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Cooper Automotive Lighting Plant Among America's Best

16 October 1997

Cooper Automotive Lighting Plant Among America's Best

    HOUSTON, Oct. 16 -- It wasn't too many years ago that
headlights came in one shape -- round. In those days the big choice
facing car makers was two lights or four. A look at any parking lot shows
those days are gone. The lighting systems on today's cars and trucks are
sleek, stylish and engineered into the design and performance of the vehicle.
Suppliers of these lighting systems must excel in many areas including
demanding quality and appearance requirements, just-in-time delivery
timetables and environmental protection.  Doing all of these things well
helped Cooper Automotive's Wagner lighting plant in Hampton, VA win a spot on
IndustryWeek's (IW) Ten Best Plants in America competition.
    "It's great to see our employees at Hampton recognized with such a high
honor," says H. John Riley, Jr., Cooper's Chairman, President and Chief
Executive Officer. "They are leading the push going on at all Cooper plants
with their commitment to smart manufacturing practices, a focus on customer
service and a desire to succeed in the global marketplace."
    In its eighth annual America's Best Plants competition, which this year
drew a record 275 nominations from North American industry, IW recognized
vastly different plants for a trait that they share: a continuous-improvement
mentality that helps draw new customers and contributes to job security and
financial success.
    "Our employees seek out ways to improve our operations every day," says
Mark Hogan, manager of the Hampton plant. "We start the day assuming we have
to win our customer's trust and business all over again against world-class
competition."
    According to John R. Brandt, IW's editor-in-chief, "IW's America's Best
Plants report is quite possibly the most-saved issue we publish.  Reports on
success stories like these are both instructional and motivational," he says,
"And while this issue celebrates 10 successes, it also challenges other North
American operations to rethink and revamp their manufacturing processes."
    The 10 winning plants were selected in a two-stage judging process.
Plants competing in the program were asked to submit a 20-page questionnaire
that provides IW editors with information about their efforts in the areas of
quality, employee involvement and empowerment, customer focus, supplier
partnership, use of technology, manufacturing operations and flexibility,
inventory management, maintenance, new-product development, community
involvement, environment and safety programs, productivity, cost reduction,
and other evidence of improved competitiveness. From this information, 25
plants were selected to provide additional documentation and then a final 10
had to pass onsite visits.
    While this is the first appearance for Cooper's Hampton plant on the IW
listing, it's not the plant's first national award.  The plant is also a
two-time winner in Cooper's Environmental Excellence Awards program, a winner
of Virginia's Governor's Environmental Excellence Award for Manufacturers and
a winner in Chrysler's world-wide quality and environmental awards programs.
    Headquartered in St. Louis, MO, the Cooper Automotive organization of
Cooper Industries markets products under such well-known brand
names as Anco windshield wiper blades and arms, Champion spark plugs and
igniters, PowerPath and Belden automotive wire and cable, and Wagner,  Zanxx
and Blazer lighting products.  Cooper Automotive has 15 manufacturing
facilities in the United States and 14 international locations and
approximately 9,000 employees worldwide.
    Cooper Industries, with 1996 revenues of $5.3 billion, is a diversified,
worldwide manufacturer of electrical products, tools and hardware, and
automotive products. Additional information about Cooper is available on the
 company's World Wide Web site: http://www.cooperindustries.com .

SOURCE  Cooper Industries, Inc.