(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.

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