(Textron Inc.: Augusta, Georgia ) -- E-Z-GO, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), has been awarded the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. The international award recognizes companies that achieve world-class performance and promote lean operational concepts.

“More than five years ago, I set the Shingo Prize as a goal for all of our businesses to achieve," says Lewis Campbell, Textron Chairman and CEO. "Ever since, I have personally witnessed E-Z-GO's transformation into a company with lean practices ingrained across all business disciplines in all of its locations.”

E-Z-GO is the first company to receive the prize at the enterprise level. E-Z-GO was recognized for world-class status at all of its geographic locations and across all business functions, including manufacturing, engineering, sales, finance, marketing, communications, supply chain management, information technology, and human resources.

“E-Z-GO's financial performance and customer satisfaction have improved dramatically and this recognition for its world-class enterprise processes is truly deserved. I could not be prouder that E-Z-GO and its employees have achieved a major component of Textron's vision,” says Campbell.

“We could not have picked a better company than E-Z-GO to receive the first Shingo Prize ever awarded at the enterprise level,” says Robert D. Miller, executive director of the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence.

In being evaluated for the prize, E-Z-GO was assessed by a team of professionals with expertise across all business functions. The team included representatives from prior Shingo Prize-winning companies. Assessors visited E-Z-GO's global headquarters and manufacturing facility in Augusta, Georgia, as well as the company's factory-direct sales and service branches in Illinois and Texas, and within Georgia.

“This is a very special time for E-Z-GO,” says E-Z-GO president Kevin P. Holleran. “Five years ago, as we embarked on our lean journey to streamline our operations and create value for our customers, we set our sights on The Shingo Prize as a corporate goal. I couldn't be more proud of our employees for their dedication and devotion to achieving that goal and their tireless efforts on behalf of our customers.”

The assessors viewed E-Z-GO operations firsthand and interviewed employees at all levels of the company to ensure that lean operational philosophies and thinking were ingrained throughout the company.

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