Frost & Sullivan Announces Recipients of The India Manufacturing Excellence Awards 2006

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

In a high-profiled splendid ceremony, Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, as part of its endeavor to salute the efforts of the companies toward achieving 'world class manufacturing' status, presented the annual India Manufacturing Excellence Awards 2006 (IMEA) on 11th December, 2006 at Taj Coromandel, in Chennai.

With Dr. V. Krishnamurthy, Chairman, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council as the chief guest and other leading industry luminaries, the evening was a true gathering of manufacturing experts. Dr. V. Krishnamurthy delivered the keynote address setting the tone for showcasing the excellence of Indian manufacturing. IMEA 2006 saw twenty-nine awards being conferred across a wide spectrum of Indian companies. Corporates that demonstrated high level of excellence in manufacturing, which were reflected in their assessment scores were acknowledged through the coveted Super Achievers Awards.

There were two basic segments in the awards - Large Enterprises and Emerging Enterprises, presented with platinum, gold, and silver awards across automotive ancillaries, process, engineering, metals, chemicals, and healthcare sectors. Besides this, Dr. N. Ravichandran - President (Operations), Lucas TVS was honored with a special Lifetime Achievement award for his dedicated and excellent contribution to the manufacturing industry.

According to Anand Rangachary, Managing Director, Frost & Sullivan - South Asia and Middle East, "Indian manufacturing, today, has touched an enviable position, where mid-term and long-term growth would come from an increasing appetite for domestic consumption, as well as, a growing dominance of emerging economies in the global market place. More and more Indian companies are realizing that a smarter way to capitalize on this unique opportunity is to utilize existing resources more efficiently before going for capacity expansions. In the last three years of existence of the IMEA, we have witnessed this singular focus of CEO's to continuously progress toward global excellence in manufacturing. It is a very encouraging sign that India's competence is no longer just low labor costs or availability of skilled work force but also availability of globally competitive manufacturing facilities and services."

"As a growth consulting company, tracking and working in close cooperation with companies in the Indian market, Frost & Sullivan saw a need to place the best of Indian manufacturing on the world stage. It was this need that saw the conceptualization and birth of the IMEA that seek to highlight the very best, and indeed, India's world-class manufacturing capabilities. Today's awards acknowledge the facilities in India that have achieved and sustained manufacturing excellence through a balanced mix of perseverance, foresight, and dedication required to develop a successful manufacturing organization." says Raghavendra Rao, Director, Process Consulting Practice, Frost & Sullivan India.

Frost & Sullivan received 230 applications for its IMEA 2006. The applicants were asked to assess themselves on a 30-point checklist and send 50 key matrices, which define their business performance. Based on the self-assessed checklist and matrices, facilities were short-listed for site visit.

In adjudicating the award, the assessment team evaluates a facility on 11 criteria that capture excellence on cost, quality, and delivery, through a series of 220 pre-graded meticulously chosen points of assessment (POAs). These POAs are at a look at basis and the assessor needs to understand the progress made by every facility on each of them. The lateral scale traces a POA from zero to what it takes to be world class. After assigning ratings, scores on each of the 11 parameters are automatically calculated, and the sum of scores on 11 factors forms the facility score.

Raghavendra Rao further elaborates, "This model has the unique advantage of being proven incisive and accurate, as well as unbiased and applicable across industries, whereby the scores are also directly comparable. The factors on which facilities are assessed include focus on customers, orderliness, safety and environment, layout and material handling systems, internal competence, visual management, quality systems, scheduling systems, operational flexibility, inventory levels, supply chain integration, and equipment uptime. These factors are globally known to reflect facilities' progress towards flexibility and leanness."

Though most companies compete for the award and recognition for their efforts through IMEA, a few look for improvement points and benchmark their practices against world-class companies.

The media partners for IMEA this year were Outlook Business and Search magazine. For further details on the awards, please log on to www.frost.com/imea

IMEA 2006 Award Recipients List:

Super Achievers

-- Super Platinum Award: Bajaj Auto Limited, Chakan, Pune
-- Super Platinum in Emerging Facilities Award: Shri Govindaraja Mills, Arruppukottai
-- Super Platinum - 1st Runner up Award: Rajashree Cements, Malkhed Road (Gulbarga dist)
-- Super Platinum - 1st Runner up Award: Tata Motors Limited, Car Plant - K Block, Pune
-- Super Platinum - 2nd Runner up Award: Krishna Maruti Limited , Seat Division, Gurgaon
-- Super Gold in Emerging Facilities Award: IP Rings Limited, Maraimalai Nagar
-- Super Gold Award - 1st Runner up in Emerging Facilities: Spentex Industries Limited, Baramati

Automotive Ancillaries

-- Gold Award: Exide Industries Limited, Hosur
-- Gold in Emerging Facilities Award: Rane NSK Steering Systems Limited, Guduvancherry
-- Silver Award: J.K.Industries Limited, Kankroli
-- Silver in Emerging Facilities Award: UCAL Fuel Systems Limited, Gurgaon
-- Silver in Emerging Facilities Award: India Nippon Electricals Limited, Pondicherry

Process

-- Platinum Award: Aditya Cement, Chittorgarh
-- Gold Award: ITC Limited- Paperboards & Speciality Papers Division, Hyderabad
-- Silver Award: Ballarpur Industries Limited, Bhigwan
-- Silver in Emerging Facilities Award: SKM Egg Products Export (India) Limited, Erode

Engineering

-- Gold Award: Audco India Limited, Maraimalai Nagar,
-- Gold Award: Crompton Greaves Limited, Nashik
-- Gold in Emerging Facilities Award: Crompton Greaves Limited, Aurangabad
-- Gold 1st Runner up Award: Larsen & Toubro Limited, LTM Business Unit, Chennai
-- Gold 1st Runner up Award: Crompton Greaves Limited, Fans and Appliances, Goa
-- Silver in Emerging Facilities Award: Lakshmi Precision Screws Ltd. - Plant 2, Haryana

Metals

-- Corporate Gold Award: JSW Steel Limited, Toranagallu, Vasind and Tarapur
-- Gold Award: Balasore Alloys Limited, Balasore
-- Corporate Silver Award : Sterlite Industries (India) Limited, Silvassa and Tuticorin

Chemicals

-- Platinum Award: Godrej Consumer Products Limited, Gwalior
-- Gold Award: Thirumalai Chemicals Limited, Ranipet
-- Gold 1st Runner up Award: Henkel India Limited, Karaikal

Healthcare

-- Platinum Award: Astra Zeneca Pharma India Limited, Bangalore

Lifetime Achievement Award

-- Dr. N. Ravichandran - President (Operations), Lucas TVS

About Frost & Sullivan Awards - Frost & Sullivan Awards are presented to companies that demonstrate excellence in their industry, commending diligence, commitment and innovative business strategies required to advance in the global marketplace. Frost & Sullivan rigorously analyzes specific criteria to determine award recipients in a variety of regional and global markets. These awards recognize the superior planning and execution of product launches, strategic alliances, distribution strategies, technological innovations, customer service, and mergers & acquisitions. A host of other crucial marketing factors such as leadership, strategy, service, innovation, integration, and development are also recognized. The companies that are commended as award recipients are those with the diligence, perseverance, and dedication required to develop a successful business plan and excel in the increasingly competitive global marketplace.

About Frost & Sullivan: Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit http://www.frost.com

Samantha Unnikrishnan, Corporate Communications, Frost & Sullivan, + 91 (044) 4204 4667 sunnikrishnan@frost.com

Nimisha Iyer, Corporate Communications, Frost & Sullivan, + 91 (022) 4001 3446 niyer@frost.com

Source: Frost & Sullivan (Business Wire India)

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