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During a year of extraordinary disruptions and challenges, manufacturers stepped up in extraordinary ways. That’s the message of this year’s Manufacturing Leadership Awards, taking place on May 19 and hosted by the NAM’s Manufacturing Leadership Council—a business leadership network dedicated to senior manufacturing executives and aimed at supporting companies through the industry’s digital transformation.

What they are: The Manufacturing Leadership Awards are presented to world-class manufacturing companies and individual leaders in a range of categories, from Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics Leadership to Collaborative Innovation Leadership to Sustainability Leadership. The online gala will recognize exciting and innovative manufacturers who excelled in these areas and will feature a virtual after-party with entertainment for guests.

Among the winners: Here are a few examples of this year’s winning projects.

• A pharmaceutical company partnered with another company to scale up the production of a COVID-19 treatment. As a result of their collaboration, a production transfer that would normally take 12 months was completed in just 123 days.
• An automaker developed a technology center dedicated to making 3D printing a mass-scale production reality for their plants around the world. It is developing new products faster than ever and improving its assembly operations.
• A technology manufacturer implemented AI and edge computing in its inspection process, reducing inspection times from 10 minutes to less than one minute while significantly improving inspection accuracy.

New and of note: One new element of this year’s celebration is the Creators Respond Honor Roll. So many manufacturers went above and beyond in responding to the global pandemic that the MLC decided to recognize their achievements in a separate category.

Still to come: Several honorees won’t be announced publicly until the gala itself, including the High Achievers, Manufacturers of the Year and Manufacturing Leaders of the Year—so be sure to tune in on May 19.

The word from the MLC: “Tested with challenges they never could have imagined, manufacturers rose to the occasion to keep factories open, sometimes with significant changes to their production and supply chains,” said Manufacturing Leadership Council Co-Founder, Executive Director and Vice President David R. Brousell. “At the same time, manufacturers doubled down on digital transformation as they sought greater agility and flexibility in their businesses. These awards honor the innovation and resolve that manufacturers demonstrate at all times, and especially in times of crisis.”

You can RSVP for the event here.