Spring 2015
Solutions
Milestone
Two decades. One fifth of a
century. 7,300 days.
This year marks the 20th
anniversary of MPS Group’s
founding. When we were just
getting established in 1995,
Toy Story was in theaters,
Ebay went live and Operation
Desert Storm ended. While some things remain the
same – like General Motors being our first customer
then and continuing to be our largest customer now –
the world and MPS Group have evolved tremendously.
My personal history with MPS Group extends back
to 2010. Shortly after I came onboard, the leadership
team completed a detailed review of our strategic
plan. We examined where the company was
generating profits, narrowed our focus and grew
those specific areas. Since then, we’ve executed
this updated plan – with impressive results.
In five years, MPS Group has nearly tripled annual
sales and our team has expanded to more than
300 employees. The acquisitions of NWC Global, AU,
Motor City Plant Services and Superior Patriot have
reinforced our technical capabilities, employee talent
and geographic reach along the way.
While this anniversary milestone provides a good
chance to review where we’ve been, it’s also an
excellent vantage point from which to look forward.
At our present pace of growth, MPS Group expects
to achieve $100M in annual revenue within the
next two to three years. We will continue to pursue
additional customers in new industries and cast an
eye to continuing geographic expansion.
The ultimate key to our success, however, is the
hard work of our people. The entire MPS Group
team deserves to take a step back and admire how
far they have come in the past 20 years. Thank you
for being a vital part of our accomplishments.
Ed Schwartz – President and CEO
Paint Shop Professionals
MPS Group’s professional reach continues to spread. The company was recently
awarded a multi-year contract at General Motor’s Bowling Green facility for paint shop
cleaning and spray booth environment management. Work at the “Home of the Corvette”
is slated to begin July 1, 2015. With the recently awarded contract, MPS Group now
provides such services covering a full array of vehicle types, including trucks, sedans,
SUVs and now sports cars in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
“Our expanding capabilities in paint shop management comprise a significant portion
of MPS Group’s overall revenue growth,” explains Business Development Manager
Rob Haggerson. “The new contract at Bowling Green encompasses a broad scope of
services, including paint shop cleanliness, humidification, booth water, booth balance,
filtration, and ‘dirt in paint analysis.’”
MPS Group’s initial experience with paint shop management kicked off approximately
six years ago at Navistar truck manufacturing facilities. Then in 2011, to increase the
scope of potential activities, an MPS team approached GM to become an approved
supplier. “Our first award was in 2012 at their high-volume truck plant in Indiana,”
noted Haggerson. “At that time, we set in motion an ongoing strategic partnership
with the customer, the UAW, and Abendego Environmental.”
MPS Group anticipates significant growth in this business line at additional General
Motors facilities and further afoot. “We are currently pursuing several other automotive
OEMs and their suppliers,” shares Haggerson. “We excel at each part of the
process: from capturing the contract with an informed sales force to creating a
robust transition process and finally to 100% implementation. Our team consistently
and comprehensively brings best in class service delivery.”
Solutions
Industrial Services Team
Conquers Holiday Shutdown
Each year when most of the Midwest’s manufacturing employees are settling
in for a well-deserved holiday break, MPS Group is gearing up for aroundthe-clock work. “With automobile production running almost continuously
throughout the year, the automakers must conduct upgrades, retooling
and change-over operations during the holiday seasons,” explains Operations
Director Bobby Greenwood.
Corporate Health and Safety Director Matt Rasak elaborates, “For MPS that
means a small window to clean and prepare automotive processes for the
installation of new robots, the renovation of paint booths, or the general
maintenance of conveyor systems, to put booths and processes back into
optimum condition. Our busiest times of the year span Christmas and New
Years’, plus Fourth of July week during the summer months.”
However, the payoff is significant. In a 14 day span, MPS Group was able
to generate nearly $4 million in revenue with more than 700 employees and
subcontractors working across the country at eight different sites. In total,
the company deployed 16 vacuum trucks, 32 high pressure hydroblast
pumps and over 50 support vehicles. Just as impressively, all of this work
occurred with no recordable injuries and no vehicle incidents or inspection
violations despite traveling in excess of 10,000 miles.
Project Manager Daniel Loos estimates that planning for the shutdown’s
cleaning efforts begins six months ahead of time. The client and MPS Group
representatives determine what has to be accomplished then company
resources are allocated appropriately. “It’s a collaborative process with the
final two weeks preceding the actual shutdown encompassing a whirlwind
of last minute details,” he notes.
MPS Group provides only one portion of the overall work done during the
shutdown, which creates a tightly woven and interdependent timeline.
As Rasak explains it, “If we fall behind, then all the work after us falls behind.”
Success can be measured by the large number of returning customers. MPS
Group has been working with Chrysler’s JNAP (Jefferson North Assembly
Plant ) for more than 15 years during its shutdown periods. Special guests
made their way to the plant to encourage MPS’s onsite team during their
marathon work session. “It was a privilege and honor to have Tony Soave
and Ed Schwartz visit our site on Christmas Eve day. It was a huge morale
boost for our employees,” noted Greenwood.
Greenwood commented, “We couldn’t pull this off without the best employees
in the business. I appreciate the dedication of all our employees who,
in many cases, made significant personal sacrifices to work out-of-town
on Christmas and New Year’s Day to ensure success.”
He continued, “This project was a complete team effort from executive
management to the field technicians that made it happen. The support that
Darrin Stafford gave to the IFS team was greatly appreciated. His
commitment to providing manpower and equipment helped to make this
shutdown a success. Special thanks to all employees who made this a
successful outage: John Allen, Charles Bankston, Andy Bowden, Marc
Bowden, Darrin Campis, Daniel Fisher, Michael Hoye, Larry Johnson, Jeff
Loos, Ed Maki, Scott Maki, Miguel Oquendo, Jim Robinson, Phil Rodgers,
Terry Stenger, Vince Varela, Dave Venesiale and Yolanda Walton.”
Spreading our Green “Know-How”
What do more than 400 used aerosol cans, 275 pounds of used oil and 215 tires have in common?
They avoided a future as landfill fodder because of Keith Koskela, MPS Group’s Total Waste Manager
at the Ford Motor Company’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant (FRAP).
On Earth Day 2015, Koskela, along with two technicians and a vendor, held a Household Hazardous
Waste Disposal Day at the manufacturing facility. Ford employees, onsite vendors and contractors were
invited to bring their “difficult to get rid of” items, including old appliances, paint and pesticides, to the
designated area of the plant parking lot during day and afternoon shifts. All collected items at this
first time event were taken to approved disposal facilities instead of contributing to landfills.
Terry Filipiak, Ford Environmental Manager, observed, “MPS Group and Ferrous Processing are key
partners in managing our waste here at Ford Flat Rock Assembly. So when we mentioned we were
interested in holding a household hazardous waste disposal event for our employees, they were willing
participants. Mr. Koskela’s knowledge of past events helped in planning and carrying out an event that
was well organized. Thank you to Soave Enterprises for their assistance in the success of this event.”
Introducing
Beth Kobeck
Beth Kobeck's arrival at MPS Group as
Corporate Controller reflects her comfort
with taking on new challenges, new roles
and new industries. For the previous 11
years, Kobeck served as Vice President of
Finance and Administration at pulse220,
an event planning and marketing firm
based in Ferndale, Michigan. Though the two positions are in vastly
different sectors, Kobeck was glad to "jump into a new arena."
“I decided to meet with the company’s leadership and see what they’re
about. What I found was an excited and engaged team,” she said. “Postcollege days in public accounting brought a daily array of different clients
and switching industries to MPS Group reminds me of that experience.”
In what she describes as a bigger playground than her prior employer,
working at MPS Group provides Kobeck, a strong believer in teamwork,
expanded opportunities to implement best-in-class practices and to learn
from a talented group of individuals. “My goal is to strengthen our team
through mentoring, daily support and empowering growth,” she noted.
Facing the twin challenges of increasing volumes and the rollout of
a new ERP system, Kobeck believes the best way to understand a
process is to live it and measure its strengths and weaknesses.
“Walking side-by-side with my team, I can more fully understand our
strengths and opportunities, then translate that into definitive actions.”
Kobeck received her Bachelor of Arts from Hillsdale College.
Solutions
Employee Recognition
The View from 20 Years
•
As we celebrate MPS Group’s 20th anniversary, we
asked the company’s longest term employees for
insight into their years with the company.
MPS Group’s Farmington Hills office turned a vibrant shade of scarlet on the American
Heart Association’s National Wear Red Day. Purchasing Administrator Ceretta Westbrook
heeded her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority’s call to action to get women involved in the
nationwide event. Westbrook encouraged her coworkers to sport red on February 6, 2015
to help raise awareness of heart disease and stroke among women. Westbrook personally
resolved to increase her exercise regimen after her involvement in the campaign.
What movie or book title best summarizes
your experience at MPS Group?
• “As Good As It Gets” – Weems
• “Who Moved My Cheese” – Stafford
What innovation over the past 20 years
has made your job more efficient?
• Great Plains software – Westbrook
• E-Mail – Stafford
• New technology – Weems
• New business systems
allowing us to adapt to change - Burrell
In three words or less, please describe
your career at MPS Group.
• Fast and Furious – Weems
• Separate, Steady, Special – Westbrook
• Fun, Challenging, Rewarding – Stafford
• Outgoing and Communication - Burrell
•
Wedding bells were ringing for Jim Burkett, MPS Group’s 1st Shift Supervisor at the
Spring Hill GM Assembly Plant. Jim married his long-time girlfriend Karen Foster on
Saturday, April 18th, 2015. Congratulations on your big day!
•
Earth Day organizers come in all shapes and sizes – even pint size. Eight-year-old
Lauren Robinson, daughter of Contract Manager Jim Robinson, organized classmates,
church friends, soccer buddies and other Brownies for the third year in a row to clean
up a local park. This year she turned her attention to LaSalle, Canada’s Gil Maure Park.
“I think it’s important because our Earth has a lot of pollution in it,” Lauren commented.
“You see a lot of garbage when you’re walking in the parks so we’re here to clean it up.”
What was or is your favorite community
activity with your fellow MPS employees?
• Annual Employee Training Event – Weems
• Bring a Child to Work Day – Westbrook
• Potluck lunches with employees - Burrell
• JDF Walk – Stafford
•
Making his Valentine’s Day more than just a day filled with hearts and chocolates, MPS
Group Site Manager Gerald Greer traveled with his coworkers from General Motor’s Spring
Hill facility to Nashville’s Second Harvest Food Pantry. The Global Supply Chain (GSC) team
participated in their fifth annual volunteer event. The team along with other volunteers sorted
12,879 pounds of food which will provide 9,900 meals to Middle Tennessee families.
Shown Left to Right: Don Weems –15 Years, Regional Manager: Angie
Sherrill – 16 Years, Human Resources Manager: Ceretta Westbrook
–16 Years, Purchasing Administrator: Tonya Burrell – 17 Years,
Billing Administrator: Darrin Stafford – 17 Years, Chief Operating Officer
Have an Idea for a Story?
MPS Group Solutions reports on professional and personal successes
of team members. Story ideas include:updates or changes in business,
accomplishments by employees or family, employee appointments,
events, or awards. Photos greatly enhance any story. Please send
your story ideas to: hcataldo@mpsgrp.com
The MPS Group Solutions newsletter is developed and
published by MPS Group for and about our employees
and clients. Contents © 2015 MPS Group. All rights
reserved; reproduction without permission is prohibited.