Lean Manufacturers Recognized for Excellence

LOGAN, Utah, March 22 -- The largest missile manufacturing facility in the world, the 1st appliance manufacturer and ten automotive suppliers are 2004 Recipients of the 2004 Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing. Dubbed the "Nobel prize of Manufacturing" by Business Week, the Shingo Prize is increasingly being recognized as the premier manufacturing award and recognition program in North America. Nine state-level awards and a public-sector category, primarily for Military Depots doing re-manufacturing, have been implemented in recent months.

Three notable achievements of the 2004 recipients include: one, 7 of the 12 achieved product quality of less than 10 "returned parts per million opportunities" from the customer; two, 7 of the 12 have inventory turns of more than 25 per year (compared to a U.S. average of 8); and three, premium freight as a percent of production costs averaged 0.12 percent. These data cover the full-year of 2003 and are all clear indicators of world-class manufacturing achievements.

"Once again the recipients of the Shingo Prize demonstrate that they are prepared to weather economic uncertainty by not wasting precious manufacturing and business resources, "said Ross Robson, Shingo Prize executive director. "Shingo Prize recipients and lean manufacturers clearly stand out among the manufacturers of North America in terms of quality, cost, delivery and business results."

This year's Shingo Prize Recipients are:

ArvinMeritor Light Vehicle Systems Gladstone plant, Columbus, Ind. -- This facility proudly manufactures complete exhaust systems and components for today's leading car manufacturers. Through an engaged workforce of more than 700 people who are trained in lean principles, team building and employee involvement practices, substantial quality and productivity improvements have been made. Most notably, those improvements have included a decrease in customer PPMs of 72 percent since 2000, a decrease in supplier PPMs of 99 percent since 2000, a 54-percent decrease in the cost of non-quality since 2000, and an on-time delivery average of 99.9 percent since 1999.

Delphi Corporation, Delphi Electronics and Safety, Delnosa 5 & 6 Operations, Reynosa, Mexico -- Delnosa 5 & 6 manufactures over 24,000 vehicle electronics products daily for 72 customer locations in 11 countries for Delphi Corporation . Delnosa's product line includes Audio, Mobile Multimedia, Telematics (interactive satellite technology), Navigation Radios, and Antenna Electronics. Delnosa also produces over 16 million molded and decorated plastic parts and assemblies each month that are used in Delphi facilities globally. In the last three years, Delnosa has increased productivity by 41%, increased inventory turns by 70%, improved first time quality by 76%, and increased asset utilization by 40%. Delnosa's 2,500 employees reached 200% participation in the employee suggestion program in 2003 and have currently worked over 22 million hours without a lost workday accident.

Delphi Electronics & Safety, Kokomo Operations, Plants 7 & 9, Kokomo, Indiana -- Kokomo Operations, Plants 7 & 9 is a vehicle electronics manufacturing facility employing over 1,100 people. These employees, represented by UAW Local 292, produce approximately 12 million units annually across four major product lines: audio components, power train controllers, inflatable restraint system electronics and electronic climate controllers. Applying the lean manufacturing concepts in the Delphi Manufacturing System, the facility has been able to achieve a third straight year of double-digit manufacturing performance, a 24% reduction in inventory, a 51% improvement in first time quality and has reached an annual shipping compliance rate approaching 100%.

Delphi Corporation, Energy & Chassis Systems, Empresas Ca-Le de Tlaxcala, Mexico -- Ca-Le is a battery manufacturing plant of 1,291,669 square feet, founded in February 1990 and located in Tetla, Tlaxcala, Mexico. Operating in a world-wide market, CALE produces two different automotive battery technologies: Hybrid (Antimony -- Calcium) and Maintenance-Free (Calcium-Calcium). Our productive headcount of 575 persons -- through the implementation of lean concepts and techniques -- work daily on EXCEEDING OUR CUSTOMERS' EXPECTATIONS. Our business results, customer satisfaction and quality of our products reflect our commitment with our employees, society and stakeholders.

Delphi Sistemas de Energia S.A. de C.V., Plt. 57; Chihuahua, Chihuahua Mexico -- Located in Chihuahua, Chihuahua Mexico since 1986 and serving 55 customers in 12 countries, Delphi Sistemas de Energia is a top of the line manufacturing organization. Here the combination of people who love their jobs, together with strong leadership, applying continuous learning and lean concepts, along with variation reduction, and defect prevention methods, have all contributed to superior satisfaction levels for customers, stakeholders and employees, creating a positive impact to the community and to the global environment.

Delphi Corporation, Packard Electric Systems. Plant 50, Del Parral Chihuahua, Mexico

Delphi's Packard Electric facility opened in February of 1998 in Hidalgo del Parral (more commonly referred to as Parral) in the southern part of Chihuahua, Mexico. The plant has 141,575 square feet of manufacturing floor space and 2,200 employees. These dedicated employees manufacture 13 families of products in 18 production lines, for 10 different General Motors assembly plants. The Parral plant produces power and signal distribution systems for the automotive industry, more commonly known as wiring harnesses. The motto at this facility is "Our people make the difference." Managers and supervisors say empowering employees and giving them opportunities make things happen. The success of this Delphi facility is attributed to its people.

Delphi Corporation, Packard Electric Systems. Plant 58, Meoqui, Chih. Mexico

The Meoqui Plant is located in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico and has been a part of Delphi Packard Electric's manufacturing footprint since 1987. The 1,800 employees at the 151,000-square-foot facility produce more than three million of wiring systems annually for several General Motors assembly plants in the United States and Canada. Employee commitment and a comprehensive implementation of the Lean-driven concepts within the Delphi Manufacturing System (DMS) have been able to drive operational improvements in cost, quality, delivery and productivity. Some of those improvements include: 20% reduction in customer complaints in 2003; 17% improvement in total cost compared to 2002; scrap reduction of 50% since 2000; first-time quality improvement 72% since 2001; and productivity increase of 35% compared to 2000.

Delphi Packard, Plant 98

Delphi Corporation, Packard Electric Systems, Centro Tecnico Herramental S.A de C.V, Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila.

With a wide variety of products and processes, CENTEC employees are flexible and skillful in successfully delivering parts to nearly 40 customers around the world. The majority of customers are in the US and Mexico, but several are also located in Europe, South America and Asia. The Delphi Manufacturing system drives the 470 CENTEC employees to continuous lean improvements. Elimination of waste, a 75-percent reduction in scrap and the Industria Limpia certification from the Mexican government for being environmentally sound are all part of the accomplishments of which CENTEC employees are very proud. Employees assemble wiring harnesses and their components and electric and electronic connectors. CENTEC now has a 0 IPM (incidents per million) on-time shipping record and have seen FTQ improve 87 percent since 1999. Continuous training of employees at all levels in daily skills and in lean implementation has led to the high quality at CENTEC.

Delphi Packard, Plant 51, Nuevo Casas Grandes Chihuahua, Mexico

Located in the PAQUIME area in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, Nuevo Casas Grandes began operations in March 1985. With strong customer-focused strategies and lean-driven concepts, this 165,000-square-foot plant builds and ships approximately 10,000,000 wiring systems annually to several General Motors vehicle assembly plants in the United States and Canada. The Casas Grandes Plant, which carries the slogan "The Best Plant by its People," has utilized the lean principles within the Delphi Manufacturing System to become one of the most successful plants in Delphi Packard's Mexico West Operations, with zero lost work days, over 80% reduction in RPPM (Rejected Parts Per Million), more than 50% reduction in Customer Complains, and 20% reduction in cost per shipped hour.

Maytag Jackson Dishwashing Products, Jackson, Tenn. -- Maytag Corporation's dishwasher plant is the first appliance manufacturer to earn the Shingo Prize. Associates belong to empowered High Performance Work Teams producing more than 100 dishwasher models daily, with brands including Maytag(R), Jenn-Air(R) and Amana(R). The Maytag LeanSigma(R) philosophy, which combines lean manufacturing methods with Six Sigma tools, was the path for transformation that began in 1999 and achieved significant improvements in Safety, Quality, Cost and Delivery, including a 64% reduction in OSHA recordable injury rate and 84% improvement in first pass quality yield. A very flexible single assembly line with capability to produce "any model/any day" was transformed into 8 single-piece-flow assembly cells with ability to produce "any model/any hour."

Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson Operations, Tucson, Ariz. -- The employees at Raytheon Missile Systems proudly equip U.S. and allied warfighters with the latest technology to protect world freedom, including the Tomahawk Cruise Missile and Paveway(TM) laser guided bomb. Many of the company's products saw extensive use in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Raytheon's lean efforts have resulted in significant value improvements in product performance, stronger relationships and robust solutions for customers. Raytheon is committed to continue this journey to become a lean enterprise -- with speed, reliability and affordability -- and receiving the Shingo Prize has validated the firm's progress along the path to improvement.

TI Automotive, Cartersville, GA -- The plant produces more than 7.4 million brake and fuel bundles for Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz plants in both the United States and Canada. Cartersville team members operate by TI Automotive's own lean system of Common Sense Manufacturing, which is a passionate belief that there is always a simpler, better way. The plant has achieved single-digit ppm, 100 percent on time delivery and a 30 percent reduction in inventory levels. As the world's leading supplier of fluid storage, transfer and delivery systems, TI Automotive's more than 20,000 employees at 130 facilities worldwide are all dedicated to continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.

Finalists

In addition to the Recipients listed, other finalists included Aspect Medical Systems, Newton, MA.; Delphi Lansing Cockpit Plant, Lansing, Mich.; Delphi Energy & Chassis, Saginaw, MI; Delphi Steering Plant 7, Saginaw, Mich.; GDX Automotive, Vehicle Sealing Products, Batesville, AR; GDX Automotive, New Haven, MO; Maytag-Searcy Laundry Products, Searcy, AR; Nemak Corporation of Canada-Windsor Aluminum Plant, Windsor, Ontario, Canada; TI Automotive, Brake Tube Assemblies, Greenville, TN. "Each of these plants are also outstanding in their manufacturing processes," according to Robson.

The Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing, for manufacturers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, is administered by the College of Business, Utah State University. Awards for the Recipients and Finalists will be presented at the 16th Annual Shingo Prize Conference and Awards Ceremony to be held May 20, 2004, at the Lexington Convention Center, Lexington, KY. Speakers will include Gary Convis, President, Toyota Motor, Georgetown, KY and Masaaki Imai, Founder and Chairman, Kaizen, Institute, Tokyo, Japan, among others. For more information, go to www.shingoprize.org.