Greatbatch Facility Honored with IndustryWeek’s 2008 Best Plants Award  

Greatbatch Inc. announced today that one of its world class manufacturing facilities has been named as one of IndustryWeek’s 2008 top 10 best plants in North America. Greatbatch’s Alden Facility manufactures implantable power sources for a majority of the world’s implantable medical device companies.

"This is a huge achievement for Greatbatch and its employees,” said Susan Campbell, senior vice president at Greatbatch. "The award reflects our commitment to excellence which has enabled us to continuously improve our manufacturing and quality systems, and be a world-renowned manufacturer of critical technologies.”

Over the last three years there have been several key improvements at the Alden Facility including a 73 percent reduction in incidence rates for OSHA-recordable injury and illness cases, 60 percent reduction in average lead-time on major purchased materials, 60 percent reduction in average changeover time from one product model to another, and double-digit reduction in scrap and rework costs as a percentage of sales.

"It’s a huge accomplishment to be identified as a pacesetter in terms of operational strategy, and production practices and performance,” said Mike Druding, operations director for Greatbatch’s Alden Facility. "We’re excited to continue to lead the way for other manufacturers, and look forward to sharing our experiences and best practices with manufacturers.”

About IndustryWeek’s Best Plants Program

Established in 1990, IndustryWeek’s annual salute to outstanding manufacturing facilities recognizes the top 10 plants that are on the leading edge of efforts to increase competitiveness, enhance customer satisfaction, create stimulating and rewarding work environments, and encourage other manufacturing managers and work teams to emulate the honorees by adopting world-class practices, technologies and improvement strategies. Past winners include Lockheed Martin and Cordis de Mexico S.A. de C.V.

About Greatbatch’s Alden Facility

Greatbatch’s Alden Facility manufactures lithium-based battery technologies for implantable medical devices including pacemakers, implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) and neurostimulators. The facility also produces capacitors used for ICDs. The Alden Facility, located at 11900 Walden Avenue in Alden N.Y, opened in 2005 to meet the company’s growing needs. The facility employs 290 of the company’s 3,400 employees.

About Greatbatch, Inc.

Greatbatch, Inc. (NYSE: GB) is a leading developer and manufacturer of critical products used in implantable medical devices for the cardiac rhythm management, neuromodulation, vascular and orthopedic markets. Additionally, Electrochem, a subsidiary of Greatbatch, is a world leader in the design and manufacture of technology solutions for some of the world’s most demanding and extreme applications. Additional information about the Company is available at www greatbatch.com.