Global viewpoints: technology leads the way
Textron thrives on supplier input
 Jack Sights is Chairman, President, and CEO of Textron Automotive Co. |
To be a technology leader, "it's not imperative that you own the technology; only that you are able to use it or put your hands on it better than anyone else can." That's the philosophy Textron Automotive Co. and its Chairman, President, and CEO, Jack Sights, are using to provide customers with innovative products at a low cost.
"We don't need to be the reigning expert in every subject," Sights said. "We get a lot bigger bang for the buck when we partner than when we try the do-it-ourselves approach. There are some interesting technologies floating around the world, so rather than invest in the company to develop those technologies, we try to partner with those who have it."
Textron's strength is, in Sights' words, "integrating the expertise of our suppliers." That and concentrating on how a particular technology can be used across the company's operations. Sights adds that by giving Textron's in-house engineers and technologists virtual tools and otherwise providing them support, their focus "can be thinking rather than solving problems. By that I mean thinking of alternative means of perhaps integrating technologies to eliminate maybe 40 or 50 parts from a product."
BICEPS (best in class engineering products and services) is a tool Textron provides its automotive trim engineers to do just that. The global, interactive database is a knowledge-management tool using the company intranet to distribute product knowledge, technical innovations, customer specification, and consumer requirements to product development teams. BICEPS is fed with inputs from cross-functional teams, customer-focused product development teams, and internal functional departments.
 The IP of the Textron-supplied Ford Mondeo features an invisible airbag door cover developed using Textron's Invisitec technology. |
Invisitec, an invisible-seam passenger airbag door, is a trim product growing in application, Sights said. "It's clearly aesthetic," but it also provides a safety benefit in that it eliminates the chance for mechanical failure.
The big news in cockpits at Textron is its joint venture with French supplier Valeo. The companies in August announced their intention to create the 50-50 JV, which reflects Sights' belief in partnerships. Textron says it is a leader in the field of instrument panels and interior trim, while Valeo has the expertise in air-conditioning systems, electronics, switching, and electrical architecture. As for future joint ventures and/or acquisitions by Textron, Sights said, "A number of them are in the works."
A technology on the process side that is helping to separate Textron from its competitors is Intellimold. Developed in-house, it allows for real-time temperature and pressure adjustment of the molding process, which results in consistent parts; lower scrap and rework rates, load rates, warping, and cycle times; and an ability to control surface and wall thickness not otherwise possible, according to Sights. Transducers inside the mold cavity monitor temperature and pressure every two ms or less. Textron has begun to license the technology to non-competing companies.
Sights also wants his engineers to use the time they otherwise would spend on developing already-existing technologies on thinking outside the box. As it applies to fuel systems, a main product line of Textron, Sights wonders why vehicle refueling cannot be done automatically underneath the car. "To my mind, the only reason we fuel from outside of the car with a pump is because that's the way we've always done it."
