Six members of Gentex Corporation’s Continuous Improvement team brought home first place honors from this year’s Global Lean Excellence Competition, held during the Lean Solutions Summit in Detroit this September. 

Team Gentex—made up of Jeff Miles, Leslie Householder, Steve Burgett, Jordan Kimble, Justin Karsten, and Trent Davison—rose to the challenge in a fast-paced, hands-on test of Lean thinking and teamwork. 

The competition tasked teams of process improvement professionals with transforming a broken process into one that was both efficient and high-quality, all under intense time pressure. This year’s challenge: create a streamlined system for assembling and delivering notoriously tricky IKEA cabinets. 

Gentex’s team impressed judges with their ability to quickly analyze the problem, eliminate waste, and implement a standardized, efficient workflow—all while maintaining precision and collaboration. Their efforts earned them the top spot in the competition. 

But the event wasn’t just about process improvement—it was about purpose. Once the challenge was complete, all of the assembled furniture was donated to House N2 Home, a nonprofit organization in Washtenaw County that helps furnish homes for individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness. 

By combining Lean excellence with community impact, Team Gentex exemplified the heart of continuous improvement—making things better, not only in the workplace but also in the world around us. 

Congratulations to Team Gentex on their well-earned victory and for representing Michigan’s Lean community with innovation, teamwork, and heart.