Nexteer Automotive, a global leader in intuitive motion control, earned Frost & Sullivan’s Manufacturing Leadership Award as a leader in manufacturing excellence. The company was awarded for “Enterprise Technology Leadership” for its global implementation of advanced manufacturing and analysis technologies to streamline and interconnect product warehousing, traceability and quality management. The initiative has resulted in significant cost savings, efficiency gains and customer responsiveness.
“This honor is a reflection of our team’s work in creating a ‘Digital Thread’ of technologies throughout our global manufacturing environment,” said Dennis Hoeg, vice president of global operations, manufacturing engineering and capital enterprise systems, Nexteer Automotive. “These tools are critical to connecting parts of the business digitally to reduce lead time and operating costs while improving efficiency.”
Since 2009, Nexteer has been developing an interconnected “Digital Thread” of manufacturing technologies to optimize its operations. The company has expanded pilot programs for several technologies to a global scale, resulting in consistent data elements and a common architecture for its operational systems. Today, the company is using these technologies to plan upcoming production needs, track products throughout the manufacturing cycle, coordinate warehousing, gather and analyze data from the production lines and ensure final product quality.
“This is only phase one of integrating several of our advanced technologies into a system that’s easy-to-use and offers one seamless flow of data, processes and insight. As we implement future phases and add additional technologies, we expect the benefits to grow even more,” said Hoeg. “These technologies have improved our responsiveness and the overall quality of our product to our customers, which is priceless.”
Nexteer is currently the number one steering supplier in North America and number three global supplier of steering systems and halfshafts, serving more than 50 global customers.
“Winners of the 2017 ML Awards have proven vision and innovation are alive and well in the manufacturing industry,” said David R. Brousell, global vice president and editorial director and co-founder of the manufacturing leadership council. “By embracing the technology-driven transformation that we call Manufacturing 4.0, innovating new business models, and leveraging engaged workforces, these leaders are laying the groundwork for a new era of greater productivity in manufacturing.”
