Carrier Corp.’s Charlotte Chiller Operation facility has been named one of IndustryWeek’s top 10 Best Plants in North America. This is the third consecutive year a Carrier facility has been honored with the Best Plant title. Carrier Corp., a unit of United Technologies Corp., is the world’s leader in high technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions, improving the world around us through engineered innovation and environmental stewardship.
Winners of the Best Plant award are selected based on performance metrics as well as dedication to continually improving people, processes and performance. The Carrier Carlyle Stone Mountain, Ga. Compressor factory and UT Electronic Controls factory in Huntington, Ind. received IndustryWeek’s Best Plant honors in 2009 and 2008, respectively.
“Manufacturing excellence continues to persevere even in the wake of turbulent economic conditions. This year's winners demonstrate excellence in manufacturing resulting from strong leadership, an engaged workforce and outstanding operational and improvement strategies. Their leading-edge efforts to increase competitiveness, enhance customer satisfaction, and create rewarding work environments are to be commended,” says Jill Jusko, IndustryWeek Best Plants director.
Ray Moncini, senior vice president, Carrier Operations, says, “Receiving this recognition for the third time is truly an honor. This award validates ACE, the UTC Operating System that drives the best processes and procedures we have set in place at all of our facilities to achieve excellence in manufacturing and exceed customer expectations.”
Carrier Charlotte employs over 200 people and manufactures chillers for the commercial heating, ventilation, and air conditioning industry. The products built in this facility include the industry leading Evergreen® 23XRV water-cooled chiller with Foxfire™ compression technology, which provides comfort cooling in landmark installations around the world: universities, hotels, industrial facilities, oceangoing vessels, high-rise office buildings, and large entertainment complexes. In addition to comfort cooling, Carrier Charlotte products are used in process applications, providing chilled water for manufacturing and data centers.
Carrier Charlotte’s award application detailed its continuous improvement in customer satisfaction, quality, and employee engagement. In the past five years, Carrier Charlotte has increased productivity while reducing customer warranty claims and average lead times. Employee engagement at the facility has also improved by more than 75 percent. Other important considerations: in 2009 Carrier Charlotte was honored with the U.S. Customs Department’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) certification and was one of only 11 manufacturing sites in the world at that time to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Existing Building (LEED® EB) certification.
“Carrier Charlotte has gone through a significant transformation over the past five years,” stated Charlie Figueroa, vice president and general manager, commercial applied products, Carrier. “Our focused efforts show that better products drive customer satisfaction and improve business results. I am extremely proud of our team’s accomplishments.”
The Carrier Charlotte Operation will be honored at the 2011 IndustryWeek Best Plant conference slated for April 4-6, 2011 in Atlanta, Ga.
For more information, visit www.carrier.com.