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MMA’s CEO Forum Drives Home Globalization & Electrification

Bloom

Michigan Manufacturer of the Year Award Winners

Dauch

Tetreault

Khoury

Manufacturing executives from across the state of Michigan gathered at MMA’s fifth annual CEO Forum on Monday, May 10, 2010 at the Henry Center for Executive Development in Lansing. The theme for this year’s program was “The Future of Manufacturing: 2010 and Beyond.” The event began with a short speech from Governor Jennifer Granholm, who encouraged attendees to partner with the state and federal government to accelerate manufacturing and to diversify their businesses. She also talked about a new federal funding package, worth $30 billion, which could help small to medium companies secure loans. U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow was next to take the stage, optimistic about the level of support Michigan is receiving from the federal government.

“We have an administration in Washington DC that understands how important it is to ‘make things’ in America,” said Stabenow. “Ron [Bloom, U.S. Manufacturing Czar] understands this best and has played an important role to support manufacturers, both large and small, since day one.”

Keynote speaker Ron Bloom, President Obama’s senior counselor for manufacturing policy — also known as the U.S. Manufacturing Czar — shared his views with attendees about the manufacturing sector and President Obama’s economic strategy. Although he noted the manufacturing industry faces enormous challenges, he said significant progress has been made citing General Motors Company’s (GM) early pay-off of federal loans. He then reviewed the federal government’s programs currently in place to help the Michigan manufacturing industry recover, such as the Recovery Act and 48C tax credits.

“If we want our economy back, we need to revive our manufacturing base. We [the federal government] are not interested in controlling companies, like GM, or running your business, but we can and should play a role. We can help retrain workers, secure business loans and build a solid infrastructure,” said Bloom. “The fight for American manufacturing is important. And, if we work together, it’s a fight I know we can win.”

Following Bloom’s speech, MMA President and CEO Chuck Hadden presented the 2010 John G. Thodis Michigan Manufacturer of the Year Awards. The award recipients were: William Demmer, CEO and President of Lansing-based Demmer Corporation; Edward Walker, President and CEO of W Industries in Detroit; Mitchell Tomlinson, President and CEO of Peckham Inc. in Lansing; Nancy Ayres, General Manager of Flexco Grand Rapids; and Steve Iocco, President of Cartridges Are Us based in Ithaca. (See the John G. Thodis Michigan Manufacturer of the Year Awards page for more.)

The afternoon sessions kicked off with a presentation from Richard E. Dauch, Co-Founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO of American Axle & Manufacturing. Mr. Dauch delivered an inspiring speech about the crucial role that manufacturing has played in our economy — and our national security — and what it takes to create a viable, flexible and competitive manufacturing operation today.

“Globalization has been happening for decades, but its pace dramatically accelerated in the 1990’s and the new millennium,” said Dauch. “The biggest trigger happened on December 11, 2001, when China was officially admitted into the World Trade Organization, altering the patterns of world commerce. Any major supplier that wants to remain in business must have a global reach and footprint.”

He went on to say, “In this structurally changing industry, ‘home court’ is wherever the business takes you. To get there, you must deliver superior product, cost competitiveness, operational excellence, flexibility, applied and advanced technology, along with a world-class workforce.” Dauch ended by saying, “I believe with every fiber of my being that we have the talent and commitment to resuscitate America’s manufacturing industry.”

James Tetreault, Ford VP of North American manufacturing, followed with a presentation about the exciting times that lay ahead for the Ford and its customers. (download a copy of Tetreault’s slide presentation [pdf file])

“What separates us from the competition is that we recognized the early signs of trouble for the auto industry. We saw the need to change and the urgency to restructure how we did business overall,” said Tetreault. “Fortunately, our President and CEO, Alan Mulally, had the foresight to put $23 billion in the bank and implement the ONE Ford plan.”

The ONE Ford plan was created to transform Ford’s business model by bringing people together as one team, with one plan and one goal. The “one team” includes customers, dealers, suppliers and the community. The “one plan” calls for aggressive restructuring, accelerated development of new products, a solid finance plan and effectively working as a team. And, the “one goal” is to ensure a successful and viable Ford Motor Company now and in the future.

Since the launch of this plan, Ford has made significant progress, securing a respectable position with Consumer Reports that favorably recommends 75 percent of Ford cars and trucks, and garnering an 84 percent customer satisfaction rate. Both are huge leaps from the past. Tetreault also talked about exciting new technologies, including flexible manufacturing cells that will insure Ford has a smaller footprint.

Jim Khoury, GM Engineering Manager, Global Hybrid Energy Systems, rounded out the day with his presentation, which focused on “driving to a sustainable future”. Khoury stressed that we cannot afford to ignore alternative energy anymore. He talked about petroleum, lithium ion batteries, fuel cells and every conceivable way to power a car. He also spoke in depth about GM’s new battery development, from cell electrochemistry, vehicle charging and safety testing to security and heating and cooling issues. (download a copy of Khoury’s slide presentation [pdf file])

“Electric vehicles are here to stay. We [GM] will make a great battery and a great electric motor,” said Khoury. “We are reinventing the vehicle.”