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DRIVING HOME A POINT
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St. Louis
region considered a second Motor City, claiming four vehicle assembly
plants and 150-plus component manufacturers.
By Kevin Kipp
Geese, some say, share lift when they fly in formation.
So do Chryslers, Fords and Chevies.
Having four vehicle assembly plants and 150-plus component manufacturers
located here makes St. Louis a sort of Second Motor City.
Mike Camp, plant manager at the GM assembly plant in Wentzville
says, “St. Louis is a good place to do business, as evidenced by
the fact that GM has had manufacturing facilities here since 1922.
In part it’s because the workforce has a strong work ethic. It’s
also because of the region’s strategic location in Mid-America.”
Officials at Ford and DaimlerChrysler agree.
Jim Nihls, plant manager of Daimler-Chrysler’s St. Louis assembly
north, says, “This workforce is very proud, very dedicated. When
you give them the task, the tools and the opportunity, they can
do almost anything.”
Dave Chambers, controller at the Ford plant in Hazelwood, says,
“The St. Louis workforce has a strong work ethic. They choose to
learn and pick up new skills...inside through training and outside
through programs like tuition assistance.”
Some management guru in the ethers might dis’ money-as-motivator,
but the guys on the line have their feet on the ground. “They appreciate
this kind of job and these kinds of wages in this system,” Chambers
says.
Camp says most departures from the assembly line at GM “are primarily
attrition through retirements. Very few quit, almost none. The jobs
at Wentzville are considered to be very good ones. Employees here
are satisfied with their occupations.”
And they are loyal, in fact “Very few transition to other companies,”
Camp says.
Chambers says his Ford assembly-line colleagues not only stay in
the fold: “Our people bleed Ford Blue.”
And what do they do with the Ford oval? “What we especially like
is for all people to have a passion for the business,” he says.
Add “education and training” to the list of Midwest virtues, says
Don Wainwright, chairman and CEO of Wainwright Industries a metal
parts contract fabricator in St. Peters whose automotive customers
are its largest.
“Look at the universities and the training options we have here,”
he gushes. “From a technical standpoint just look at Ranken Technical
College. It’s a national leader for hands-on training. Those guys
are as important...more important than the engineers because they
make the engineers’ theories work.”
Wainwright also points out the University of Missouri’s engineering
juggernaut in Rolla.
Besides praising the amenities available in St. Louis (sports, restaurants,
theater), Camp applauds “the cooperative nature of business, government,
community, educators and economic development organizations.”
“You have to be impressed with what’s happening now,” Nihls says,
listing “the efforts to revitalize downtown St. Louis, the focus
on improving the infrastructure and the initiatives to cooperate
regionally. These will all pay big dividends in the future.”
Besides the region’s prospects, Chambers says individual Ford managers
can prosper here: “Ford has a good personnel development process,
so talent in any location has the opportunity to move around and
move up.”
Sometime, some manager, somewhere “might need to move to maximize
his potential. But 90 percent of the locale you’re in is a personal
choice, domestically or internationally.”
Nihls, a Canadian, notes one reason to choose the St. Louis locale.
“When you relocate from the frozen north,” he chuckles, “you gotta
love the extra two or three months of warm weather!”
According to Nadine Boon, economic development director for the
city of St. Charles, the emergence of just-in-time delivery boosted
the region’s position in auto assembly. “From the assembly perspective,
just-in-time delivery means suppliers can manage the inventory.
From a supplier’s perspective, they want to be near the assembly
plant.
“The plants track suppliers’ time and distance to the plant,” she
says. “If suppliers don’t have a contract, they’re not going to
be there.”
More Boon wisdom: “Clustering builds an industry sector by attracting
more of like kind, both the workers with the skills and inclinations
to be in a particular kind of work and the related businesses. It’s
not just automobiles and life sciences. Where we [St. Louis] have
a base, I think it makes sense to build on it.”
Chambers says, “Suppliers set up shop as close to us as they can.
Our closest vendor is Lear in Earth City.”
Camp comments on clustering: “The total infrastructure for industry
makes St. Louis and St. Charles County a desirable place to operate
an industrial facility.” His list included the availability of suppliers,
contractors, truckers, communications systems, ground and air transportation,
and a diverse commercial and industrial base.
Chambers cites Lear’s sequencing to show how vendors add value,
and why clusters make sense. “Their tan, leather Eddie Bauer seats
are loaded on the truck in the proper order, so that when it comes
off the truck [at the Ford plant], it’s matched to the vehicle that
was ordered by a dealer with those very seats. Say thank you to
computers.”
Location is yet another common thread in our experts’ explanations
of the St. Louis advantage in assembling American dream machines.
Camp says, “St. Louis is optimum in many ways for inbound supply
as well as distribution of finished products to North American markets.”
“Our location in St. Louis and in the Midwest is excellent,” Chambers
says. “In St. Louis, we have access to air and highway transportation.
And in the Midwest there’s a tremendous amount of industry. Vendors
are nearby, and we can ship our cars east or west.”
Wainwright adds, “What makes St. Louis such a good place to make
cars is that it’s geographically and demographically in the middle
of the United States, the biggest market in the world. And in a
global economy, it’s important that we can ship all over.
“Tokyo is the best location for an SST,” he says, “but the best
way to service the automotive market is to locate in St. Louis.”
VIRGIN
WHEELS
We asked the gear heads in the accompanying article what
their first car was and what their most memorable experience
in it was. Here’s what they had to say.
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Mike
Camp
plant manager, General Motors
My first vehicle was a dream car, a 1964 white Chevrolet Impala
Sport Coupe with AM/FM radio, red interior, and white sidewall
tires. I was so proud of that car, that I drove it 40,000
miles in the first year.
I remember carefree summer evenings cruising with a carload
of friends to the Varsity Drive-In restaurant across from
Georgia Tech in Atlanta, listening to the Beatles, Elvis,
Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis.
I’ve owned 25 GM vehicles since, but the one I remember most
fondly is “Old Whitey.”
Nadine Boon
economic development director, city of St. Charles
Down in the bootheel, we girls didn’t focus on our first car
the way boys do, but I remember an Olds 98 I had in the ’70s.
I loved that when the windows were down, the car was open
from the windshield to the back of the back seat. It was creamy
yellow with leather upholstery and real chrome. It could go
90 miles an hour on the back roads. You could do that on the
interstate, too, but then you’d have to cry if you got caught.
Don Wainwright
chairman and CEO, Wainwright Industries
I got my first car when I made the first team at Mizzou under
Dan Devine in 1960. My father said I could have the family’s
1955 Thunderbird.
Dad was an engineer, too, and I guess it’s memorable that
he had designed the pistons for the engine as an engineer
for Sterling Aluminum.
My brother has the car now. It’s been completely rebuilt.
Dave Chambers
controller, Ford plant
My first car was a silver 1978 Nova with a straight six. What
I remember most about the car is that it wasn’t my first choice.
I couldn’t afford the Camaro next to it. I was in high school,
17, working part time at the library as a page in Fremont,
Ohio. It’s a really small town.
I tried to race it on the country roads anyway, but it was
too slow for a lot of the competition. I did win regularly
against a ’78 Monte Carlo with a V-six, though.
Jim Nihls,
plant manager St. Louis North Assembly Plant, DaimlerChrysler
My first car was a fire engine red Plymouth Valiant. I refuse
to tell you what model year, but Valiant should give it away
a little. When your first car is a convertible, you can’t
help remember the wind blowing through your hair...when I
had hair. Now I’m BBC: bald by choice. And the ladies love
going for rides with the top down, too. [Car top, he clarified.]
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Kevin Kipp runs Bubble Communications, a creative services and
community relations firm in St. Charles. |
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