Batesville Casket Wins 2009 'Plant of the Year' Award From ASSEMBLY Magazine and The Boston Consulting Group
Annual Award Recognizes Excellence in U.S.-Based Manufacturing
| Source: The Boston Consulting Group
CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - September 30, 2009) - ASSEMBLY magazine, a trade publication for
manufacturers, and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the world's
leading management consulting firms, today named Batesville Casket Company
the 2009 winner of their "Assembly Plant of the Year" award. The award
spotlights a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the United States
that has applied world-class processes to reduce production costs, increase
productivity, shorten time to market, and improve product quality.
Headquartered in Batesville, Indiana, Batesville Casket is a leading
manufacturer of metal and hardwood burial caskets, cremation urns and
containers, and related support services. As the core operating company of
Hillenbrand, Inc. (fiscal 2008 revenues of $678 million), it employs about
3,300 people at manufacturing, sales, and distribution facilities
throughout North America.
Batesville won Assembly Plant of the Year for its application of lean
manufacturing techniques at its Manchester, Tennessee facility. Since going
lean 14 years ago, the facility has reduced costs per unit by almost 25
percent and cut the amount of floor space needed at its 450,000-square-foot
plant by more than 50 percent, creating room for new initiatives without
having to fund costly expansions. The plant's vertically integrated
operations produce 98 percent of the 224 parts needed to assemble a typical
casket. All metal stamping, plastic injection molding, fabrication, and
painting are done in-house.
Batesville Casket has won numerous awards for manufacturing excellence in
recent years, including the Progressive Manufacturing Award from Managing
Automation magazine, IndustryWeek's Best Plants award (Top 10 in North
America), regional Manufacturing Excellence Awards from the Association for
Manufacturing Excellence (AME), and the National AME Award as the number
one plant in North America.
"At a time when many U.S.-based companies have moved their manufacturing
operations overseas to lower costs, Batesville is an excellent example of
how a commitment to lean production can keep costs competitive," said
Austin Weber, senior editor of ASSEMBLY.
"We are very impressed by the results that Batesville has been able to
achieve in all dimensions of its operations," added Michael Zinser, a
partner in BCG's Chicago office and coleader of the firm's manufacturing
topic area. "Many businesses have adopted lean tools and principles, but
few have been able to generate the consistent improvements in cost,
quality, and delivery that Batesville has."
This is the sixth annual Assembly Plant of the Year award. The previous
five recipients of the award were IBM in Poughkeepsie, New York (2008);
Square D/Schneider Electric in Lexington, Kentucky (2007); Lear Corporation
in Montgomery, Alabama (2006); Xerox Corporation in Webster, New York
(2005); and Paccar Inc./Kenworth Truck Company in Renton, Washington
(2004). The award is jointly sponsored by ASSEMBLY and BCG to recognize the
strengths of U.S. plants and bring attention to the ongoing competitiveness
of those that demonstrate manufacturing excellence. Only one assembly plant
is recognized per year.
For further information on the award, please contact ASSEMBLY's Austin
Weber at +1 630 694 4013 or webera@bnpmedia.com. The nomination form for
the award is available at http://www.assemblymag.com/HTML/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000492126.
About ASSEMBLY
ASSEMBLY (www.assemblymag.com) is a monthly trade magazine that has been
published since 1958. It is read by plant managers, manufacturing
engineers, and design engineers in a wide variety of industries, including
automotive, aerospace, appliances, consumer goods, electronics, industrial
machinery, medical devices, and telecommunications. ASSEMBLY covers the
systems, equipment, tools, and materials used by OEMs and contract
manufacturers to assemble discrete parts into finished products, including
manual and automated production processes. ASSEMBLY is published by BNP
Media.
About The Boston Consulting Group
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm
and the world's leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with
clients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-value
opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their
businesses. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics
of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the
client organization. This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable
competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, and secure lasting
results. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 66 offices in 38
countries. For more information, please visit www.bcg.com.