Leyland Trucks hauls in Shingo Medallion

Posted on 25 Aug 2011 by The Manufacturer

Leyland Trucks in Preston has scooped the Shingo Bronze Medallion, the globally prestigious award for manufacturing operational excellence.

Leyland Trucks managing director Andrea Thompson said, “The Shingo Prize is recognized as the premier award for manufacturing operational excellence. The award reflects the dedication and commitment of Leyland Trucks’ employees who produce high quality DAF Trucks for the global market.”

Leyland Trucks, a division of the PACCAR group, is a two-time previous overall winner of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ MX Award, in 2009 and 2010. In 2008 it also picked up MX awards for logistics and resource efficiency and financial management.

The string of awards is the culmination of a 30-year journey of change at the US-owned British brand. Under Andrea Thompson (née Paver) and senior members of the company like operations director Peter Jukes, Leyland has transformed itself from a company that at one time represented all that was bad about British manufacturing into a world-beating, super lean business of approx £850 million turnover.

“This is an outstanding achievement for Leyland Trucks who are only the 3rd UK company to be recognised with the global Shingo award,” said Julie Madigan, chief executive of The Manufacturing Institute, the educational partner for the Shingo Prize in the UK and Ireland.

The Shingo Prize was established in 1988 to educate, assess and recognize world-class organisations for creating a culture of continuous improvement through employee-empowerment and effective leadership. It is administered by the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and named for Japanese industrial engineer Dr Shigeo Shingo, who distinguished himself as one of the world’s leading experts in improving manufacturing processes.

Leyland Trucks will receive the award at the 24th Annual Shingo Prize Awards Gala, taking place at the Shingo Prize Annual International Conference in Atlanta in May 2012.