is paying big dividends.
There was a strong field of candidates for the third annual award. That made it difficult for the team of judges, which included ASSEMBLY's editorial staff, to narrow down the list to five finalists, which included Gulfstream, Peterbilt, Schneider Electric and SMC Inc. in the honorable mentions category.
Most people who purchase a BMW X3 have no idea that it's not built by the company from Munich, Germany, that claims to provide "the ultimate driving machine." The $36,000 sport utility vehicle is actually assembled by Magna Steyr, a contract manufacturer that builds cars for several other automakers, including DaimlerChrysler (Auburn Hills, MI) and General Motors Corp. (Detroit).
