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Research & Rankings

IW is known for its various rankings of manufacturing companies. Our rankings are: IW 1000, IW US 500, IW 50 Best Manufacturers and IW Best Plants.

2009 IW Best Plants Winners: Focused on Excellence
World-Class Manufacturing flourishes among IndustryWeek's 2009 Best Plants Winners.

One purpose behind IndustryWeek's annual salute to manufacturing excellence is to recognize plants that are on the leading edge of efforts to increase competitiveness, enhance customer satisfaction, and create stimulating and rewarding work environments. Now in its 20th year, the 2009 IW Best Plants competition once again is demonstrating that manufacturing excellence continues to flourish across North America.

For example, at E-Z-GO in Augusta, Ga., a relentless pursuit of continuous improvement has helped this maker of golf and utility vehicles bring back in-house work that previously had been outsourced. Lean manufacturing has driven improvements in performance metrics ranging from inventory turns and first-pass yields to productivity.

Read on to see the rest of the list.

Research & Rankings Articles & News

GE Transportation Delivers Locomotives to Nigeria

Company plans to ship 20 more before end of the year.

2/5/2010

Colgate-Palmolive Co.: Profiting Off Pearly Whites

Demand for dental products push company to record-setting quarter

2/4/2010

Apple Inc.: Say Hello to the iPad

New tablet device will launch in March 2010 and sell for $499

1/28/2010

CF Industries Holdings Inc.: Acquisition Bid From Agrium Intensifies

Fertilizer manufacturer tries to fend off buyout bid after giving up on yearlong attempt to purchase Terra Industries.

1/21/2010

IW50 Profile: Steel Dynamics -- Nuggets of Opportunity

Steel Dynamics hopes its Mesabi Nugget project will stabilize raw materials costs and provide the potential for new business.

1/20/2010

CF Industries Gives Up on Terra Bid

Agrium steps up effort to acquire CF

1/15/2010

Briggs & Stratton to Reimburse Employees for Lost Wages

Company giving back part of cut pay

1/15/2010

Chevron Corp.: Natural Gas Projects Ramp Up

Company strikes long-term deals for Australian project; lower fourth-quarter earnings expected

1/14/2010

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc.: Solar Powered

Company continues push into the solar industry with recent acquisition

1/7/2010

Lockheed Martin Corp.: Acquisitions on Radar Screen

Company plans to make more moves in 2010 to bolster growing business units

12/17/2009

More From This Section...

IW 50 Best Manufacturing Companies

The IW 50 Best Manufacturing Companies is IndustryWeek's report on the 50 best publicly held U.S. manufacturing companies based on revenue.

To identify the top performing manufacturers, the IW formula factored in revenue growth and profit margin over the past three years, with 2008 results weighted most heavily. We also considered three-year performance in four other financial ratios: inventory turns, asset turnover, return on assets and return on equity.

View the alphabetical list and profiles of the IW 50 Best Manufacturing Companies.

The IW US 500 Database

Enter The List
Check out the 500 largest public manufacturing companies -- based on 2008 revenues -- in the United States via this sortable list. Sort the list by several categories including industry, ranking, and financial performance measures.

The IW 1000 Database

Enter The Database
Use this free database to view the entire 14th annual IW 1000 list of the world's largest publicly held manufacturing firms -- based on 2008 revenues. View the entire list or Sort the list by several categories including industry, country, ranking, and financial performance measures.

Events

Winning Stimulus Funding for Infrastructure Projects

2/18/2010

Lessons Learned from PACCAR/DAF Trucks NV: Virtually Validating and Optimizing Manufacturing Systems

2/23/2010

Lean Quality for Pharma and Consumer Product Manufacturers: Saving Millions With Rapid Testing

1/28/2010