West Liberty Foods Wins Manufacturing Leadership Award with Technology Partner Leading2Lean

West Liberty Foods, one of the largest turkey processors in the United States, has won a Manufacturing Leadership Award in Enterprise Technology Leadership from the Frost & Sullivan Manufacturing Leadership Council. As the technology that powers West Liberty Food’s lean manufacturing system, Leading2Lean was also recognized for its significant role in enabling the food processor’s award-winning project.

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"Winners of the 2017 Manufacturing Leadership Awards have proven vision and innovation are alive and well in the manufacturing industry," said Global Vice President and Editorial Director and Co-founder of the Manufacturing Leadership Council David R. Brousell in the official announcement. "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."

West Liberty Foods exemplifies the Manufacturing 4.0 transformation. After the implementation of Leading2Lean, West Liberty Foods saved $2 million in maintenance costs by improving operations at its plants. The company also achieved 89 percent utilization of its maintenance workforce and improved operational availability in at least one of the plants to 96 percent—an increase of nearly 10 percent. With Leading2Lean, along with other corporate training, maintenance employee turnover at the Mount Pleasant plant of West Liberty Foods, specifically, has been reduced by 50 percent.

“West Liberty Foods now has real-time visibility into our operations to quickly diagnose the root cause of inefficiencies,” said Chad Williams, corporate maintenance manager at West Liberty Foods. “In large part thanks to our working closely with Leading2Lean, we’ve saved money, improved our processes and increased production.”

“We are honored to be part of West Liberty Foods’ transformation in lean manufacturing,” said Keith Barr, president and CEO of Leading2Lean. “As exemplified by what they’ve recently accomplished to win this award, we’re proud to be working with West Liberty Foods and other manufacturers in helping them break out of the old ways of doing things and getting a real-time view into how they can improve their processes.”

For 13 years, the Manufacturing Leadership Awards program has recognized organizations and individuals that are building the future of national manufacturing. Nominations are submitted into 13 categories and evaluated by a panel of expert judges. Twelve of the ML Awards categories are for notable projects by a manufacturing company, and one category recognizes the accomplishments of individual manufacturing leaders.

Award winners and their partners will be honored at a gala celebration tonight, the final evening of the June 12-14, 2017 Manufacturing Leadership Summit, in Huntington Beach, Calif.

About West Liberty Foods

West Liberty Foods is a food manufacturer offering protein solutions to many well-known food service and retail customers both domestically and internationally. They have six locations in three states and employ over 2,900 people. A verified landfill-free company, they have successfully diverted over 520 million pounds since the initiative began in 2012. For more information, visit http://www.wlfoods.com/.

About Leading2Lean

Founded in 2010, northern Nevada-based Leading2Lean is focused on solutions for multinational manufacturers. Leading2Lean is focused on operational excellence and run by an executive team with extensive experience in manufacturing, engineering and turning around failing enterprises. Its cloud-based systems provide critical real-time information to help rank-and-file workers do their jobs better and take ownership of their work. A better-focused and motivated workforce produces more and of better quality, and leads to habits of continuous improvement. For more information, call 877-225-5201 or visit www.leading2lean.com.