Who We Are

 

Automotive OEM

ITW’s Automotive OEM segment designs and manufactures innovative fasteners, interior and exterior components, and powertrain and braking systems for OEMs and is a niche supplier of solutions to their top-tier suppliers. ITW’s automotive businesses have a high level of customer intimacy, enabling customer-back innovation to address complex needs such as vehicle efficiency, safety, and quality. Deep market knowledge and strong manufacturing process capabilities allow ITW’s automotive businesses to be nimble, niche problem solvers for their sophisticated customers.

3.3 Billion

2017 Revenues

22.8%

2017 Operating Margin

3,197

Patent Portfolio
(Granted and Pending)

OUR DIFFERENTIATED BUSINESS MODEL IS OUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

 

ITW’s key differentiator – our secret sauce – is the ITW Business Model. It is the powerful combination of a set of strategic, operational, and cultural practices that we apply to every ITW business, and that has been in existence inside the company for over 30 years. It is the value-add for being part of ITW.

Starting with the right “raw material” (industries that have a great fit with our business model) and driving excellence in the practice of the Business Model everywhere in the company, every day, is how we maximize ITW’s ability to deliver Differentiated Performance over the long term.

Our Business Model is Comprised of Three Elements

Our 80/20 Front to Back Process - How We Operate
ITW’s 80/20 Front to Back Process is a proprietary set of unique business practices that we utilize as the core operating system in every ITW business. We structure and focus our businesses to uniquely satisfy the needs of our largest and most profitable customers, and minimize the cost, complexity and distractions associated with serving small customers. The application of our 80/20 Front to Back Process drives best-in-class customer-facing execution, high-quality organic growth, and superior profitability performance per dollar of revenue generated and per dollar of capital deployed.
Our Customer-Back Innovation Approach – HOW WE INNOVATE
Customer-Back Innovation enables our divisions to deliver a steady flow of differentiated new products and solutions to their “80” customers. In every market in which we operate, our businesses work hard to position themselves as the go-to problem solver for their customers. Customer-Back Innovation is a key contributor to ITW’s ability to deliver consistent above-market organic growth. Over the last five years, it has contributed roughly 1% of organic growth a year. Customer-Back Innovation at ITW has fueled more than 17,000 granted and pending patents, including more than 1,900 new patent applications in 2017. We estimate that over half of our revenues are covered either by patents or trade secrets.
Our Decentralized, Entrepreneurial Culture – HOW WE EXECUTE
Our commitment to execution is deeply embedded in our decentralized entrepreneurial culture – we do what we say. Our leaders are clear on what is expected of them with regard to our Business Model, our values, and our strategy. Within this framework, we empower our business teams to make decisions and customize their approach in order to maximize the relevance and impact of the ITW Business Model for their specific customers and end markets. Guided by the ITW Framework, divisional goal setting and operational planning are done bottom-up, not top-down. Our only requirement is that each division has a plan to improve performance year-over year, leveraging the ITW Business Model to drive continuous improvement. Our performance metrics are simple, clear and consistent across the company – organic growth, operating margin, and return on invested capital. In ITW terms, these “80” metrics are the performance focus for every one of our divisions. Our people thrive in ITW’s “Flexibility Within a Framework” culture … and they deliver.

ITW Automotive OEM business units operates under the Illinois Tool Works, Inc. banner.  Our organization is alive with spirit and consistently producing innovative, new solutions, while retaining a decentralized, highly focused management style to most effectively serve our market.

Founded in 1912, ITW (NYSE: ITW) is a global industrial company centered on a differentiated and proprietary business model. The company’s seven industry-leading segments leverage the ITW Business Model to generate solid growth with best-in-class margins and returns in markets where highly innovative, customer-focused solutions are required. ITW’s approximately 50,000 dedicated colleagues around the world thrive in our decentralized, entrepreneurial culture. In 2017, the company achieved revenues of $14.3 billion, with roughly half coming from outside North America. To learn more, please visit www.itw.com.