Quality manufacturing is the sum of its thousands of parts, both human and mechanical. The best of both were on display at the Plant Engineering Manufacturing Summit, March 31 and April 1, at the Hotel Sofitel in Chicago.

By Bob Vavra, Editor

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Quality manufacturing is the sum of its thousands of parts, both human and mechanical. The best of both were on display at the Plant Engineering Manufacturing Summit, March 31 and April 1, at the Hotel Sofitel in Chicago.

The best new manufacturing products from around the world were honored Monday, March 31, at the 20th annual Plant Engineering Product of the Year dinner. At a breakfast on Tuesday, April 1, three manufacturing facilities received the 2007 Top Plant awards.

Built around those two awards events were in-depth discussions on three of the key issues facing manufacturers in the U.S. today: energy and sustainability, data management and workforce development. The two-day event put product managers in the same room with plant managers and industry leaders to discuss some of the key issues facing the plant floor.

One of those leaders was Dr. Bernhard Haas, vice president of manufacturing for Deere and Co., who delivered the keynote address at the Product of the Year dinner. More than 160 people attended the gala dinner.

Gold, silver and bronze trophies were handed out to the products judged as the best new products of 2007 by Plant Engineering readers.

Ramsay Corporation’s Online Testing System was presented with the prestigious Grand Award , having received the single highest reader vote total.

On Tuesday, representatives from the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance, SEW Eurodrive and Spirax Sarco received the 2007 Top Plant award . Those three companies were honored for their commitment to manufacturing excellence, and in particular, their efforts to run fully sustainable, Lean manufacturing plants.

The sessions at the Manufacturing Summit amplified the the issues facing manufacturers today. Representatives from companies including IBM, which was the platinum sponsor of the Manufacturing Summit, discussed software and hardware innovations that help plant managers better gather data to understand how their plant floor is operating.

But these leaders also stressed the importance of acting on data to achieve measurable changes, and to create strategic plans to deliver real change in manufacturing.

The issue of workforce development was also a key topic. Presenters emphasized that an aging workforce requires new strategies to capture the knowledge of older workers, and to create innovative programs to develop the next generation of plant workers.

Manufacturing Summit sponsors included IBM, Schneider Electric, Square D, Ahlborn Equipment, and Molex.

Product of the Year Winners