Snap-on earns Silver Award for manufacturing

Snap-on Incorporated’s power tools plant in Murphy, N.C. was recently awarded the Silver Prize by the North Carolina Shingo Prize for Manufacturing Excellence. The Snap-on Tools plant was just one of two facilities to receive the acclaimed award.
 
In celebration of this achievement, tours are now being offered at the facility on the second Tuesday of every month through November. The tour is available on a pre-registration, pre-approval basis. Interested individuals should contact Ms. Jean James at (828) 456-2462 or [email protected] for more information or to register for a tour.
 
The North Carolina Shingo Prize program — administered by the Industrial Extension Service (IES) of North Carolina State University — provides assessments of manufacturing organizations based on the North American Shingo Prize criteria.

The Silver Shingo Prize is given to organizations that have positive improvement trends in business functions and show many examples of improvement projects focusing beyond daily issues.
 
“We are very honored and excited to receive the highly regarded Silver Shingo Prize,” says Rob Hartman, plant manager of the Snap-on Murphy plant. “We knew that implementing lean manufacturing processes would take commitment and hard work, but we also knew that it would pay off, and it has.”
 
The Snap-on facility in Murphy produces a mix of Snap-on, Sioux and private brand power tools for professional users. The facility began its lean manufacturing implementation shortly after relocating from Sioux City, Iowa to Murphy in 2002.
 
The Snap-on MG31 Impact Wrench — made at the plant — also caught the attention of the Discovery Channel’s “How It’s Made” producers and will be featured in an upcoming episode.