January 27, 2015 - The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) announced that TV legend John Ratzenberger joined AME in shining a light on the important role domestic manufacturing plays in our surging economy. Ratzenberger attended AME’s recent conference in Jacksonville, where he announced he would serve as honorary chair of AME’s 2015 conference in Cincinnati.
“Now’s the time for Americans to rally around the core of our economy: manufacturing. We’re pleased to have the support of prominent voices in our community as we continue to champion what sets our country apart and will be the key to remaining strong in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, as the need for skilled labor swells to unprecedented levels,” said Barbara Morrison, AME president.
Harry Moser, founder of the Reshoring Initiative, has long been an advocate for AME’s work in supporting North American manufacturers. Moser began the Reshoring Initiative in 2010 to bring secure, well-paying manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
“The Seven Toyota Wastes are all made worse by offshoring,” said Moser. “Broad application of continuous improvement further improves the domestic lean advantage. To achieve timely and effective improvement, we need the larger, better-trained, skilled workforce that John has pursued and supported for decades,” he added.
Ratzenberger, an actor renowned for his role as Cliff Clavin in “Cheers,” is a strong proponent for American manufacturing. His Travel Channel show, “John Ratzenberger’s Made in America,” highlighted domestically made products. In addition to signing on as AME’s keynote speaker and honorary chair for the AME 2015 International Conference in Cincinnati Oct. 19-23, Ratzenberger recorded a message for AME members recently about the importance of lean practices.
As Ratzenberger said in his video, “When you increase your knowledge, great things get done.”
About the Association for Manufacturing Excellence
The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) is the premier not-for-profit organization dedicated to the journey of continuous improvement and enterprise excellence. AME’s membership is composed of a trusted network of volunteers who are committed to leveraging the practitioner-to-practitioner and company-to-company shared-learning experience. Through engaging workshops, plant tours, webinars, summits and industry-leading conferences, AME members are continually discovering and implementing new continuous improvement strategies and best practices. AME offers its members a multitude of valuable resources to help them stay abreast of current industry developments and improve the skills, competitiveness and overall success of their organizations.
Join AME in leading the “Renaissance of Manufacturing in North America."
