Penton's IndustryWeek Identifies the United States' Best and Biggest Manufacturers

CLEVELAND, Aug. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Apple Inc. once again reigns supreme in the 2014 IndustryWeek U.S. 50 Best Manufacturers ranking compiled by Penton's IndustryWeek, the go-to source for manufacturing leadership issues, trends, technologies and strategies. For the third year running, the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant tops the ranking, which is based on six key financial performance metrics.

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Renewable Energy Group of Ames, Iowa; Polaris Industries, Inc., of Minneapolis; WABCO Holdings, Inc., of Piscataway, N.J.; and Monster Beverage Group of Corona, Calif., round out the top 5 companies in the rankings.

The IW 50 Best Manufacturers, IW's exclusive annual ranking of the nation's top-performing manufacturers, is one of IW's most popular features. It is drawn from the IW US 500, an exclusive annual ranking of the nation's largest public manufacturers, based on revenue.

IW compiles the IW 50 Best Manufacturers list using a formula based on the IW US 500 companies' financial performance over a three-year period. The six metrics are revenue growth, profit margin, inventory turns, asset turnover, return on assets and return on equity.

IndustryWeek has a long history of honoring leading manufacturers through distinguishing programs such as The IndustryWeek Best Plants Awards, IW's annual salute to outstanding North American manufacturing facilities, and The IndustryWeek Manufacturing Hall of Fame, IW's annual tribute to the most influential executives and thought leaders in U.S. manufacturing history.

For the IW US 500 and the IW 50 Best Manufacturers rankings, IndustryWeek partnered with Mergent Inc. to compile and calculate the lists. Mergent Inc.'s global databases were used to identify all publicly held manufacturing firms meeting IndustryWeek's selection criteria. The cutoff for inclusion on this year's IW U.S. 500 list was nearly $1.2 billion in revenues.

The selection criteria is as follows:

• Manufacturing companies with a majority of their business in a manufacturing industry.
• Companies that generated less than 50% of revenues from manufacturing, but more revenue from manufacturing than the lowest-revenue-producing companies on this year's list.
• Oil and gas companies that derive at least 50% of their revenues from the refining of oil and gas products.
• Companies that derive at least 50% of their revenues from the manufacture of mined materials.

To view a complete list of the IW U.S. 500 and accompanying articles, visit http://www.industryweek.com/resources/us500/2014

The IW 50 Best Manufacturers is available at http://www.industryweek.com/resources/industryweek-50-best-us-manufacturers

About IndustryWeek
IndustryWeek covers what matters most in leading a successful manufacturing business, identifying and sharing the trends, strategies, technologies and best practices that help manufacturers become more innovative, competitive and profitable. The only media brand with intensive, dedicated coverage of the nearly $2 trillion U.S. manufacturing industry and the supply chains around the globe that feed it, IW has an over 100-year history of honoring leaders in manufacturing operations through distinguished programs such as the IW Best Plants, the IW 50 Best U.S. Manufacturers, the IW US 500, the IW 1000, and the IW Manufacturing Technology Leader of the Year.  For more information, please visit www.industryweek.com, or follow at Twitter and Facebook.

About Penton
Penton drives performance for more than sixteen million professionals each and every day. They rely on us to deliver: Insights, information & workflow tools to inform critical business decisions; networking & community to engage them with industry peers & partners; and data & marketing services to advance their business performance & deliver ROI. They look to Penton to power the possibilities.

Penton is a growth company with a track-record of strong performance and success and is backed by its co-owners: MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP.

For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.

Media Contact:
Patricia Panchak
[email protected]
Editor-in-Chief, IndustryWeek    
Penton
216-931-9252

SOURCE Penton