IMPLEMENTING CHANGES IN MANUFACTURING: COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH PRODUCTIVITY GAINS

Business environments in the last decade have changed dramatically in the United States. Competition from companies with established world‐class techniques has placed heavy pressure on companies not quite as prepared for new realities. In the last ten years, leading companies with traditionally high market shares and profits have found themselves in a panic, implementing radical changes and new ways of doing things in order to survive in an environment where seemingly only the leanest, and most responsive, survive. This paper provides an analysis of how a medium‐sized company has reacted to a changing marketplace in order to remain competitive. Problems faced by this company in the last ten years are typical of the problems many firms in the US have faced: (1) competition in a global market, trends toward automated, high‐volume production and standardization, (2) rapid technology changes and their effect on human resources, and (3) advances in quality expectations. The most noticeable achievement by this company has been made possible by the technology exchange with its new parent company. The successful implementation of key automated manufacturing lines in high‐volume markets has set the pace for what the future business climate will demand.