Lean manufacturing in the US South Atlantic Region: An overview of the current state of implementation in the secondary wood industry

Abstract The US secondary wood industry has been facing tough market conditions. Companies believe that business will continue to be hampered by falling profits, consumers and employment throughout all 2010–2011. These market conditions are not a recent event; it has been a challenging market for over two decades. Secondary wood industries have had to change its status quo to be able to retain market share and stay in business. Proposed changes for the secondary wood industry include lean manufacturing implementation. This research studied the current state of lean manufacturing implementation in the US South Atlantic Region by means of an online survey. Results indicated that lean manufacturing is perceived as an excellent philosophy for making the secondary wood industry more competitive and it has an important implementation potential. Differences between diverse industry segments on the triggers and resources that lead to implementing lean manufacturing were also found.

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