HiTECH Electronics Manufacturing (HiTEM) launches implementation of SEA Lean Enterprise System

What's Up in May 2006
Sound Bites from the Supplier Excellence Alliance (SEA)

Newsline

The SEA Member Meeting on April 5 was a big success - and the most widely attended meeting to date. A special thanks to UTC/Pratt & Whitney for hosting the event! Meeting highlights included:

•	An excellent and insightful site visit at Capewell Components. After the site visit, SEA President, Ken Marcia stated that Capewell is clearly demonstrating that it is on a lean transformation path.
•	A Supplier Panel discussion with suppliers speaking about SEA’s value to them in dramatically reducing their cost of operation and increasing their capabilities.
•	A Prime Panel discussion with questions coming directly from suppliers in the audience asking about the changes in the industry and how best to address the changes. The overwhelming response to the suppliers was to adopt a lean enterprise approach such as the one offered through SEA.

SEA Expands its Board of Directors
Board Chairman, Michael Beason, announced the election of three new members to the SEA Board of Directors. Joining the board is Dennis Bent, VP for Operations & Strategic Sourcing, of BAE Systems, Brad Hart, President of Roberts Tool Company, and Christi Christich, President and founder of Christek Interconnects.

Establishing Best Practices
The SEA Supply Chain Practices Committee is now surveying procurement best practices to establish a recommended roadmap that will align with and support lean production deployment by suppliers. More on this, when the results are in. If you are a supplier and would like to participate, click here.

Supplier Highlights

Now you can catch some excellent feedback on the achievements of suppliers engaged in SEA’s Lean Enterprise System implementation. This week’s video link features Brad Hart, President of Roberts Tool Company. Watch Video

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Upcoming Events

The “Lean Enterprise System for Managers” Workshop
The next “LES for Managers” workshop is scheduled for May 4, 2006. And by the way, you don’t even have to leave your office to participate – or pay a fee. Just log on to the free webcast for an in-depth understanding of the SEA Lean Enterprise System. Register Here

The June SEA Member Meeting
Suppliers are eager to attend the next SEA Member Meeting scheduled for June 8, 2006. And for good reason. The Boeing Company at its Seattle facility will host the Member Meeting. Another site visit takes center stage with our visit to the Boeing 737 “moving production line” and a post site visit discussion of the impact “moving production lines” will have on suppliers. A Supplier Panel and a “Prime” Panel will focus on strategic issues in the supply chain. Openings for the site visit are limited, so register now by contacting Hilda@seaonline.org or calling her at (494) 476-1144, Ext. 316.

SEA at EASTEC
SEA will be a featured exhibitor at Society for Manufacturing Engineers‘ (SME) EASTEC 2006 Conference Aerospace & Defense Supplier Center on May 23. EASTEC will be held in W. Springfield, MA. Check out the SME website for details.

Executive Briefings
These April and May Executive Briefings are now scheduled. Register now for an Executive Briefing in your area.

Date	Company	Location
May 18	Lockheed Martin	Fort Worth, TX
May 30	The Boeing Company	Huntington Beach, CA
June 2	Dresser-Rand Corporation	Corning, NY
June 14	The Boeing Company	Houston, TX
June 15	The Boeing Company	Ft. Walton, FL
June 21	United Technologies	Hartford, CT