Letterkenny wins top manufacturing award
By JIM HOOK
Senior writer
CHAMBERSBURG ?Letterkenny Army Depot employees will be honored Tuesday for winning one of the world's top awards in manufacturing.
The depot in October received the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing in the public sector from the Utah State University.
Business Week has called the Shingo Prize "the Nobel prize of manufacturing."
Ross E. Robson, executive director of the Shingo Prize at Utah State, will make remarks at the ceremony, along with U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg; Lt. Gen. William Mortensen, deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Materiel Command; and Maj. Gen. James Pillsbury, commanding general of U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command.
Letterkenny will be honored for "demonstrated achievement in implementing lean systems in support of the maintenance, repair and overhaul of equipment for the U.S. Warfighter."
The competition singles out organizations that practice "lean manufacturing," a work style emphasizing efficiency.
Letterkenny employs about 2,800 people and is the largest employer in Franklin County. Workers overhaul Patriot missile systems and maintain Humvees, biological detection systems, soldier support systems and power generators.
Established in 1988, the Shingo Prize for excellence recognizes companies that excel in productivity, quality, improved processes and customer satisfaction. Companies strive to eliminate waste and defects while improving products and lowering costs and inventories.
The prize is named for Shigeo Shingo, an engineering genius who created with Taiichi Ohno many of the just-in-time manufacturing methods in the Toyota production system.
