LMI Kitting, LLC Named Manufacturer of the Year

Atlanta, GA – April 28, 2011: Savannah’s LMI Kitting, LLC was named one of Georgia’s Manufacturers of the Year today in ceremonies held in Atlanta. The company received the award in the category of small manufacturer – companies who employ 150 or fewer. LMI Kitting joined the ZF Group in Gainesville and Meggitt Polymers and Composites Rockmart as the state’s top three manufacturers of the year.

 The annual Governor’s Awards Luncheon is the highlight of Georgia Manufacturing Appreciation Week, which is co-hosted by the Technical College System of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. This year, more than a thousand government and business leaders attended the event at the Georgia International Convention Center.

“This is beyond whatever I could’ve imagined – it’s truly an honor,” said the company’s general manager, Phil Lajeunesse, who accepted the award, accompanied by members of his leadership team. “On behalf of our whole team at LMI Kitting, thank you.

Lajeunesse credited LMI’s success to the company’s employees and numerous local and state entities, including Savannah Technical College and Georgia Quick Start. “I’d like to offer special thanks to the Quick Start team,” he continued. “They’ve created training manuals for us of such a high level of quality and detail, we can bring new people on board in a fraction of the time it once took. When you combine that level of help with a terrific team like we have in Savannah, you can’t help but be successful.”

LMI Kitting is a division of LMI Aerospace, a leading supplier of sheet metal and composite parts, specialized components and assemblies for new aircraft production and the modification of a variety of commercial aircraft. In 2003, LMI Aerospace opened LMI Kitting in Savannah.

Using rigorous lean manufacturing techniques, LMI Kitting prepares specialty airframe parts for riveting and assembly, delivering its kits to customers just in time for production.

LMI Kitting creates value for its aviation customers, while also adding value to the lives of its employees and community. The company’s team members have adopted a number of causes. On a regular basis, they hold blood drives, assist the Greenbrier Children’s Orphanage, and volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together Savannah, working to build and rehabilitate homes for members of the community.

In fact, the Savannah LMI facility has become a company-wide model of best practices in philanthropy. A canned-food drive that was initiated locally by Savannah employees has grown into a competitive event in which divisions of LMI Aerospace nationwide hold their own food drives, vying to win the coveted “Golden Can Award.”

Technical skills and quality training are critical to LMI’s success. Employees have received Quick Start training during the startup and expansions, and company representatives serve on Savannah Technical College’s Business and Industry Advisory Council. To encourage ongoing education, the company reimburses employees for tuition and books, and provides scholarships to employees’ children who pursue math and science fields.

In his proclamation declaring April 25-29 as Manufacturing Appreciation Week, Gov. Nathan Deal noted the tremendous contribution manufacturing makes to the state’s economic well-being. Nearly 10,000 manufacturing facilities are located in Georgia, according to the proclamation, and they provide 357,798 jobs and contribute more than $100 billion to the state’s economy each year.