About

Keeping pace with the ever-changing manufacturing industry

Manufacturers are caught in an ongoing revolution that requires them to consistently invest in their facilities, staff, and automation to keep up with competitors. As soon as they progress forward, the bar moves again.

The IU Kelley School Center for Excellence in Manufacturing tracks this revolution and monitors trends to provide business leaders insight into this ever-changing industry. Our center finds and illuminates the most effective trends for companies while helping our students develop the skills that managers need.

An increasing number of undergraduate and MBA students who study supply chain management are pursuing careers in manufacturing. We help them develop the understanding, vision, and flexibility necessary to enter this industry and lead these companies into the future.

—Mark Frohlich, Gregg and Sabine Sherrill Director of Excellence in Manufacturing, Associate Professor of Operations Management

This endowment recognizes the need to help companies create manufacturing strategies that support long-term business success. We know the next generation of managers will have tremendous opportunities in the manufacturing sector, and we want to help them prepare to take advantage of those opportunities.
Gregg Sherrill, MBA ’91

Gregg and Sabine Sherrill: A gift and a vision

The IU Kelley School Center for Excellence in Manufacturing was created with the support of a $1 million endowed gift from Kelley alumnus Gregg Sherrill, MBA’91, and his wife, Sabine, for whom the directorship of the center is named. An executive chairman of the board of Tenneco Inc. and past chair of the National Association of Manufacturers board, Gregg Sherrill has recognized—throughout his 40 years in the manufacturing sector—the need to adapt and change as manufacturing itself changes. The Sherrills’ gift helps manufacturers and future managers adapt to that change.

The Evolution of U.S. Manufacturing

In this 2018 Kelley ROI podcast, Gregg Sherrill discusses ways the manufacturing industry has changed and where it’s headed.