The Association for Manufacturing Excellence

AME was officially incorporated in February of 1985 as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The approved mission statement was: ‘To achieve world class productivity through education, research, documentation, and interchange on the successful application of improved manufacturing practices.’ “According to the original founders, here is what they thought that they had accomplished: • A new organization, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, was formed. At the time, it was the primary source of knowledge and leadership about “JIT”– now called lean. • They developed and honed their workshop, complete with a manual. Each workshop was to focus on a meaningful topic with a host company: • What the company had accomplished • What the company had learned. • And leaving a critique for the host at the end. • They initiated: • Target magazine (in 1985) • AMEN newsletter (shortly thereafter) • Videos (first one appeared in 1988) • They educated people on JIT though workshops, seminars and publications. • They enjoyed rapid membership growth (it was the only “game in town” then). • They initiated practitioner networking. • They created the national office in Wheeling, Ill. • They tested collaboration with other associations.” CEO of AME, Kimberlee Humphrey