An s+b Roundtable: This Mexican cement company redefined itself as a global solutions provider with the critical capabilities to match. See also “The Foundation of CEMEX’s Success—In Pictures.” Participants were Jaime Elizondo,  Luis Farias, Luis Hernandez, Ignacio Madridejos,  Juan Pablo San Agustin, Karl Watson Jr.; moderated by Thomas A. Stewart. Consider the challenges […]

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Is your organization ignoring an issue that’s hindering performance because it lacks time or expertise to solve it? Are you facing inconsistencies in production? Or could your operations be more efficient, with the potential to positively impact the bottom line? The University at Buffalo’s Six Sigma Black […]

GEORGETOWN, Ky. — It’s not hard to see how energy fits into Kevin Butt’s business of assembling 2,000 cars a day. “When we make cars, we argue about pennies sometimes,” he said. “Make it better, but don’t spend the money.” Butt is the regional environmental director at Toyota Motor Corp.’s […]

A year ago, the 24-year-old Rainier Valley Food Bank was at a breaking point. Need had climbed steadily for five years, food donations were down and an increasingly international clientele meant more potential for cultural and linguistic barriers than ever before. For Sam Osborne, Executive Director, the “meat station” — a half busted, […]

Spanish food group Campofrío said on Monday that it would open a new plant in Burgos within two years, after a fire completely destroyed a major factory in the northern city at the weekend. Campofrío director general Fernando Valdés, and Ignacio González, who is the director general of the firm’s […]

Three weeks from now, a strange phenomenon may be observed on British high streets and in upmarket shopping arcades. Long lines of youngish people will form orderly queues in the vicinity of a particular store. They will be diversely attired, though some elements of consistency may be discerned. The males, […]

After more than three decades of applying Lean in the West, perhaps the most important thing – and one that we’re still learning – is that Lean is a philosophy and a way of life, not just a set of tools and techniques. I strongly believe that Lean has a […]

When the James Webb Space Telescope is launched in 2018, engineering and advanced manufacturing skill from Waterloo Region will help astronomers peer out to very beginning of the universe. Com Dev International in Cambridge built the fine guidance sensor and scientific instrument that is the Canadian Space Agency’s contribution to the […]

DENVER, April 2 (Reuters) – Oil producer Hess Corp has turned to a manufacturing process developed by automaker Toyota Motor Corp to cut costs and boost production as crude oil prices lag. Deploying a process called Lean manufacturing, and used by only a handful of other oil producers, the move […]

TOYOTA CITY, Japan—When 15-year-old Mitsuru Kawai started working at Toyota Motor Corp. in 1963, he didn’t fathom his journey would take him from the factory floor to the corporate suite. But 52 years later, Mr. Kawai is preparing to take the post of senior managing officer, the highest position ever held by a […]