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CNH Industrial plants in the USA and China achieve Bronze status in the World Class Manufacturing program

by Staff Writer
CNH Industrial plants in the USA and China achieve Bronze status in the World Class Manufacturing program
CNH Industrial plants in the USA and China achieve Bronze status in the World Class Manufacturing program

The CASE Construction Equipment manufacturing facility in Burlington, USA, and the CNH Industrial agricultural equipment plant in Harbin, China have both achieved Bronze status in the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) program. 

The Burlington plant in Iowa, U.S.A. manufactures tractor loaders backhoes, rough-terrain forklifts and crawler dozers for the CASE brand, as well as headers for the Case IH and New Holland Agriculture brands and features a state-of-the-art Research and Development Center. Occupying 1,000,000 square feet alongside the Mississippi River and employing some 600 people, the plant has been producing equipment since 1937. The facility also includes a test laboratory set in 400 acres of proving grounds located ten miles north of the plant.

The Harbin plant, in north-east China, is the largest manufacturing complex of its kind in the region occupying 400,000 square meters. It produces a state-of-the-art range of tractors, combine harvesters, headers, balers, and other equipment through the Case IH and New Holland Agriculture brands. The plant employs some 350 people and adopted the WCM program just three years ago, initially involving a core group of people, before progressively extending it to the entire workforce.

World Class Manufacturing is one of the global manufacturing industry’s highest standards for the integrated management of manufacturing plants and processes. It is a pillar-structured system based on continuous improvement, designed to eliminate waste and loss from the production process by identifying objectives such as zero injuries, zero defects, zero breakdowns and zero waste. To certify improvements, a system of periodic third-party audits evaluates all of the WCM pillars, forming an overall score for each plant that is the basis for three achievement levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold.

The WCM audits in both Burlington and Harbin noted progress and consistency across a variety of both manufacturing and managerial areas including People Development and Environment leading to their Bronze Level designation.