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IndustryWeek’s latest class of the Manufacturing Hall of Fame

I just love this idea: a Manufacturing Hall of Fame. Not only have these folks contributed more to American society than any baseball player (except Red Sox players of course), but we need to celebrate manufacturing and make it more attractive for the best and brightest. We could use more brilliant people going to manufacturing and perhaps a few less going to Wall Street.

I’ve highlighted IndustryWeek’s Hall of Fame classes before, particularly when Lean Learning Center co-founder and friend Dennis Pawley received the well-deserved recognition.

Like any class, there are individuals from many contributing areas. I don’t agree with every choice made, but think a few are really worth highlighting. There are those who contributed to manufacturing science, such as Nobel Prize for Chemistry-winner Robert Curl who co-discovered the buckyball which lead the way to nanotechnology, and Scott Crump, a pioneer of additive manufacturing.

There are also lean minds, such as Doc Hall whose books I read when there only were a couple of books on lean, and Art Byrne, a celebrated lean CEO from Wiremold.

And then there are the leaders of big industry, most notably, in my opinion, is Paul O’Neill, former CEO of Alcoa, who not only lead Alcoa in becoming a high performing organization, but also helped inject serious lean efforts into the healthcare field.

You can see the entire Manufacturing Hall of Fame Class of 2012 here. Also check out the Class of 2011 and Class of 2010. The only questions that remain are:

– Who did they miss?

and

– What will you do to earn a further spot on this list?

Find Doc Hall’s books below: