For questions about these rules, contact [email protected]. 

  • Projects and individuals that reach the necessary scoring threshold will be named as award finalists. The highest scoring entry in each category will be named the Category Winner (formerly known as the High Achiever). All finalists and winners will be recognized at the Manufacturing Leadership Awards Gala.
  • A project must have reached a significant development or deployment milestone within the previous year starting with the season entry period to be eligible for the current awards season. For example, for the 2024 awards, a project should have been launched, scaled, or deployed sometime after September 1, 2022.
  • Projects that have been awarded in prior seasons are not eligible for entry.
  • Note that only projects directly tied to manufacturing operations are qualified for the Manufacturing Leadership Awards. Services and products (such as software, equipment, or other technology) are not eligible for the awards as a standalone entry, but vendors of manufacturing software, equipment, or technology are encouraged to develop entries with their manufacturing customers and clients that demonstrate the manufacturer’s achievements in operational performance. If that manufacturer’s entry is selected as a finalist, the software, equipment, or technology vendor will be recognized with a Partner in Collaborative Innovation award.
  • Additionally, individuals who are nominated for awards must have a job role that is directly tied to manufacturing operations.
  • For the 2024 Next-Generation Leadership category, entrants must be age 30 or younger as of December 31, 2023.
  • Final determination on the appropriate category for project entries is determined by the Manufacturing Leadership Council editorial team. Entrants will be contacted if the category under which they submitted their entry is changed.
  • Each manufacturing enterprise may submit up to five (5) project entries and may be a finalist for no more than three (3) project awards per season. If the number of nominations received for a single enterprise exceeds the designated limit, all entrants will be contacted as a group to make a final determination on which entries to submit to the judges’ panel. If the excess number of entries includes nominations from technology/consulting firms or external PR/marketing firms, final decision on which entries to submit will lie with the manufacturing company. Refunds will be issued for withdrawn entries.
  • There are no limits on how many nominations an enterprise can make for individual leaders.
  • Technology and consulting partners may submit an unlimited number of entries with their clients. However, partners are limited to one (1) project and/or one (1) individual per manufacturing enterprise. If a partner-submitted nomination is selected as a finalist, the partner will be recognized with a Partner in Collaborative Innovation award.
  • Technology/consulting partners and external PR/marketing/communications firms making nominations for their clients must include direct contact information for individuals at the manufacturing company on all entry forms. General email inboxes and/or general business (main switchboard) phone numbers will not be accepted. Entries that omit this information will be automatically disqualified with no refund for entry fees.
  • For entries submitted by technology/consulting partners or external PR/marketing/communications firms, the nominated manufacturing company or individual leader will be contacted to verify their awareness of and consent to the awards nomination. If that verification cannot be secured, the nomination will be automatically disqualified with no refund for entry fees.