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Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education
SPRING 2005 • VOLUME 7, NUMBER 2
‘In Georgia
we are
in good
hands.’
Wild About
Plastics company helps
people breathe easier in
Peachtree City
I
n 1993, German plastics giant
WILDEN AG decided to open a
plant in Peachtree City, Ga. By
2004, it had more than 3,000
square meters of production area,
800 of which were operating under
clean room conditions. The site was
close to an airport and a major
interstate and was located in a
flourishing community just south
of Atlanta.
In other words, it was perfect.
However, back in Europe, other
businesspeople were continually
asking Hans Wilden, CEO of
WILDEN AG, “Why Georgia?”
“We are always asked, ‘Why are
you in Georgia?’” Wilden said
during a recent visit to the Peachtree
City facility. “I say, it is because in
Georgia we are in
good hands. We are
QUICK START IS GEORGIA’S PREMIER SOURCE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRAINING
— Hans Wilden,
CEO of WILDEN AG
in an environment that is suitable
for our purposes, and Quick Start
is a demonstration of that.”
The relationship between Quick
Start and WILDEN Plastics goes
back more than 10 years. Even
before the Peachtree City facility
opened, Quick Start’s training professionals traveled to the WILDEN
Plastics plant in Pfreimd, Germany,
and studied the processes that would
eventually be transferred to Georgia.
Continued on page 8
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Quick Notes
About this issue: International Style
A
We are proud
to provide
support and
assistance to
our new
neighbors
from around
the world.
nybody who has ever spent time in another country knows firsthand how cultural
differences express themselves in almost every aspect of daily life, from something
as big as driving on different sides of the road, to something as seemingly trivial as
which hand to offer in greetings.
Being aware of these issues is even more important when helping a company from
another country start up an operation in Georgia. Company managers have to adapt to
habits that are peculiar to America. And the Georgians working for the new company
need to learn how to fit within a kind of business culture that is new to them.
In this issue of the Quick Start newsletter, we feature three projects involving international companies. Each is an example of how our training professionals have been
able to facilitate the often difficult process of helping an international staff mesh with
a domestic workforce. At Micro Craft, for example, we have provided cross-cultural
training; at JCB we helped interpret and implement the vision of this British company;
and at WILDEN Plastics, we have studied their unique processes and helped develop
materials to transfer the company’s German practices to its Peachtree City facility.
I’m also pleased to feature the Department of Economic Development’s Charlie Gatlin
as he shares some of his thoughts and experiences about working with international companies in our “Partner’s Perspective” column.
International companies are an important source
of new investment and new jobs in Georgia, and we
are proud to provide support and assistance to our
new neighbors from around the world.
Jackie Rohosky
Assistant Commissioner
Economic Development Programs
jrohosky@georgiaquickstart.org
Jackie Rohosky
talks with
WILDEN AG CEO
Hans Wilden at
her recent visit
to WILDEN AG’s
Peachtree City
facility.
10
Table of Contents
12
3
10
12
Events Around the State
Getting Grounded
British company finds
a home in Georgia
Culture Club
Quick Start helps
Micro Craft’s international
teams come together
14
Partner’s Perspective
Global Reach
By Charlie Gatlin
16
Quick Start Project Announcements
Spring 2005 • Volume 7, Number 2 • Published by Georgia Quick Start • www.georgiaquickstart.org • Quick Start is a registered service mark of the
Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education – Michael F. Vollmer, Commissioner. Address comments and questions to: Rodger Brown,
Director of Communications • rbrown@georgiaquickstart.org • GA Quick Start • 75 Fifth St. NW, Suite 400, Atlanta, GA 30308
2
QUICK START
•
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Events
Planking the Walk
Porch flooring that doesn’t need painting, fencing that
horses can’t splinter, and docks and piers that don’t contaminate lakes and rivers with creosote – these uses alone
promise big sales for the products being made by Integrated
Composite Technologies Inc. (ICT) in Montezuma, Ga.
But that’s only the beginning. In fact, ICT’s composite
polymer/wood products are so innovative that the company
is still discovering their potential uses.
“At 3 1/2 years old, we’re still a new business,” said Bill
Thornton, president and CEO of ICT. “There’s still a black
arts aspect to what we do — you can’t open a textbook to
page three and read about extrusion.”
But textbooks are certainly in the picture for Thornton
and his employees. From the beginning of operations in
2002, Quick Start and South Georgia Technical College
have provided training to ICT employees to make sure they
are up to speed on the high-tech processes used in the
Montezuma plant.
Recently, officials from all three organizations signed a
new agreement for Quick Start to offer basic skills and
machine operation training as ICT expands by over 60 jobs
over the next two years.
“I’m so glad we formed such a strong partnership and that it
continues – that’s the important part,” said Jackie Rohosky, DTAE
assistant commissioner of economic development programs.
Bill Thornton,
president and CEO
of ICT, describes
some of the many
applications for
his company’s
line of composite
products to
Jackie Rohosky,
DTAE assistant
commissioner of
economic development programs.
Governor Goes
Green for Eldorado
Stone Opening
Eldorado Stone Corporation, a
leading manufacturer of architectural
stone veneer, recently made Dublin,
Ga. the newest in its national line of
manufacturing locations. The 13.81From left: Mike Lewis, president of Eldorado Stone;
Gov. Sonny Perdue; and Tom Webster, director of
acre site will be one of the San Marcos,
planning for Eldorado Stone at Eldorado Stone’s
Calif.-based company’s flagship propSt. Patrick’s Day grand opening.
erties, equipped to manufacture
Eldorado Stone’s entire core product line and some regional products.
Gov. Sonny Perdue was among those attending the St. Patrick’s Day grand
opening of the Dublin facility, where the company plans to create
approximately 100 new jobs for Georgians. Quick
Start will be designing and developing materials, as
well as providing instructors for pre- and postemployment job-specific and manufacturing skills
technology training for Eldorado Stone’s new employees. Heart of Georgia Technical College will be assisting
Eldorado Stone with its ongoing training needs.
BioLab Inc., a Lawrenceville, Ga.-based company
that supplies water treatment and specialty
household consumer products, recently entered
into a training partnership with Quick Start and
DeKalb Technical College. Below (from left), Jeff
Lynn, director of northern operations for Quick
Start; Jim Dass, human resources manager for
BioLab Inc.; and Dr. Robin Hoffman, president of
DeKalb Technical College, sign the agreement for
Quick Start to provide skills training to the
employees at BioLab’s Conyers, Ga. plant.
3
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Events
Kohl’s Moves In to
Middle Georgia
From left: Georgia Rep. Jeff Lewis; Toyo Tire North America President and CEO Mr. Shozo
(Carlos) Kibata; North Metro Technical College President Steve Dougherty; and DTAE Assistant
Commissioner of Economic Development Programs Jackie Rohosky at the Quick Start training
plan signing at North Metro Technical College.
Bringing Quality Home
For eight straight years, Tire Review magazine has ranked Japanese tire
manufacturer Toyo as number one for product quality.
So, it’s no wonder that executives at a company so well-known for recognizing and promoting quality chose Georgia for their first wholly-owned
United States facility.
“I visited several states, and I have confidence that Quick Start and North
Metro Technical College offer the best support,” said Toyo Tire North
America’s president and CEO Mr. Shozo (Carlos) Kibata. “That’s why we
chose Georgia.”
In March, Mr. Kibata; North Metro Technical College President Steve
Dougherty; and Jackie Rohosky, DTAE assistant commissioner of economic
development programs, signed an agreement to jointly coordinate the workforce training at Toyo’s new high-concept plant and warehouse in White, Ga.
The training agreement was developed through a project study conducted
by Quick Start representatives who visited the Toyo Tire & Rubber facility in
Sendai, Japan. Quick Start will design and develop training material, provide
instructors for the training classes and assist Toyo with specific preparations
for the facility’s workforce.
Up to six million passenger car and light truck tires will be produced per
year at the highly automated facility, which boasts over 1 million square feet
of floor space. Initially, about 350 jobs are being created there.
Georgia Rep. Jeff Lewis attended the event and pledged to continue helping “make Georgia even more business-friendly than it already is.” He
added, “You can’t have employees if you don’t have employers.”
Just hours after the grand opening of
Kohl’s inaugural Middle Georgia retail
location, executives from the national
department-store chain met with Quick
Start and Central Georgia Technical
College representatives to sign a training
agreement for a new distribution center
in the area.
Currently near completion in Macon,
the highly automated 577,000-sq.-ft.
facility – Kohl’s eighth distribution center
— will have the latest in conveyors, sorters
and RF scanning technology. The new
facility will be the flagship of all Kohl’s
distribution centers, employing approximately 260 people in two shifts.
“Having opened one distribution
center myself and been involved in a
consulting role on another, I can tell you
the Quick Start program is unbelievable,”
said Kohl’s Vice President of Distribution
Operations Mark Lawrence. “I never
dreamed – and this is my 24th year in
distribution – that I would come across
an organization that can give me ongoing
training like this one does.”
Central Georgia Tech has provided
meeting and interviewing space for Kohl’s
executives, and will provide training space
in the future. Quick Start will provide
training in everything from pre-hire orientation to post-hire job specific and mobile
equipment training for employees at the
facility, which is expected to begin processing freight early this summer.
From left: Mark Lawrence, Kohl’s vice president of
distribution operations; Marla Lowe, Quick Start
executive director of economic development programs; and Dr. Melton Palmer Jr., president of
Central Georgia Technical College.
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CEDT Panel Meets
DTAE economic development
professionals from across Georgia
got a view from the trenches, learning about attracting business and
industry from the customer’s
perspective and experts during
the CEDT (Certified Economic
Developer Trainer) Economic
Development Panel held recently at
Quick Start headquarters.
CEDT is an 18-month certification
process for Quick Start and technical
college personnel who support business and industry training and
Georgia’s economic development.
Members of the 11th CEDT class
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Georgia’s economic development professionals look on as Michael Grundmann (far right),
Quick Start director of marketing and program improvement, facilitates the recent CEDT
panel discussion.
met in Atlanta, where executives
from Simmons Bedding Company
gave the company’s perspective on
choosing a site for their new location in Waycross, Ga.
“We selected the Simmons
Bedding Company to participate in
this panel because of the company’s
value for training and workforce
development and what a large role
that played in getting them to locate
this facility in Georgia and in
Waycross,” says Sandra Morris,
Quick Start’s director for performance
technology/service industry and the
CEDT program.
State and local economic developers were on hand, as well, to share
their perspectives on the process in
general and the Simmons case study
in particular.
This CEDT group of 23 vice
presidents, directors, training coordinators and others will graduate in
May 2006.
“Their roles may be different, but
the thing they have in common is
they all support economic development,” says Morris. “Through CEDT,
they learn from our customers,
economic development practitioners,
and each other.”
Far left: Marjanna Garvin
(at podium), Simmons
Bedding Company director
of human resources west,
describes the cooperation
among state and local
groups that aided Simmons’
move to Waycross. Left:
Rick Duke (standing), director of the Georgia Institute
of Technology Economic
Development Institute (EDI),
describes EDI’s role in
Georgia’s economic development efforts.
Nyloboard turns rags into riches – At Nyloboard’s new facility and corporate headquarters in Covington, Ga., discarded carpeting that once would have been tossed into landfills is turned
into composite panels that resist moisture, mold, bacteria and decay. Quick Start and DeKalb Technical
College have entered into a partnership to provide training for the 100 new positions created by this facility.
Signing the training agreement are, left to right:
Jeff Lynn, Quick Start’s director of northern operations; Leon Ford, production manager for Nyloboard
LLC; and Dr. Robin Hoffman, president of DeKalb
Technical College.
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Events
Japanese Corporations
Choose Jackson County
From left: Jackie Rohosky, DTAE assistant commissioner of
economic development programs; Mr. Akinao Miyagawa, TACG
executive; James Green, TACG human resources specialist; and
Dr. Michael Moye, president of Lanier Technical College.
Toyota Industries Corporation and DENSO Corporation, both based in
Japan, recently collaborated to create TD Automotive Compressor Georgia
(TACG), a new venture located in Jefferson, Ga., that will produce automotive
air-conditioning compressors. TACG is expected to create 250 new jobs in
Jackson County.
Mr. Akinao Miyagawa, an executive with TACG, was the special guest at a
ceremony where officials from Quick Start and Lanier Technical College signed
an agreement with TACG to provide training for the employees at the $133
million, 334,000-sq.-ft. facility.
Employees in the plant will use robotics to assemble the compressors with
new technology that will regulate a car’s interior temperature more efficiently.
A Touch of Glass
High-performance architectural glass
manufacturer Viracon is expanding its
facility in Statesboro, creating about 70
new jobs with training help from Quick
Start and Ogeechee Technical College.
With this expansion, Viracon will employ
up to 450 associates to manufacture a
product line that includes insulating,
laminated, tempered, heat-strengthened,
silk-screened, spandrel, hurricane-resistant, acoustical, blast-mitigating and
high-performance coated glass.
Training Helps Complete the
Circuit at Spectral Response –
From soldering to time management and problem
solving to leadership and coaching, a variety of
training is in the works for employees of Spectral
Response Inc., a Duluth, Ga. company that manufactures electronic circuit boards and other industrial
and commercial telecommunication products. Above,
a Spectral Response employee solders a part onto a
circuit board. At left, pictured signing the training
agreement are, from left: Sharon Rigsby, president of
Gwinnett Technical College; Kevin Melendy, president
of Spectral Response Inc.; and Jeff Lynn, director of
northern operations for Quick Start.
6
QUICK START
•
SPRING 2005
Pictured signing the training plan are, from left:
Ken Boyd, Quick Start director of eastern operations; Mike Diedrich, Viracon vice president and
director of operations; and Dr. Gene Waters,
president of Ogeechee Technical College.
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Washington Wins with WIN
Somewhere in Germany, someone washing dishes
reaches for a scouring pad, with no idea it’s made from
products manufactured in Washington, Ga.
At Washington International Non-Wovens (WIN), a new business based in the
small town outside Athens, executives take the word “International” in their name
seriously. Already the plant’s wide variety of non-woven products, including vent and
filter material and scouring and floor cleaning pads, are being
shipped as far away as Germany and Sweden.
Quick Start, Athens Technical College and WIN are working
together to make sure workers in this new company are experts at
their jobs. The relationship became official recently at ceremonies
marking the signing of a training agreement.
“I think [this training] will make us a cut above and it will enrich
our workforce,” said Wylie Prescott, WIN CEO. “The important thing
when you bring people into your organization is making them more
valuable to the business and to the community.”
“Wilkes County, Washington, the state of Georgia – we’re all
winners in this program,” said Jeff Lynn, Quick Start’s director of
northern operations.
At right, top: Bales of polyester fiber await transformation into part of WIN’s
line of non-woven products. Bottom, from left: Jeff Lynn, Quick Start director of
northern operations; Wylie Prescott, WIN CEO; and Dr. Flora Tydings, president
of Athens Technical College.
Award Winner Affirms
Quick Start Relationship
The HON Company, an award-winning
office furniture manufacturer, recently
signed an agreement continuing a successful training partnership with
Georgia Quick Start and Coosa Valley Technical College. New training will focus on computer, communication and customer service
skills for employees at HON’s newly expanded distribution center.
“There’s no company in our area that has done more to improve
themselves, their workforce and the products and services they provide
than HON,” said Pete McDonald, VP of economic development at
Coosa Valley Technical College, at the ceremony.
HON, 2004 winner of Georgia’s prestigious Oglethorpe Award
for manufacturing, employs over 700 in a 533,619-sq.-ft. facility located in Cedartown, Ga. Over 600 models of metal and wood office
furniture are produced at a rate of 4,000 to 5,000 units per day.
“We’ve had an excellent relationship over the years with Quick
Start and we look forward to continuing that,” said Todd Murphy,
HON’s vice president and general manager. “They’re a big part of
our success.”
At right, top: An employee assembles a filing cabinet at HON’s Cedartown facility. Bottom,
from left: Jeff Lynn, Quick Start director of northern operations and Pete McDonald, VP of
economic development at Coosa Valley Technical College, look on as Vice President and
General Manager for the HON Company Todd Murphy points out some of the facility’s
innovative parts-storage bins.
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Cover Story
HandiHaler® is produced by WILDEN
AG for Boehringer Ingelheim, a leadTo aid in the plant’s startup, Quick
ing pharmaceutical company which
Start experts developed training
developed the device.
materials covering plastic injection
“Quick Start has been great,”
molding, quality inspection, clean
said Greg Greer, plant engineer at the
room standards, and many more
Peachtree City facility. “Getting all
processes and technologies required
the equipment here and getting it all
for manufacturing the
set up and the logistics
company’s precision
of getting a line
medical and autooperating takes all
motive components.
your time, so to have
In 2003,
Quick Start available
WILDEN decided
to develop training
to expand and add
is invaluable.”
a new product line
Greer noted
in Peachtree City,
that before producand Quick Start
tion of a medical
again was available From left: Heinz Dierselhuis, WILDEN director device can begin,
of operations; Jackie Rohosky, DTAE assistant
to help the compathe process has
commissioner of economic development
ny keep its jobs in
to be validated
programs; Hans Wilden, CEO, WILDEN AG.
Georgia. The team
by the Food and
visited WILDEN facilities in
Drug Administration.
Germany multiple times to study the
“An important part of the validaprocesses needed to manufacture
tion process is the documentation,
innovative products, especially the
and that’s another area where Quick
®
“HandiHaler ,” a new device used to
Start has helped us meet every level
deliver medication for individuals
of qualification so far.”
with breathing problems. The
Quick Start’s team did a detailed
Continued from page 1
Above: A WILDEN craftsman operates an electrical
discharge machine (EDM), a precision machine
that cuts mold parts using spark erosion.
analysis of the production of the
HandiHaler®, which is manufactured
using a new, completely automated
process that assembles up to one
million of the devices each month.
The analysis of the process allows
any new employee to quickly understand the manufacturing process,
What makes the HandiHaler ® so handy?
Millions of Americans with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) can now
walk farther and rest easier without chronic shortness of breath thanks to the HandiHaler®
and the medication it delivers, Spiriva®. WILDEN AG produces the HandiHaler® for their
customer Boehringer Ingelheim, developer of the innovative product.
While not as well known as asthma, COPD is the number four cause
of death in the United States and includes both chronic bronchitis and
emphysema. COPD patients use the HandiHaler® to inhale Spiriva®,
a medical formula that helps keep their lung airways open. Once a
day, they place the light green Spiriva® capsule into the
HandiHaler®, press and release a button that causes the capsule to be pierced, and then inhale the drug in powder form.
At WILDEN, HandiHalers® are produced and assembled
in a 100,000-class clean room. After assembly, the device is
labeled by a laser, packed and delivered to the customer. 1
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How clean is
a clean room?
Above: The final assembly and laser printing machine for the HandiHaler® device. The machine is able to
put together and label approximately one million HandiHalers® each month.
“But also, the documentation that
Quick Start has developed has been
unique to what I have seen.”
Wilden explained how valuable
documenting the production process
is for ensuring the quality of the
product and for training new
employees. Quick Start’s methodology
involves a detailed analysis of
the production process in order to
highlight not only the steps in
production, but also the key points
where quality checks must take place
in order to guarantee a safe product.
In fact, the training process and
documentation proved useful as
WILDEN presented itself to
Boehringer Ingelheim.
“We showed them the process of
training we go through, thanks to
Quick Start, and they saw how this
guarantees the quality of what we
produce,” said Heinz Dierselhuis,
director of operations at the Peachtree
City facility. “Our customers are
interested in seeing our quality control training because then they feel
safe with the products.”
“It is so profound what
WILDEN’s Peachtree City facility.
Quick Start is doing,” Wilden
added. “The advantages of
Quick Start’s methods are that
they can be used in so many
areas. Quick Start has invented
a new technology of training
that is superior to anything
that I have seen in Europe.”
which has to take place in a
100,000-class clean room environment (see sidebar at right).
“Our breakdown of the process
lets us design and construct training
materials that will show anyone
how the operation works and also
how to monitor critical machine
areas for quality control,” said Joe
Bailey, director of Quick Start’s
western operations.
Not only did the documentation
produced by Quick Start help
WILDEN get approval for producing
the new devices, it also set a new
standard for WILDEN’s whole international operation, which includes
plants in many countries, including
United Arab Emirates, the Czech
Republic and China. The establishment of the company’s Georgia
operation proved to be a model for
the corporation.
“The first challenge was how do
we transfer our knowledge from
Germany over here, and the answer
has been Quick Start,” said Wilden.
In Peachtree City, WILDEN AG
produces the HandiHaler® in a
“100,000-class clean room” for
their customer Boehringer Ingelheim,
which developed the device.
The “class” of a clean room
refers to the particle content of
the air. Particles are problematic
both because they can enter the
product and contaminate it, and
because they can act as a vehicle
for micro-organisms, according to
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which sets environmental
quality standards for areas where
drug products are produced.
It’s called a 100,000-class clean
room because it has no more than
100,000 particles of a certain size
(0.5 micrometers) per cubic foot
of air. Air change rate is also
important, and the FDA says that,
for this class of clean room, the
airflow should be sufficient to
achieve at least 20 air changes
per hour.
A few of the many other FDA
rules and recommendations for clean
rooms include seamless, rounded
floor-to-wall junctions that eliminate corners that are difficult to
clean, and gowns, gloves and
masks for those working in the
clean rooms – to form a protective
barrier from contamination. 9
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Nice Digs
Savannah plant adds ‘landmark’ to its resume
Not only is JCB’s Savannah facility a complete
fabrication plant, showroom and center for research and development, it has also become a local landmark, thanks to the company’s
holistic policy of emphasizing the importance of landscaping in
promoting the brand and in protecting the environment.
Traveling on Interstate 95 past Savannah, drivers inevitably find
their attention drawn to the bright yellow earthmoving machines set like toys in the pristinely manicured grounds along JCB’s
mile-long I-95 frontage.
JCB spent about $685,000 in landscaping the Savannah site, but that
level of concern is nothing new; it’s a company tradition. In the late
1960s, company founder J.C. Bamford made a nature preserve out of the
land surrounding his first factory in England, creating a habitat that
today hosts dozens of species of wildlife and plants, including exotic
orchids, earning the company numerous awards in the United Kingdom. JCB’s innovative Robot skid steer.
‘Quick Start
stepped in
to get team
members up
to speed.’
blueprint reading, hazard
communications and safety – as
well as job-specific training in
welding fundamentals, a critical
skill in a business based on fabricating
earthmoving machinery from raw plate steel.
“Quick Start stepped in to get people up to
speed,” says Cooper. “Once they had learned the
basics, we were able to then show them what
the specific JCB standards are.”
– Gordon Cooper,
Understanding JCB’s specific
JCB general manager for
manufacturing, Savannah standards are critical, because
every step in the production
process takes place at the $62 million facility, beginning with raw
steel in sheets. JCB team members use state-of-the-art laser
technology to cut the pieces; assemble the pieces with gas metal
arc welding; clean the parts with an eight-stage zinc phosphate
pre-treatment; and paint the parts with JCB’s trademark yellow,
sealed with a high-durability urethane powder topcoat. And everything has to be perfect: More than 1,250 quality control checks
are performed on each piece of equipment as it’s put together.
Recently, Quick Start teamed with JCB again when the facility
added a new product line, the Robot skid steer loader, a compact,
all-purpose machine with a unique single-loader arm design that,
according to Compact Equipment magazine, “has yet to be
matched in the skid steer marketplace.”
“Last year, we had the migration of a new product into the
plant with the skid steer, and we needed help,” says Steve Hooper,
vice president of human resources. “And Quick Start was there for
us again.”
“The skid steer turned out to be a successful project,” Hooper
says. “We couldn’t have done it without help from Quick Start.”
A welder at JCB manufactures
parts used for JCB’s heavy
earthmoving machinery.
11
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Manufacturing Sector
W
Getting
Grounded
hen JCB head Sir Anthony Bamford set
his sights on the booming construction
equipment market across the pond from his
company’s home base in England, he knew his
products needed one specific label to guarantee sales: “Made in America.”
“It is JCB’s plan to strengthen our position
British company finds
alongside the giants of our industry in the
a home in Georgia
U.S.,” Bamford said when the company broke
ground in 1998 for its first-ever American
plant, located near Savannah, Ga.
“To do that, we need to manufacture here, to be accepted as a local company… That is our aim in opening the first JCB manufacturing plant outside
of the United Kingdom,” Bamford added.
Achieving that goal would not be without its challenges. JCB was to start
manufacturing in the U.S. for the North American market with a totally new
workforce. It wouldn’t be easy, but Quick Start would make it look like it was.
“We were bringing in a known product, but we had a completely new
team,” said Gordon Cooper, JCB’s general manager for manufacturing at the
Savannah plant. “The plant here was designed to be an all-American operation, so everybody had to be recruited, and everybody was new.
“The particular skills we were looking for weren’t available in abundance
in this area, but with Quick Start, we were able to recruit new team members who had very little experience and set up the basic skills training,”
Cooper says.
Cooper adds that Quick Start’s training services are above and beyond
what’s available in the United Kingdom. “In the U.K., a company can get
financial aid, but with Quick Start, you don’t even have to leave your factory.
As managers, we’ve got a lot to do to set our
standards and get on with production. Quick
Start takes a lot of the strain out of the process.
The first thing you know, you’ve got people in
who have been trained by professionals.”
Teaming up with Savannah Technical
College, Quick Start provided JCB’s initial
workforce with training in core skills – including
From left, Gordon Cooper, JCB general manager for
manufacturing, Savannah and Steve Hooper, JCB VP
of human resources, Savannah.
‘Backhoe’ to the future
JCB founder Joseph Cyril Bamford is a classic post-World War II success story. In
1945, Bamford welded his first trailer from war surplus and three years later added
hydraulic technology, fashioning his first breakthrough product, a “tipping-trailer”
or dump truck. The tipping-trailer proved popular on farms, and soon Bamford’s
experiments with hydraulics led to him pioneering the concept of the
“backhoe” in 1954, an earthmoving machine with a loader
bucket in the front and an excavator arm in the rear. The
backhoe has become a ubiquitous piece of construction equipment today, and JCB the leading producer
of backhoes for the world market. 10
QUICK START
•
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Manufacturing Sector
Culture Club
Quick Start helps Micro Craft’s international teams come together
A
lmost every day brings a new
change to the Quitman, Ga.
employees of Micro Craft, a company that produces automotive components such as electronic window
controls and cruise control modules.
There are new charts at every workstation and the production floor
is being revamped.
12
New ownership of a company
nearly always means new ideas and
new challenges for jobholders. When
a small, family-owned American
business is purchased by an international corporation with different
business practices and traditions,
the ensuing changes can sometimes
seem overwhelming.
In one small South Georgia town,
that transition is being eased
with the help of Quick Start
training.
Almost a decade ago,
Quick Start, along with
Valdosta Technical College,
formed a relationship with
Micro Craft’s facility in
Micro Craft’s facility in Quitman, Ga.
Quitman. Recently, the Michiganbased company was purchased by
the Niles USA Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. About
300 new positions are expected to
be added over the next two years.
With so many changes afoot,
company officials turned to their
time-tested relationship with
Quick Start.
“We knew how great Quick Start
was — that you can’t beat the training,” says Megan Smith, Human
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At left: Quick Start Instructor Greg Fukushima leads a class in “Working with U.S. Americans for
Japanese,” for students from Niles’ Japan office. Earlier that week, American employees at the company had their turn in “Working with the Japanese for U.S. Americans.” Above, from left: Some of
the charts used to track production in the Micro Craft plant; students learn about American culture;
Mr. Fukushima leads his class.
Resources Development manager for
common in Japan were new to
Micro Craft. “The classes are at
Quitman. From introducing the ILU
such a high professional level and so
skills matrices, to lean manufacturinformative, the training has been
ing, a practice aimed increasing
very effective.”
efficiency, Quick
“They like our
Start is helping
training,” says Bob
Micro Craft adapt
Lytle, Quick Start
to its new needs.
training coordinator
Among other trainfor the partnership.
ing, Quick Start
“It has helped them
is developing a
improve their proone-hour training
duction levels.”
course on impleIn addition to
menting the ILU
the training for new
philosophy.
employees, Niles
In addition to
USA has turned to
the ILU course, in
Quick Start for
just over a year,
help in the area of
Quick Start has
cross-cultural
taught over 30
understanding.
different training
In classes like
courses to 165
“Working with
Micro Craft
the Japanese for
employees. The
U.S. Americans”
wide variety of
Employees on the assembly
and its countertraining offered in
line at Micro Craft.
part, “Working
this partnership has
with U.S. Americans for Japanese,”
been one of its strengths, according
students learn about the customs
to Marla Lowe, Quick Start’s execuand practices of their current and
tive director of economic developfuture co-workers while getting a
ment programs. “Quick Start’s role
review of economic and cultural ties
in providing not only job-specific
between the countries, and learning
training but also training that helps
communication skills that will help
employees develop skills to facilitate
them on and off the job.
the merging of the two cultures has
In addition to cultural differences,
been an important aspect of the
many business practices that are
Micro Craft project.”
What is ILU?
The philosophy behind ILU is that the
pictorial system is a bold, easy-tounderstand way of marking a trainee’s
progress that works across cultures
and languages. As skills progress, a
piece added to each letter creates
the next one. From a zero skill level,
employees earn an “I” when, for
example, they can build a part with
assistance. A bar is added to the “I”
to form an “L” as workers become
more self-sufficient. A bar added to
the “L” forms a “U” when employees
are ready to be trainers or team leaders.
Employees assemble components on
the production floor.
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Partner’s Perspective
Global Reach
International economic
development poses unique
challenges, opportunities
By Charlie Gatlin
I
“Commerce is a
two-way street,
and our international trading
partners are very
important to the
numerous Georgia
companies doing
business overseas.”
– Charlie Gatlin,
Georgia Department of Economic
Development Chief of Staff
14
QUICK START
•
SPRING 2005
t has become commonplace
recently to talk about how businesses today operate in a global
marketplace, and about how we
must compete for customers and
investment with other countries
around the world. But for those of
us working in economic development here in Georgia, that insight is
nothing new. We’ve been dedicated
to promoting trade and recruiting
investment internationally for
decades. In fact, today nearly 30
percent of the companies the
Department of Economic
Development works with to help
create new jobs in Georgia come
from other countries.
While encouraging companies to
invest in Georgia is critical to our
state’s economic development, just as
important is helping Georgia businesses sell their goods and services on
the international market. Commerce
is a two-way street, and our international trading partners are very
important to the numerous Georgia
companies doing business overseas.
While we don’t play favorites
with our international partners,
there are some countries that have
been more significant than others in
the development of business in
Georgia. Japan, for example, has
been an important partner not only
from the trade standpoint — selling
products to Japan — but also in
“reverse investment,” which is how
we describe Japanese companies’
investment in coming to this country
and particularly into the Southeast.
Because of the success of this rela-
tionship, which we have cultivated
for many years, Georgia has more
Japanese companies than any other
state in the Southeast.
Georgia’s economic development
team, of which Quick Start and
Georgia’s Technical College System
are an important part, works hard
to identify potential new customers
for Georgia’s businesses and also to
promote Georgia as a destination
for global companies looking to
expand. It is a continual challenge
to find these companies and have
them become interested in this part
of the United States. To help us
address that challenge, we have
operated numerous offices, what we
call “marketing outposts,” around
the world for many years. The
Department of Economic
Development, for example, has had
offices in Japan and Europe since
the early 1970s.
Having a presence in those
important international markets is
essential to promoting economic
development in Georgia. That is
how we establish trusting relationships with international companies.
Those relationships are critical
because they allow us to hear about
new projects and sort out those that
are real from those that might be
more speculative. That’s the real
value of being able to understand
the dynamics of the marketplace. If
we did not have international offices
developing those relationships with
potential business partners, we
could spend a lot of time and energy
chasing rumors, rather than real
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Page b3
projects that will result in real jobs
investing in Georgia who doesn’t have
the needs of business are. Some of
for Georgians.
an interest in training. And when
these customers might be skeptical
In addition to maintaining our
those customers evaluate Georgia,
up front, but once the training promarketing outposts overseas, we
they want to know how we compare
ject is completed, they are always
also have a full range of programs
to other states. When they find out
impressed and amazed. And these
that are part of an overall marketing
about Quick Start and how it opernew believers become some of the
plan for promoting
best ambassadors for
Georgia and finding cusQuick Start, with their
‘There is not a single customer considtomers. We attend confertestimonials almost univerering investing in Georgia who doesn’t sally praising the results of
ences, gatherings, meetings, trade shows — any
Quick Start’s workforce
have an interest in training... and
venue where we can identraining programs.
when they find out about Quick Start
tify and reach out to new
Quick Start’s profescustomers. We try to idensionalism
also distinguishes
and
how
it
operates
they
become
tify which companies are
itself when working with
convinced it is second to none.’
growing; who is going to
international companies.
need new facilities; who
Each country has a differneeds to increase production, hire
ates, they become convinced that
ent business culture with different
people and make new investments.
Quick Start’s training solutions are
business operating routines. We
Gathering that kind of intelligence is
second to none.
need to understand what these are
a central part of our mission.
Frankly, Quick Start is one of the
in order to work together effectively.
Once we have identified a
most important elements of our
Quick Start solves these challenges
prospect, Quick Start is a big part of
sales pitch, and companies are
by being proactive. A Quick Start
our marketing efforts. For example,
always amazed at what we can do
evaluation team will go overseas to
when we get interest from a potenfor them. In fact, companies are
study how a plant might operate,
tial new customer, we take that
often skeptical when they realize
for example, and they develop the
opportunity to promote the most
Quick Start is a government agency.
training that incorporates the unique
important factor that drives a cusWhat they don’t understand, but
business culture of the company.
tomer’s decision, and workforce
learn quickly, is that Quick Start’s
That’s very important, and people
training is always important. There
training professionals come from the
really appreciate that approach.
is not a single customer considering
world of business and know what
Working with international companies poses plenty of challenges,
but we are able to solve most of
them with this way of collaborating.
These companies recognize right
away that we are here to work
together and make things work best
for a new plant or a new facility.
Because, in the end, when it works,
we all win…our citizens get new
jobs or better jobs, and our families
enjoy an improved quality of life.
Charlie Gatlin is Chief of Staff
for the Georgia Department of
Economic Development. Prior to
being appointed to that role, he was
Deputy Commissioner, Business
Recruitment and Retention Division.
From left: Charlie Gatlin, Gov. Sonny Perdue and
Koichi Kondo, president of American Honda Motor
Company, Inc., at the recent announcement of a
new Honda facility in Tallapoosa, Ga.
15
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Michael F. Vollmer, Commissioner
Georgia Department of Technical
and Adult Education
www.georgiaquickstart.org
SYSTEM
34 Technical Colleges With Multiple Campuses
4 University System Colleges With Technical Divisions
Quick Start Project Announcements
... Serving communities throughout Georgia
Adel: Poultry producer Sanderson Farms Inc.
is opening a hatchery and feed mill, creating
approximately 150 new jobs.
Monroe: Wal-Mart Distribution is expanding, adding
200 employees.
Montezuma: Integrated Composite Technologies Inc. is
adding a new production line and creating 60 jobs.
Atlanta: Latex International is starting a new
operation which will supply custom foam products
to mattress manufacturers, creating 36 new jobs.
Moultrie: Poultry producer Sanderson Farms Inc. is
opening a new processing facility, creating 1700
new jobs.
Bowdon: Bremen-Bowdon Investment Company,
which produces dress uniforms for all branches of
the armed services, is adding 100 new employees to
produce newly designed military combat uniforms.
Newnan: RettCo Steel LLC is adding 25
jobs for its new startup, producing steel
wire, wire strand and processed wire rod.
Carrollton: Bobcat is starting a new plant and hiring
100 employees to produce a number of different
attachments for Bobcat equipment.
Norcross: Spinner North America
Inc. is starting a new manufacturing
operation, hiring 25 employees to
produce RF components such as coaxial connectors and cable assemblies.
Cartersville: Integrated BroadBand Services, a
provider of cable-based broadband infrastructure
and services, is expanding to create 50–100 new jobs.
Pearson: Firstline Corporation’s Pearson
facility is expanding, creating 20 new
jobs. At this location, the company produces several kinds of woven bags.
Claxton: Global Aluminum, manufacturer of powder-coated aluminum extrusions, is refurbishing a
facility and adding 25 new jobs.
Columbus: Aircraft giant Pratt & Whitney is expanding its jet engine
rebuild facility, adding 120 jobs.
Pembroke: Specialty PVC films manufacturer
Orafol USA Inc. is constructing a new facility and adding 250 new jobs.
Conyers: BioLab Inc. is expanding its water-treatment facility operations, hiring 80 people.
Rome: Manufacturer of automotive components F&P Georgia is
expanding, adding a new stamping line and 50 new employees.
Conyers: Pactiv Corporation is expanding and adding 60 employees for
its new consumer product line.
Savannah: ICON Health & Fitness Inc. is building a new warehouse and
distribution center, creating 120 new jobs.
Conyers: Solo Cup is expanding its manufacturing facility and adding
165 new employees.
Statesboro: Viracon, a manufacturer of high-performance architectural
glass products, is expanding and creating 50 new jobs.
LaGrange: Emerson Network Power is adding 60 jobs to its communication frame and cabinet/electronic assembly lines.
Tallapoosa: Honda Transmission is building a new plant and hiring 400
new employees.
Lawrenceville: EZ Prints is expanding its digital photo printing operations,
adding 50 new employees.
Thomson: Milsco Manufacturing Company, manufacturer of customized vehicular seats, is expanding and creating 15 new jobs.
Macon: Retailer Bass Pro is opening a new warehouse and distribution
center to supply stores throughout the Southeast, creating 400 new jobs.
Valdosta: Firstline Corporation, producer of a wide range of packaging
products, is expanding, creating 50 new jobs.
Midway: Target is building a warehouse and distribution center and
creating 500 new jobs.
Warrenton: Wheland Foundry LLC, supplier of automotive castings, is
expanding and adding 100 new jobs.
Georgia Quick Start
16
•
Centergy One
•
75 Fifth Street NW
•
Suite 400
•
Atlanta, GA 30308