Quality Headline
Rheem Manufacturing, General Motors Named Top Winners in 2026 Manufacturing Leadership Awards Competition
The Manufacturing Leadership Council—the digital transformation division of the National Association of Manufacturers—announced the winners of the annual Manufacturing Leadership Awards.
Alan Machuga, executive vice president, technology, at Rheem Manufacturing Company was named the 2026 Manufacturing Leader of the Year. Machuga was recognized for his innovative leadership at Rheem, which includes transforming Rheem into an experience-first, digitally driven enterprise with modernized core technologies and reimagined business processes. Rheem was also recognized as a category winner for Business Model Transformation for its shift away from a product-centric approach to one that delivers a seamless experience to customers and partners while generating new sources of revenue.
General Motors was named the Large Enterprise Manufacturer of the Year in recognition of its achievements in digital transformation, including transformed production operations, AI-assisted vehicle testing and autonomous machining. Pure & Gentle was named the Small/Medium Enterprise Manufacturer of the Year for the second consecutive year, recognizing its outstanding accomplishments in sustainability, manufacturing readiness and bolstering supply chain performance.
“The 2026 class of Manufacturing Leadership Award winners demonstrates that digital transformation in manufacturing has entered a new era—one defined by artificial intelligence, autonomous operations and deeply collaborative ecosystems,” said David R. Brousell, founder, vice president and executive director of the Manufacturing Leadership Council. “These companies and individuals are not just adopting new technology; they are fundamentally reshaping how manufacturing creates value, and their leadership is setting the pace for the entire industry.”
The 22nd annual award ceremony took place at the Fairmont Princess in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was the closing event for Rethink: Accelerating Digital Transformation in Manufacturing, the MLC’s flagship event on strategies to advance digital transformation in manufacturing operations.
“What stands out about this year’s winners is the breadth of innovation, from AI-driven quality intelligence and lights-out production to circular manufacturing and frontline empowerment,” said Penelope Brown, senior content director and director of the MLC Awards program. “These projects reflect a manufacturing sector that is not only embracing digital tools but using them to solve real-world challenges at scale.”
Manufacturing Leadership Award finalists and winners are determined by a distinguished panel of judges with significant industry expertise and experience. The judges also conferred honors on the following category winners:
AI Vision and Strategy
Emirates Global Aluminum PJSC
Business Model Transformation
Rheem Manufacturing Company
Collaborative Ecosystems
Milwaukee Tool
Hitachi Energy
Digital Supply Chains
Merck
Engineering and Production Processes
Cisco Systems
Rockwell Automation
Enterprise Integration and Technology
Bobcat
Operational Excellence
Corning Incorporated
Sustainability and the Circular Economy
Saint-Gobain
Sandisk Storage Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
Transformational Business Cultures
Eli Lilly and Company
Digital Transformation Leadership
Sivakumar Balasubramanian, The Boeing Company
Next-Generation Leadership
Iran Arely Gomez Reyes, General Motors
Manufacturer of the Year—Small/Medium Enterprise
Pure & Gentle
Manufacturer of the Year—Large Enterprise
General Motors
Manufacturing Leader of the Year
Alan Machuga, Rheem Manufacturing Company
A complete list of finalists is available at https://manufacturingleadershipcouncil.com/leadership-awards/2026-manufacturing-leadership-award-finalists/.
For more information, visit www.nam.org.
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