Original Date: 07/23/1996
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Nascote Industries, Inc., formed in 1985, is one of three plants run by the Conix Corporation, a joint venture between Magna International (51%) and the Ford Motor Company (49%). The company, located in Nashville, Illinois has 600 employees and is a major supplier of exterior trim products to the automotive industry. Sales for 1995 reached $120 million.

Nascote management maintains a strong commitment to quality of its employees’ lives and in its products. Nascote employees reflect this pride, as evidenced by the low company turnover rate of less than 1%. Management encourages employees to take an active role in plant-wide operations through teaming. Nascote employees’ use of team problem-solving techniques evolved into a company focus which emphasizes the increase in productivity that teams can create, and 95% of the Nascote workforce now participates on one of many teams. Interwoven into the site’s operations, teaming produces a strong sense of ownership by Nascote employees. Improvements resulting from this team effort include high quality, high first-run yields, quick mold changes, cycle time reduction, and reduced scrap in the reaction injection molding process. Processes improve easily because operator suggestions are heeded and implemented, costs are cut, and productivity is increased.

Although teaming constitutes a critical component of Nascote’s success, maintaining a workforce with highly- developed skills and experience is just as important. With an average employee age of 29 and a strong work ethic, the Nascote employee provides a valuable resource to the plant and represents a pivotal factor in the company’s receiving the General Motors Fascia Supplier of the Year award in both 1994 and 1995. Management recognizes this contribution by providing educational opportunities for its workforce to continue improving skills and experience.

Nascote management’s dedication to the quality of the work experience is also exemplified through its proactive approach to ergonomics. Every operator movement in a process undergoes critical consideration, and changes are instituted wherever needed either in the process, tools, or layouts to ensure a safer work environment.

The company’s environmental efforts represent yet another instance of Nascote’s emphasis on quality. To reduce operationally-produced hazardous waste such as paint fumes, sludge, and solvent, Nascote implemented several changes including the installation of a state-of-the-art thermal oxidation system to destroy volatile organic compound emissions. The company also contracts with outside agencies to recycle the paint sludge into products used by other industries. In addition, Nascote has instituted cleaning its paint solvent for reuse.

The company’s commitment to the workforce and the environment is paralleled only by its commitment to producing a quality product. Nascote continually improves its operation through successful practices such as statistical process control to help predict process variations; the business plan development process, a customer-driven strategic plan for the next fiscal year’s plant operation; and the program launch which ensures all activities required for the introduction of new programs are planned for and instituted.

Nascote’s corporate commitment to quality acknowledges that quality in its workforce and quality in its products are irrefutably linked. That strong link helps Nascote position itself as a world-class leader in automotive exterior trim products and provides the basis for the following best practices the BMP survey team found to be among the best in government and industry.

TABLE OF ACRONYMS:
The following acronyms were used in this report:

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.