Laguna Tools Wins Prestigious 2011 PM100 Award From Managing Automation

IRVINE, Calif., March 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Laguna Tools, an innovator and worldwide leader in the woodworking industry for more than 27 years, today announced the company is a recipient of the 2011 PM100 Progressive Manufacturing Award from Managing Automation Media, joining the likes of world-leading businesses such as 3M, IBM, Pepsi Americas, Dow Corning and Dole Food Company. The PM100 Awards are known as the most prestigious awards program honoring manufacturing companies that have transformed themselves through the use of information technology.

Laguna Tools earned the award for its operational excellence and continuous improvement by consolidating multi-vendor, disparate business software applications into a single, integrated system with NetSuite (NYSE: N), the industry's leading provider of cloud-based financials/ERP software suites. System upgrades reduced business costs, expanded online sales and reduced the amount of time to ship finished goods.

Prior to the IT system consolidation, operations were strained and labor intensive; requiring double data-entry to stay current with work processes. With the implementation of NetSuite, Laguna Tools has dramatically streamlined company processes, while substantially reducing labor costs.

"Consolidating our company's software into a single, integrated system with NetSuite has dramatically increased our efficiencies and allowed us to focus on our core competencies, which is marketing innovative products at highly competitive prices," said Catherine Helshoj, Vice President at Laguna Tools.

The PM100 recognizes 100 projects that have achieved distinction in at least one of eight core disciplines, including business model mastery, customer mastery, supply network mastery, innovation mastery, training and education mastery, leadership and operational excellence, as well as data and integration mastery. Managing Automation Media defines these categories as critical to business success in the years ahead. Progressive Manufacturing award recipients must incorporate multiple levels of innovation into their businesses. NetSuite nominated Laguna Tools as a success story from its pool of thousands of customers.

"The NetSuite project has reinforced our company's infrastructure from the ground up, shored up any weaknesses and provided a solid base for continued growth," concludes Helshoj. "Staying ahead of the competition is mandatory in today's challenging economy, and NetSuite enables us to do that."

Laguna Tools will be recognized at the publication's Media Manufacturing Leadership Summit Black Tie Gala in May. For more information on the PM100 Awards, visit www.managingautomation.com/awards.

About Laguna Tools

With its corporate offices in Irvine, California, Laguna Tools is an award-winning innovator and leader in the woodworking industry.  After more than 27 years, the company continues to challenge the industry with new advancements, designs and product breakthroughs.  Despite its worldwide leadership role, Laguna Tools remains "globally local" by investing its time, support, products and services to many community outreach programs.  For more information on the Laguna Tools quality line of performance products, please call 1-800-234-1976 or visit our website at www.lagunatools.com.

SOURCE Laguna Tools