DALLAS, Sept. 7, 2000 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Integrated Systems Sector (ISS) has been selected as the 2000 winner of the Industry LEAD Award by the Computer and Automated Systems Association of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (CASA/SME).
The LEAD Award honors industry teams for their "Leadership and Excellence in the Application and Development" of enterprise-wide integrated manufacturing. ISS was one of more than 300 applicants nationwide evaluated for the award, which was presented today at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Ill.
"Our goal is to become the best airborne systems integration enterprise, and winning this award validates that we're on track," said ISS president Ralph D. Crosby Jr. "We've had considerable success through the application of lean principles and practices on the assembly floor and in non-production areas, such as engineering and supplier management, and from the integration a lean enterprise requires. The result is our military customers are seeing shorter cycle times and improved quality."
In the LEAD Award selection process, ISS was noted for excellence and innovation with its art-to-part integration, application of electronic initiatives for procurement, shared services and high-performance culture activities as part of implementing a lean enterprise system, especially in support functions or "beyond the shop floor" processes.
Other applicants for the award consisted of companies outside the aerospace industry, including automobile manufacturers, computer firms, defense and electronic businesses.
Previous award recipients include Daimler Chrysler, Michigan; Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, Washington; Beijing Machine Tool Plant, China; Digital Equipment Corporation, Colorado and Texas; Texas Instruments, Texas; General Electric, New York; AT&T Microelectronics, Virginia; and last year's winner, Pacific Car and Foundry, Inc. (PACCAR), Washington.
SME, headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., is an international professional society dedicated to serving its members and the manufacturing community through the advancement of professionalism, knowledge and learning. Founded in 1932, SME has more than 60,000 members in 70 countries. SME also sponsors 295 chapters, districts and regions, as well as 275 student chapters worldwide.
ISS is the prime contractor or major subcontractor on a number of key military aircraft programs. The sector's major programs include the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System; E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft; EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft; F-14 Tomcat fighter; B-2 Spirit stealth bomber; F/A-18 C/D Hornet Strike Fighter and F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet; Joint Strike Fighter; and unmanned vehicle systems, including Global Hawk, the Miniature Air Launched Decoy vehicle, the Firebee and the BQM-74.
Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems Sector, headquartered in Dallas, is a premier aerospace systems integration enterprise. ISS has the capabilities to design, develop, integrate, produce and support complete systems, as well as airframe subsystems, for airborne surveillance and battle management aircraft, early warning aircraft, airborne electronic warfare aircraft and air combat aircraft.
LEARN MORE ABOUT US: Northrop Grumman news releases, product information, photos and video clips are available on the Internet at: http://www.northgrum.com. Information specific to the Integrated Systems Sector is available at: http://www.iss.northgrum.com.