GENERAL CABLE’S LAWRENCEBURG, KENTUCKY AND LINCOLN, RHODE ISLAND MANUFACTURING FACILITIES RECEIVE INDUSTRYWEEK’S BEST PLANTS AWARDS
NAMED AS TWO OF THE TOP 10 BEST MANUFACTURING PLANTS IN NORTH AMERICA
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KENTUCKY, January 11, 2012 – Two General Cable manufacturing facilities have been named as winners in INDUSTRYWEEK’s 2011 Best Plants Competition. General Cable’s Lawrenceburg, Kentucky manufacturing facility, which produces communications wire and cable, and Lincoln, Rhode Island plant, which manufactures portable cord, ignition wire and renewable products, has been selected by Penton Media's INDUSTRYWEEK magazine, the leading publication among senior manufacturing executives, as two of the 10 Best Plants in North America. INDUSTRYWEEK’S Best Plants Award Program, which started 22 years ago, is an annual salute to outstanding manufacturing facilities across all industries that are on the leading edge of efforts to increase competitiveness, enhance customer satisfaction, and create stimulating and rewarding work environments.
The INDUSTRYWEEK Best Plants program is an annual celebration of world-class manufacturing and continuous improvement practices, and demonstrates that manufacturing excellence continues to flourish across North America. In addition to the operational efficiency of the 10 factories chosen as ‘best plants,’ these facilities share the common trait of an unending pursuit of excellence, recognizing they can’t be leaders in their industries without their employees’ support, involvement and commitment.
In comments about the INDUSTRYWEEK Best Plants winners, who are featured in the January 2012 issue of INDUSTRYWEEK, Senior Editor, Jill Jusko, states, “The 2011 class of INDUSTRYWEEK’s Best Plants winners embodies the types of facilities we like to celebrate: committed to excellence and driven to get better every single day. The Best Plants honor recognizes a facility’s world-class manufacturing capabilities and its commitment to continuous improvement. INDUSTRYWEEK applauds these high-achievers.”
General Cable’s Lincoln plant will receive a commemorative award during ceremonies scheduled for January 19, 2012. General Cable’s Lawrenceburg plant will celebrate with an award ceremony on January 26, 2012.
“General Cable is once again pleased to receive this award from INDUSTRYWEEK in recognition of our manufacturing excellence,” said Greg Lampert, President and Chief Executive Officer of General Cable North America. “We use the INDUSTRYWEEK competition as a benchmark for comparing our manufacturing performance against the best in North America in all industries. I would like to commend Mark Thackeray, General Cable’s Senior Vice President of North American Operations; Heather Stolper and Mike Monti, Vice Presidents of Manufacturing and Team Leaders; Paul Furtado, Lawrenceburg Plant Manager; Mike Brown, Lincoln Plant Manager; and their respective teams, for setting challenging goals and providing the work environment for our associates to achieve them.”
“Lean Manufacturing, combined with Six Sigma quality improvement tools, continues to drive major improvements in all our manufacturing operations,” added Mark Thackeray, Senior Vice President, North American Operations. “Our strategy to achieve manufacturing excellence has made General Cable a much stronger company today, despite a tough economy. Lean Thinking is part of our culture of continuous improvement, along with the engagement and contribution of our associates—something we call ‘OLPC’ or Operator-Led Process Control. The Lawrenceburg and Lincoln plants are both operating very close to our ideal vision of OLPC.”
“Since 2001, General Cable has had 10 plants selected as finalists in the Best Plants competition. Nine of those plants have gone on to achieve the title of one of the Top 10 Plants in North America — one of them twice,” continued Thackeray. “They are Altoona, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., in 2003 and 2009; Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, in 2005; Tetla, Tlaxcala, Mexico, in 2006; Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A., in 2007; Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.A., in 2008; Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, in 2009; Franklin, Massachusetts, U.S.A, 2010; and now Lawrenceburg and Lincoln in 2011. This achievement recognizes our Company’s world-class manufacturing capabilities, as well as the mindset of continuous improvement shared by all General Cable associates worldwide.”
"Our associates come to work committed to make things better every day," said Mike Monti, Vice President and Team Leader, Carol® Brand and Industrial Wire and Cable Product Plants. "This award recognizes the hard work and dedication of all the associates at Lawrenceburg and Lincoln. We are very proud of our accomplishments and to be recognized with this prestigious INDUSTRYWEEK Best Plants Award."
“Our team has embraced Lean manufacturing for many years, which has allowed us to continually adapt, and quickly and successfully respond to challenges, be it with new customers or new products,” added Heather Stolper, Vice President and Team Leader, Communications and Assemblies Plants. “With technology and innovation advancements as well as a commitment to continuous improvement, our plants are successful in the global marketplace where they compete.”
The complete list of winners and in-depth profiles on General Cable’s Lawrenceburg and Lincoln plants can be found at www.industryweek.com/iwbestplants.
General Cable (NYSE:BGC), a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Highland Heights, Kentucky, is a global leader in the development, design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of copper, aluminum and fiber optic wire and cable products for the energy, industrial, specialty and communications markets. With annual revenues approaching $5 billion, General Cable is one of the largest wire and cable manufacturing companies in the world. It operates 47 manufacturing facilities in 25 countries and employs approximately 12,000 associates. Visit our Web site at www.GeneralCable.com.
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Release No. 0760
01/11/12