European high technology manufacturing: Choices on the path to manufacturing excellence

The author is concerned to point out that advanced manufacturing technologies have their main impact on ‘manufacturing deliverables’, particularly quality, delivery and cost. It is these deliverables that interest companies in their attempts to compete globally by using high technology strategies.The technologies themselves - computer aided design, computer numerical control, or optimised production technology, for instance, can be categorised into ‘high-tech’ or ‘lo-tech’. But the division is somewhat artificial, and the way forward may be pragmatic.