At a recent celebratory breakfast, Industry Week Senior Editor John Teresko announced that Boeing’s Macon plant has been named one of the 10-best plants in the country, and company executives were presented with a crystal award by Boeing officials.

“Winning results derive from a team effort,” Teresko told the crowd. “Boeing Team Macon is a good example of what manufacturing in the 21st century should be about.”

U.S. Representative Jim Marshall attended the event, as did U.S. Representative Jack Kingston, who thanked the Macon team for its help in the war on terror. “What you’re doing in Macon, Ga., is saving lives,” Kingston told the group that works on Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster transport jet. “We can thank the Boeing family for that.”

Boeing thanked Quick Start’s customized training for helping get Boeing Team Macon off the ground. “Obviously, we couldn’t have won the award without the employees, and Quick Start was instrumental in training virtually all of our product associates,” said Boeing Team Macon Site Leader Obie Jones, who oversees the Macon facility.

Jones also credited Quick Start with reducing employees’ learning curves on new high-tech equipment. Reduced training time was a factor in Industry Week’s decision to name the plant one of the 10 best. “Overall factory efficiency increased 54% in the last five years,” writes Teresko. “Team Macon is a continuing example of how the company is using process efficiencies to strengthen both customer and shareholder value.”