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CW is pleased announce the latest lineup of CW Top Shops honorees.

CW Top Shops is a survey-based benchmarking program run annually by CW in collaboration with Gardner Intelligence, the research division of Gardner Business Media (Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.). Every year, composites fabricators worldwide are invited to participate by taking a survey designed to measure a variety of metrics to help identify optimal practices and improve business operations and procedures. High-performing facilities across the survey’s metrics earn the distinction of qualifying as a CW Top Shop for that year.

Thirteen companies earned the CW Top Shops distinction this year:

• (Florina, Greece)
• Champion Fiberglass Inc. (Spring, Texas, U.S.)
• (Brewer, Maine, U.S.)
• (Navi Mumbai, India)
• (Rajkot, India)
• (Hauppauge, N.Y., U.S.)
• Nammo Composite Solutions Inc. (Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.)
• (Pleasant View, Utah, U.S.)
• Phoenix Composites Solutions LLC (Oscoda, Mich., U.S.)
• (Scappoose, Ore., U.S.)
• Rock West Composites (San Diego, Calif., U.S.)
• Spintech Holdings Inc. (Miamisburg, Ohio, U.S.)
• ST Engineering MRAS (Baltimore, Md., U.S.)

The ÂÌñÏ×ÆÞ team would like to congratulate all of the honorees!

High-performing facilities: Machine efficiency, supply chain management, automation and more

What makes “Top Shops” stand out? According to Gardner Intelligence’s analysis, Top Shops excel across multiple metrics measured in the benchmarking program:

• Median machine uptime is 95% for Top Shops compared to 65% for others (see Fig. 1 at right).
• Median capacity utilization is 80% for Top Shops compared to 65% for others.
• Top Shops seem to demonstrate higher efficiency and productivity.
• Top Shops have increased output and reduced costs, leading to higher profitability.
• Top Shops are actively engaging in high-impact methodologies like Lean, 5S, Kaizen and TQM, leading to better quality, lower costs, faster delivery and stronger competitive positioning.

Superior supply chain management

One area where Top Shops demonstrate best practices in nearly all aspects is supply chain management. For example, the table in Fig. 2 shows forecast sharing, supplier certifications and customer satisfaction surveys as three practices used much more widely by Top Shops than others surveyed.

“These practices are associated with greater efficiency, higher customer satisfaction, lower costs and better collaboration with suppliers and customers,” says Amy Schaub, market research associate at Gardner Intelligence. “Top Shops have adopted comprehensive supply chain strategies. These practices contribute directly to improved responsiveness, cost savings and customer value which are all crucial for competitive advantage.”

Adopting automation

This year’s data shows that Top Shops outperformed other facilities in all areas of automation as well.

The table to the right (Fig. 3) shows the percentages of Top Shops versus others surveyed using various automation technologies common to composites manufacturing.

In general, Top Shops used automation more than other shops. In particular, “cutting and kitting processes have become more automated due to advanced robotics, integrated software and digital technologies,” Schaub says. “This resulted in increased efficiency, cost reduction and sustainability.”

Top Shops scored a median of 70% compared to 42% for other shops in automated cutting/kitting.

Interested in learning more about CW Top Shops? Find out more information on the Top Shops program at , and keep an eye on CW’s news and social channels for next year’s survey early in 2026.