Plex Systems Impact Awards Honor Manufacturing Leaders

Leading Manufacturers recognized for industry leadership, innovation, and businesses transformation at Powerplex 2017.

ATLANTA, May 10, 2017 – Plex Systems, the leader in cloud ERP for manufacturing, today announced manufacturing leaders Accuride Corporation, Polamer Precision and Shank’s Extracts, Inc. have each been honored with the 2017 Plex Impact Award. The awards recognize manufacturers for industry leadership, innovation, and businesses transformation.

Plex announced the winners at PowerPlex 2017, the largest gathering of cloud manufacturing professionals in the world. This year’s event brought together more than 1,000 industry leaders to discuss the intersection of technology and manufacturing, from wearables on the shop floor to predictive supply chain planning and machine intelligence.

2017 Plex Impact Award Winners include:

Industry Leader

Accuride Corporation is a growing global supplier of components to the North American and European commercial vehicle industries.

• Accuride recently expanded its deployment to a newly acquired plant in Milan, Italy. The company has fueled its growth strategy by self-deploying Plex solutions across a total of nine of facilities across North America and now Europe.
• Both Accuride’s suppliers and customers are also integrated with Plex through custom portals, driving efficiency while improving service.
• Accuride has been recognized repeatedly by the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) for achievements in lean, and recently published a book on lean practices.

Innovation

Polamer Precision manufacturers complex engine and airframe components for both military and commercial aircraft.

• Polamer deployed Plex just over three years ago, establishing a system of record for their organization and enabling the creation of strategic impact reports for customers. Data that used to take days to gather is analyzed with just a click of the button. In that timeframe, Polamer has grown sales by 300 percent.
• Polamer also pursued a pilot program with Microsoft to use Hololens technology in an industrial setting. Using Hololens’ augmented reality, the team mapped out their manufacturing cell layout using a 3D model to position workstations and tooling, ensuring forklifts and other equipment have room to operate safely and efficiently.

Transformer

Shank’s Extracts, Inc. is a private label maker of flavoring extracts and food coloring. Founded in 1899 by a pharmacist working to improve the taste of medicines, the company has since built a long track record for leadership. Shank’s now provides vanilla, flavorings and colorings for grocers and retailers worldwide.

• As a private label manufacturer, Shank’s is trusted with customers’ proprietary recipes and specifications, keeping their own name out of the spotlight and putting their customers’ brands first.
• Using Plex, Shank’s has transformed data accuracy, achieving a single version of the truth across thousands of customer recipes, finished goods and raw materials inventory, as well as food safety regulations.
• That accuracy and precision continues to fuel Shank’s industry-leading quality and customer service, helping them grow in an increasingly competitive market.

Comments on the News

“The best measure of the Plex Manufacturing Cloud is always the success, innovation and achievements of our customers,” said Jason Blessing, Plex Systems CEO. “Shank’s, Polamer Precision, and Accuride Corporation each demonstrate what is possible when companies use technology to build a strategic advantage. All of us at Plex congratulate our amazing 2017 Plex Impact Awards honorees.”