Illinois Tool Works: The Essence of Innovative Business

Recently I have had the privilege of embarking upon a guided tour of one of Illinois Tool Works' 600 mini-companies, a strap manufacturing plant near the company's headquarters in Glenview, Illinois. Signode Strap, a product invented within a firm owned by ITW, is the most prevalent of its sort in the market. It is furnished of entirely recyclable materials (pop bottle remnants) into gargantuan plastic sheets that are conveyed through rollers at phenomenal temperatures of over 300 degrees Fahrenheit. I was able to observe the plastic rolled into colossal coils, then unwound again to be sliced into uniform strips, while the excess material would be transported back to the beginning of the process, which is 100% efficient. Then, an immense conveyer line stretched out before my eyes where the plastic at last obtained the desired width and thickness of one of the 80 brands of strap manufactured by the plant. A swift, buzzing robot arm was positioned at the terminus to wholly accommodate the packaging of the finished product, an effort that had once required the toil of tens of laborers under conditions prone to cause injury.