Flex Wins Multiple 2021 Manufacturing Leadership Awards

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Flex announced that it is a winner of three Manufacturing Leadership Awards for its outstanding achievement in Collaborative Innovation, Operational Excellence and Enterprise Integration & Technology. These annual awards are sponsored by the National Association of Manufacturers.

In the Collaborative Innovation category, Flex was honored for its ability to quickly and effectively set up 12 manufacturing lines in 10 locations across the world in order to produce face masks to keep its employees safe. By relying on a connected network of experts, suppliers, vendors and employees, Flex was able to quickly create the infrastructure and processes needed to produce 1.5 million masks per week. Before the end of the 2020, Flex had produced more than 62 million masks for its employees and the communities supporting them.

In the Operational Excellence category, Flex was honored for a project that produced ventilators in order to help fill the gap in a global shortage brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Flex delivered its first patient-ready ventilator in just six weeks, and manufactured more than 50,000 ventilators between April and December of 2020, making Flex the largest non-captive manufacturer of ventilators in the world – all from a company with extensive experience in medical products, but had never manufactured a ventilator before the pandemic started.

In the Enterprise Integration and Technology category, Flex was honored for using simulation technology to create a digital twin of an existing factory in order to optimize the manufacturing process of a Class II diabetes product. By implementing the simulation, this project reaped multiple benefits in the areas of operations, technology and project management.

“Flex employees are incredibly talented, resilient and committed. When thousands of our employees around the world work together on projects like the ones we’re being recognized for, incredible things result.” said Paul Baldassari, executive vice president at Flex. “We are incredibly grateful to the National Association of Manufacturers for recognizing Flex and shining a spotlight on these projects.”