Factory of the Year, a global benchmarking competition run by A.T. Kearney, has announced the shortlisted finalists for the inaugural Factory of the Year (FOTY) competition. Since its inception in Germany in 1992, it has become the leading global benchmarking competition for manufacturing firms.

Selected by a jury panel comprising the Department of Trade and Industry, Manufacturing Circle, Council the Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Lean Institute Africa. 

Selected finalists include – in alphabetical order; Atlantis Foundries, Columbus Stainless, Eberspächer South Africa, Nampak (Bevcan) and  Nyamezela Metering. Submissions are judged across five key dimensions: customer satisfaction, quality, value creation, economics and agility.

The inaugural event sees A.T. Kearney partnering with the Department of Trade and Industry, Manufacturing Circle, CSIR, Manufacturing Indaba and Engineering News.

According to Igor Hulak, Partner at A.T. Kearney, the Factory of the Year Award is recognised as the toughest benchmarking test for companies based on standards and best practices from over 2,000 factories across all industries and over 30 countries.  

Hulak adds that “today’s globalised world presents a challenge for all manufacturing operations. To successfully sustain and grow production, achieving and maintaining world-class excellence in manufacturing is a top priority. Factory of the Year aims to identify and reward world-class performance and provides all participants with a confidential evaluation of their competitive position as part of our assessment of all finalists.”

Theo Sibiya, Managing Director of A.T. Kearney South Africa further emphasised, “from a local perspective, the South African manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP has declined significantly from highs of above 22% in the early 1990s to approximately 12% today. This has had a negative effect on the country’s development agenda.”

Since 1992, hundreds of factories have participated and benefited from the independent, cross-industry feedback that comes with the benchmark. It has enabled them to analyse their strengths and weaknesses and initiate spot-on improvements. 

“Factory of the Year competition is an important initiative aimed at promoting the competitiveness of the local manufacturing sector and its importance to the South African economy, and it’s a great way for organisations to identify and drive improvements needed to deliver competitiveness both locally and globally,” concluded Sibiya.

The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in Sandton on 26 June.