the example of Lincoln Electric, a manufacturer that has reduced costs by $10 million a year for 10 years. One example of cost-cutting measures: Air currents from ducts behind a waterfall draw paint that has missed its mark during the painting process and carry it into a filtering system so that it can be reused. Skilled machine operators, working on a strict piece-rate system, earn around $80,000 a year. They make their own tools, maintain and repair the equipment themselves, and check their own quality. Called "million-dollar men," these workers have saved the company millions of dollars that would have been spent on automated equipment.