Cont’l Teves Brake Plant In Top 10

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.--The Morganton, N.C., facility of Continental Teves--which makes automotive braking systems--has been recognized as one of North America’s 10 best manufacturing operations by IndustryWeek magazine in the publication’s 11th annual Best Plants competition.

The national honor recognizes world-class manufacturing capabilities and a plant “mindset” of continuous improvement. The panel of judges--made up of IndustryWeek editors and industry experts--looked at such things as just-in- time techniques, quality achievements, employee involvement, manufacturing cycle times, waste elimination, continuous-flow production, productivity and customer response time.

The Morganton plant produces electronic braking systems in a clean-room environment and is a model of lean manufacturing. Annual production of more than 3 million units includes ABS, TCS (Traction Control Systems), and ESP (Electronic Stability Program).

This is the second such recognition the plant has received in recent weeks. During the opening of the Paris Motor Show in late September, European-based Automotive World Magazine named the Morganton plant one of the top five finalists for its global Automotive Manufacturing Award.

“This honor from IndustryWeek magazine caps off a great year for the plant, and it reflects well on our company as a whole,” according to Bill Kozyra, president of Continental Teves North America in Auburn Hills. “The Morganton plant is indeed a model of cooperation, offering a clear example of what can be accomplished when astute managers and motivated employee teams set their minds to working smarter and getting better,” he said.

“Morganton operates with employee teams that are empowered to look at all aspects of plant operations and to participate in changes made within the facility. We are proud of the innovative thinking of our employees and the contributions they have made to the concept of continuous improvement in the plant,'' Kozyra continued. “This award truly belongs to them.”

Continental Teves is a unit of Continental AG, Hanover, Germany, with sales of $2.6 Billion in 1999. With 11,000 employees worldwide, Continental Teves manufactures of brake and chassis systems.

For more information, contact www.conti-online.com.