Southern Automotive Alliance magazine - Spring 2019

SPRING 2019

WORKFORCE SPECIAL!

A deep dive into how the South is building the next generation of automotive team members

EXECUTIVE Q&A Kia’s Stuart Countess outlines the South Korean carmaker’s strong Georgia connections

GOOD JOBS AHEAD Calhoun State Community College gets students ready for work early

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK: The charge toward the electric vehicle

SIGN UP NOW FOR A FREE PRINT SUBSCRIPTION AT SOUTHERNAUTOMOTIVEALLIANCE.COM SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 1

2 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 3

4 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 5

6 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 7

Faces of the Industry

SPRING

40 Don Stoegbauer

2019

His friends call him “Stogie” and he’s been a force behind the push for regional cooperation in automotive for years

volume 4 number 2

Supplier Profiles 42 Roy Metal Finishing

This family-run plating company started in South Carolina and now works with international clients

46 RAPA Relays, valves and small town values – this nearly 100-year old German supplier now calls Auburn, Alabama home

Departments

Johnell Brooks of Clemson University applies psychology to figure out what car buyers want

33

10 From the Editor 12 Benchmarks/NewsHub 54 Regional Reports 60 Kudos 64 Industry Indicators/Stocks 65 By the Numbers 66 Career Notes 75 Index

Features

33 VISION With all the new innovation it makes sense

20 EXECUTIVE Q&A Stuart Countess talks about Kia’s new SUV and how the South Korean company contributes to its Georgia community

36 INNOVATION

24 INDUSTRY OUTLOOK The trend is turning more and more toward electric cars. What do we have to look forward to?

27 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Calhoun Community College is connecting high schoolers to work in automotive through an innovative program 30 BEST PRACTICES The Alabama Community College System has a strong working relationship with the automotive industry. Jeff Lynn tells us how ACCS is promoting workforce development

that car makers need to know what drivers actually want.

Clemson’s Johnell Brooks uses psychology and research to find out John Gattuso developed a tiny device that tells you what’s wrong with your car so you can get it FIXD

48 SPOTLIGHT Our Workforce Special Section looks across the region at the diverse ways states and industry are collaborating to feed the pipeline to the next generation of automotive employees 62 EXPERT VIEW Can the coming tide of electric vehicles make America’s infrastructure worse?

68 WORKFORCE EXTRA Education plays a

powerful role in training the automotive industry’s future workforce. Here’s a look at some of the region’s programs

ON THE COVER: Developing the workforce of tomorrow starts today with young students who can be introduced to automotive careers at programs like the one at Calhoun Community College 8 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 9

From the Editor

W

e talk a lot in Southern Automotive Alliance about workforce development, and each issue touches on this critical ongoing need in various features and editorial departments. Consider this issue, for instance: From NewsHub: Alabama business executives cite education and workforce training as the top issue facing the state, according to a University of Alabama survey.

From Benchmarks Nissan broke ground in mid-February on an advanced technology training center in Decherd, Tennessee to train 180 employees simultaneously in the areas of production, maintenance, engineering and management. “This new training center underpins Nissan’s commitment to upskilling our workforce in advanced manufacturing technology, as well as our commitment to Franklin County,” says Brian Sullivan, vice president, Powertrain and Battery Operations, Nissan North America, Inc. From Benchmarks Industry leaders would be wise to consider the supply chain of skilled laborers who will be needed to fill jobs decades from now.

“Driving the Southern Region into the Future,” a white paper produced by Alabama A&M University’s College of Business and Public Affairs, summarizes some of the work that has to be done. The foundation upon which successful workforce development is based happens at grade levels 6-8, the report emphasizes.

And these are just a few of the ways workforce turned up in the front of the book. On top of regular mentions in Benchmarks and News Hub, we always feature an example of workforce development efforts from somewhere in the region.

This issue, though, we’re doubling down on workforce, a topic of constant conversation throughout the automotive sector. Our special workforce section — it takes over several regular features throughout the issue —will highlight programs underway in various states in our region, as well as specific educational programs. In Best Practices, we take a look at Jeff Lynn, who is championing workforce development through the Alabama Community College System.

Our regular workforce development feature and our Executive Q&A with Kia’s Stuart Countess continue to shine a light on efforts by corporate leaders to collaborate with teachers and students and partner with education to develop the labor force needed to produce cars. We touch on it as well in Kudos, where we introduce you to the ASG HOPE Foundation’s forward-looking work with educators in Georgia to provide STEM opportunities that can feed the tech-oriented careers of the future — and the present.

Of course, there’s more to automotive than workforce, so this issue also examines the momentum toward electric cars from more than one angle, and we introduce you to more of the interesting people in the supply chain who make up this growing community centered around mobility and transportation.

I’d say this issue is a keeper. But I think that every issue.

Speaking of issue frequency, beginning with this very issue, Southern Automotive Alliance magazine returns to quarterly publication, as we turn more of our attention to invigorating our digital spaces with important automotive news and interesting features. We hope you’ll check out our website southernautomotivealliance.com, follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn), and if you haven’t signed up for our weekly newsletter, please do.

Thanks for reading.

By the way, if you’re getting this magazine, why not subscribe? It’s easy and just as free as the magazine itself. Just visit our website, www.southernautomotivealliance.com and click on one of the easy subscription buttons or popups. Drop me a line and let me know how well that worked – or tell me what you think about the magazine and what we ought to be writing about, at npatterson@ pmtpublishing.com.

To subscribe at no cost and receive future issues via mail, visit southernautomotivealliance.com 10 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

PUBLISHER: Walker Sorrell EDITOR: Nicholas Patterson npatterson@pmtpublishing.com ART DIRECTOR: Rebecca Reeves WEB PRODUCER: Abby Parrott COPY EDITOR : Christine Gordon CONTRIBUTORS Dave Helms, Cara D. Clark, Bill Gerdes, Gail Allyn Short, Henri Hollis, Linda H. Lamb, Carla Caldwell, Dallus Whitfield, Jay Zagorsky, Nancy Henderson, Megan Boyle, Dennis Keim, Scott Adamson ADMINISTRATION: Molly Lipski Powell CIRCULATION: Anita Miller ACCOUNTING: Keith Crabtree ADVERTISING SALES: Chandler Busby 205-802-6363 Ext. 103 cbusby@pmtpublishing.com DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Mark Singletary msingletary@pmtpublishing.com INTEGRATED MEDIA & EVENTS Sheila Wardy swardy@pmtpublishing.com 2204 Lakeshore Drive, Suite 120 Birmingham, AL 35209 (205) 802-6363 southernautomotivealliance.com T.J. Potts, President PMT Publishing, Inc. 3729 Cottage Hill Rd H • Mobile, AL 36609 pmtpublishing.com • 251.473.6269 Southern Automotive Alliance is published quarterly

by PMT Publishing Inc. Copyright 2019 by PMT Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission prohibited.

Address all correspondence to Southern Automotive Alliance, 3729 Cottage Hill Road, Suite H, Mobile, AL 36609 or 2204 Lakeshore Drive, Suite 120, Birmingham, AL 35209. Phone (251) 473-6269 in Mobile or (205) 802-6363 in Birmingham. FAX in Birmingham is (205) 8026393 and e-mail address is info@pmtpublishing. com. Letters to the editor are welcome or e-mail to npatterson@pmtpublishing.com. Please query the editor before sending unsolicited articles or photographs.

Moving? Please note US Postal Service will not forward magazines mailed through their Bulk Mail unit. Please send old label along with your new address 4-6 weeks prior to moving.

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 11

TEXT BY: DAVE HELMS

Industry Benchmarks Mercedes-Benz Changes Up Alabama Leadership

M

ercedes Benz U.S. International, the Tuscaloosa County, Alabama-based production arm of the luxury car maker is getting new leadership, as CEO Jason Hoff takes on a new role in Stuttgart, Germany.

Hoff will leave his current job as head of Production SUV/Sports Cars and president and CEO of MBUSI July 1 to become the new head of Quality Management at MercedesBenz Cars worldwide. Replacing him at the Vance, Alabama plant will be Michael Göbel, currently head of Compact Cars Production for Mercedes-Benz Cars.

When he assumes his new responsibilities, Hoff will succeed Jörg Burzer, who, in turn will succeed Markus Schäfer as a member of the Divisional Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain. Hoff, who has been head of MBUSI since 2013, will “remain closely associated with all Mercedes-Benz Cars production plants worldwide,” the company stated in its news release.

Hoff’s history with the company includes an earlier stint in Stuttgart and other roles at Jason Hoff the Vance plant. In an earlier assignment in Germany, he was responsible for procurement of interior components for the Mercedes-Benz C- and E-Class sedan. Before that, Hoff held various management positions at MBUSI, including vice president of Logistics and head of Assembly and Procurement.

As head of MBUSI, Hoff oversaw production of Mercedes’ GLE, GLS and GLE Coupe SUVs sold worldwide as well as the C-Class sedan for North America. In September 2017, MBUSI announced a $1 billion plant investment mostly slated for the company‘s electric initiative, which includes the construction of a Mercedes-Benz factory in Bibb County, Alabama to produce batteries. The Vance plant employs more than 3,700 people.

The new head of that plant, Göbel, is no stranger to the Tuscaloosa County operation, where, in 2008, he was the head of Planning. Before that, Göbel began his career at Mercedes-Benz’ parent company Daimler in 1990 at the Mercedes plant in Mannheim, Germany and then Rastatt, Germany in 1994.

From 1998 to 2007, Göbel held various management positions in production, planning and logistics at the Mercedes operation in Bremen, Germany, most recently as head of Michael Göbel Assembly. In mid-2014, Göbel took over the management of the company’s global compact car production network. His role at the Vance plant will make him the local representative of Daimler and “thus the face of the company in the region,” the press release notes.

“In his new position, he will continue to develop the Tuscaloosa site and make it fit for the future, leveraging his many years of production and management experience.” n – Nick Patterson

N E W S

H U B

TOYOTA GROWS IN THE SOUTH Toyota is dramatically increasing its commitment to U.S. plants to $13 billion over five years, including adding RAV4 Hybrid and Lexus ES 300h to the Georgetown, Kentucky plant, and expanding engine capacity in Huntsville, Alabama where annual capacity will go from 670,000 to 900,000 by the end of 2021. The Huntsville facility will also add 450 new jobs, and two production lines, the biggest

jump in the plant’s history.

Total Huntsville investment is expected to increase by $1.2 billion.

MORE WORK COMING The United States and Canada both look to benefit from Honda Motor Co.’s recent decision to shift production from plants in Europe and Turkey. The two overseas plants will cease work in 2021, according to Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo.

12 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

WE NEED THIS NOW Lawmakers in Southern states need to study what’s happening on the West Coast, where California State Sen. John Moorlach has proposed a Golden State version of Germany’s Autobahn. A Southern Autobahn could offer not only unlimited vehicle speed but also Waffle Houses along the route.

ASBURY BEATS EXPECTATIONS Georgia-based Asbury Automotive Group reported fourth-quarter profits of $40.4 million and profit of $2.06 per share. Those results exceeded Wall Street estimates.

TOGO COMES TO TOWN Japanese automotive parts maker Togo North America recently announced plans to build a new plant at the

Port Of Brunswick Will Handle New Kia Telluride Traffic The south side of Colonel’s Island, Georgia at the Port of Brunswick features an additional 400 acres permitted for development. (Georgia Ports Authority/Stephen B. Morton)

T

elluride, Kia’s new 8-person SUV, began crossing the Port of Brunswick’s docks bound for global markets in February, company officials recently announced in Savannah, Georgia.

“The launch of the Kia Telluride, our largest and most refined SUV to date, will be a monumental achievement for KMMG,” Stuart Countess, chief administrative officer and vice president of Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, told attendees at the Georgia Foreign Trade Conference on Feb. 4.

“From the support we receive from GPA with our inbound parts from our global supply chain to supporting our export of finished vehicles to current and future markets, GPA will play an important role.”

The company’s plan is to move parts in via the port in Savannah, while shipping finished products out through the Port of Brunswick, where an additional 400 acres are being prepared for development.

Countess, Mark Boucher, director of vehicle logistics for the Volkswagen Group of America, and Gerry Lee, vice president of planning and logistics for Subaru of America, took part in

Tennessee-Kentucky Business Park in Portland, Tennessee.

The company says it will invest $11.4 million to build a 107,000-square-foot plant and employ 60 people to make hose clamps and spring devices.

BLUE BIRD LOVES BENDIX Fort Valley, Georgia-based Blue Bird Corp. recently selected the Bendix ESP Electronic Stability Program as standard equipment on all its air-braked

the GFTC automotive panel, discussing the importance of a reliable and costefficient supply chain.

Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga receives parts from the Port of Savannah and currently exports a small number of the Passat and Atlas models via Brunswick. Boucher said VW will soon launch a new version of the Passat and the company has “robust plans for delivering the Atlas to more than 30 export destinations in 2019.”

Jay Johnson, intercontinental logistics specialist for Volkswagen, oversees the import of parts supplying the Chattanooga plant. “We continue to build our partnership as our needs change and as the GPA continues to add more logistic values by improvements at the Savannah Port, as well as adding the Appalachian Regional Port,” Johnson said.

Lee said Subaru relies on the GPA to import its Forester, Crosstrek, WRX and BRZ models. “The Port of Brunswick is the right fit for Subaru’s vehicle supply chain because it is a great location to support the retailers in our Atlanta and Orlando sales zones.”

Another example of vertical integration among GPA’s automotive customers is General Motors’ Acadia. The Port of Savannah supplies GM’s Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant and, starting this year, will export approximately 12,000 Acadia SUVs through Ocean Terminal.

The Georgia Ports Authority performs a similar service for the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Alabama, with parts imported through Savannah and finished vehicles exported via Brunswick. n

buses. The technology helps mitigate loss-of-control and rollover conditions.

Co. Inc. in Clarksville, Tennessee; and Kumho Tire Co. Ltd. in Macon, Georgia.

TIRE BUSINESS NOT FLAT Tire production for 2018 hit record levels in terms of U.S. tire shipments and overall tire production, according to USTMA data. New domestic tire manufacturers showed up throughout the South, including Giti Tire Group in Richburg, South Carolina; Hankook Tire

TEXAS INSPIRATION Brownsville, Texas recently learned that CK Technologies, a supplier of plastic injection molded and chrome electroplates grilles, will be expanding. City Commissioner Joel Munguia told the Rio Grande Guardian that he believes the city can become a major automotive

manufacturing hub.

MEAN OR GRUMPY? Kia recently showed off an electric concept car at the Geneva Motor Show featuring what one reviewer called a “mean” face, that being its frontend LED lighting treatment that mimics the company’s “Tiger Nose” grille. No word on whether a friendly face will also be offered.

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 13

BE N C HM A R K S

Nissan Breaks Ground On Tech Training Center In Tennessee Nissan North America Vice President Brian Sullivan, employees and local leaders broke ground Feb. 13 on a new advanced technology training center in Decherd, Tennessee.

Hyundai Kona named Crossover of the Year in Texas

T

N

issan broke ground in midFebruary on an advanced technology training center in Decherd, Tennessee to train 180 employees simultaneously in the areas of production, maintenance, engineering and management.

The new 21,000 square-foot facility, located at the existing Nissan powertrain assembly complex, is expected to open this fall.

“This new training center underpins Nissan’s commitment to upskilling our workforce in advanced manufacturing technology, as well as our commitment to Franklin County,” says Brian Sullivan, vice president, Powertrain and Battery Operations, Nissan North America, Inc. “This is a great moment for Nissan Decherd, and we are excited about the future ahead.”

Nissan Decherd Powertrain Plant is the highest-volume powertrain plant in the U.S., accounting for more than 1 million engines produced annually. The plant employs 1,700 people and has built nearly 13 million engines since opening in 1997. It currently produces engines for Nissan and INFINITI vehicles including Altima, Maxima, Rogue, Pathfinder, Frontier, Titan and INFINITI QX60, among others. n

N E W S

H U B

GOING AFTER UBER BMW and Daimler announced in late February that they would invest more than $1 billion toward developing ride-sharing, charging and parking services.

The companies called this move a “global game changer” as they position to compete with ride service apps such as Uber.

MORE THAN 9 YARDS A concrete plant opened for business in late February near

the construction site of the future Mazda-Toyota factory in Huntsville. Sequatchie Concrete Service is pumping out concrete on Greenbriar Parkway, under a mile from the plant gate.

WORKFORCE WORRIES Alabama business executives cite education and workforce training as the top issue facing the state, according to a University of Alabama survey. More than 70 business executives participated

14 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

he Hyundai Kona took 2019 Crossover of the Year honors recently, as voted on by the Texas Motor Press Association. Jurors from the automotive journalism organization were charged with picking a vehicle newly refreshed by its manufacturer, and worthy of the motoring challenges of the Lone Star State.

The award was presented in January during the Houston Auto Show at the NRG Center.

“We are highly honored to receive this distinguished recognition awarded to the Hyundai Kona as the 2019 Crossover of the Year in the great state of Texas,” Mike O’Brien, vice president of Product, Corporate and Digital Planning, Hyundai Motor America, told the organization. “Kona is a stylish and functional compact CUV, tailored to the needs of customers who pursue active lifestyles in a variety of terrains.”

Jury members noted the Kona’s enhanced driving dynamics and ability to perform in a variety of urban and multi-surface conditions.

The Hyundai Kona is built on an all-new CUV platform, offering versatility to consumers who have active lifestyles of various kinds. For the 2019 model year, Kona’s safety equation has been enhanced by standardizing key Hyundai SmartSense safety technologies for a more sophisticated driving experience. n

in the November 2018 survey by the Center for Business and Economic Research within UA’s Culverhouse College of Business.

NEW HONDA LEADERS Tetsuya Endo, regional functional leader at Honda of America Manufacturing in Marysville, Ohio, was recently named president of Honda Manufacturing of Alabama.

He takes over April 1 and will oversee all Honda Manufacturing

Alabama functions.

AUTO TECH PROGRAM ACCREDITED Amarillo College’s Automotive Technology degree and certificate program has been accredited by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. The Amarillo, Texas school’s auto technology program earned accreditation in the category of Automobile Service Technology.

BMW Adds X3 M, X4 M To South Carolina Production Lineup

B

MW Group announced in January 2019 the addition of the first-ever BMW X3 M and BMW X4 M models to the growing production line-up at Plant Spartanburg in South Carolina.

The two all-new vehicles will bring the total number of BMW X models produced in the United States to nine, solidifying the plant’s position as the global center of competence for BMW X models.

“The addition of these two all-new models plus the first-

N

ever BMW X7, which began production in December 2018, is a testament to the performance, passion and pride of the more than 11,000 people working at Plant Spartanburg and serves to further underscore BMW’s commitment in the U.S.,” says Knudt Flor, president and CEO, BMW Manufacturing Co. LLC. “Since the BMW X5 was first introduced, creating the premium SAV segment in 1999, Plant Spartanburg has been BMW’s global center of competence for X models and continues to be so today.”

The BMW X3 M is the first-ever high-performance variant of BMW’s popular and best-selling mid-sized Sports Activity Vehicle to be developed by BMW M GmbH. The first-ever BMW X4 M also joins the BMW lineup as a high-performing Sports Activity Coupe. Both vehicles feature a newly developed M-tuned TwinPower Turbo in-line six cylinder engine and all of the performance, agility, and precision for which BMW M cars are renowned, underpinned by sophisticated, model-specific chassis technology tuned to match the engine’s high power and the traction enhancing capabilities of the M xDrive all-wheel-drive system.

Production begins in April 2019. n

Nissan Cutting 700 Workers At Mississippi Plant

issan Motor Co. has announced plans to reduce its workforce by as much as 700 workers at its assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi due to slow truck and van sales.

One shift of Titan and Frontier pickup production will be cut in Canton, though all direct employees will be kept on, according to a company spokeswoman, meaning that contract workers will take the brunt of the layoffs.

According to Bloomberg, the cuts reflect Nissan’s slowed sales worldwide and an overcapacity in the United States.

The company is also dealing with reorganization at the top, as its longtime CEO Carlos Ghosn faces charges of financial mismanagement in Japan. The company’s former chief performance officer and top executive for North America, Jose Munoz, also recently departed.

According to company statements, Nissan in 2018 sold a total of 165,635 Frontier and Titan pickups and NV vans in the U.S. Nissan’s Canton plant is capable of assembling 450,000 cars, trucks and vans annually. Bloomberg maintains that the Titan has been a disappointment relative to sales targets set by Ghosn. n

NEW TECH HQ Germany-based SWJ Technology has announced it will build a new 5,000-square-foot center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to serve as its North American headquarters. The company, with 85 employees in the Southeast, provides services to such companies as MercedesBenz U.S. International and its suppliers.

HUGE ROLLOVER SETTLEMENT A 2015 rollover accident involving a Ford Explorer SUV resulted in a jury awarding the victim $151.8 million in February. The victim was paralyzed and his attorney noted the 1998 Explorer didn’t meet Ford’s own safety guidelines. The verdict will most likely be appealed.

COMMERCE LEADERS HONORED Business Facilities Magazine

recently handed its silver award for the 2018 Economic Development Deal of the Year to Alabama’s Department of Commerce. The department’s efforts helped Alabama land the Mazda-Toyota auto plant in Huntsville.

SANTA FE SCORES Hyundai’s Santa Fe has been named most dependable midsize SUV in the J.D. Power 2019 Vehicle Dependability

Study. The Alabama-made SUV ranked highest in its class in the annual Vehicle Dependability Study, now in its 30th year.

NEW PROGRAM LAUNCHES Mercedes-Benz U.S. International in Vance, Alabama has partnered with Lawson State Community College on the Mercedes Tech Certificate Program, with an initial 30 students to study for four semesters, splitting time between the Bessemer campus

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 15

BE N C H M A R KS

Bad News? Not So Much In Tennessee’s Auto Sector Preproduction model of the Cadillac XT6

Constellium Supplying Aluminum Parts For BMW X

N

etherlands-based corporation Constellium says it will provide aluminum structural components for new BMW X Model Sports Activity Vehicles, according to justauto.com.

A partner to BMW Group for more than 10 years, Constellium supplies the new BMW X4 and X5 from its plant in White, Georgia, including front Crash Management Systems for both the BMW X4 and X5. The Crash Management System absorbs energy in a collision to protect the occupants and vehicle integrity.

The systems supplied to the BMW Group include a second smaller bumper beam which keeps a pedestrian from falling under the vehicle in the event of an impact. The supplier is also making aluminum front rails for the BMW X5, part of the vehicle architecture that supports the engine and absorbs energy in the event of a collision.

“We are proud to expand our relationship with BMW Group to include the White, Georgia, plant,” says Lionel Chapis, who serves as general manager of Constellium Automotive Structures. “The facility offers forming, joining, laser cutting and quality control to meet the high-volume needs of our customers. In 2018, Constellium was named the State of Georgia’s Innovator of the Year at its annual automotive awards.”

Constellium opened its White, Georgia plant in 2017 and employs 250 people in the facility. It is a global manufacturer of aluminum rolled products, extruded products, and structural parts based on a large variety of advanced alloys. n

N E W S and plant floor.

H U B

BMW SOUNDS OFF BMW’s North American boss recently expressed frustration over potentially higher tariffs on imported vehicles. “If tariffs go up, it’s not good for the consumer, it’s not good for our dealer network, it is not good for the economy in total,” notedBernhard Kuhnt, CEO of BMW North America.

KIA DONATED $75K Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia recently donated $75,000 to the West Georgia Health Foundation to benefit the Enoch Callaway Cancer Clinic at WellStar West Georgia Medical Center in LaGrange.

The donation covers the cost of a 2019 Sorento, maintenance, insurance and salary for a driver to transport patients.

16 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

W

hile much of the automotive world struggles with threats of tariffs, supplier complications and depressed sales, Tennessee’s auto fortunes have been looking pretty good, according to the Tennessean.

General Motors is adding production of the seven-seat Cadillac XT6 to the schedule at its Spring Hill plant, investing nearly $300 million to build the luxurious SUV and hiring 200 new assemblers in the process.

In Chattanooga, meanwhile, Volkswagen is gearing up to spend $800 million and hire a reported 1,000 workers to build electric vehicles.

Tennessee’s OEMs support 917 auto suppliers, with automotive operations in 88 of the state’s 95 counties, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

Matt DeLorenzo, senior managing editor with Kelley Blue Book, told the Tennessean that the state’s right-to-work status helps generate much of that bounty.

“If you go back in Spring Hill’s history as a Saturn plant, they were a lot more accommodating than the other traditional UAW units in terms of structuring their work deals,” DeLorenzo said. “That has made the state an attractive place for manufacturers to build.” n

MORE CARS, MORE STEEL U.S. Steel Corp. plans to restart construction on a long-delayed, technologically advanced electric arc furnace in Alabama, crediting “strong trade actions”

by President Donald Trump that have raised tariffs on imported steel. The Birmingham facility is a $215 million investment.

GOODYEAR SETS LAYOFFS Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. will lay off workers at its Gadsden,

Alabama plant in the second quarter of the year. There was no immediate word on how many workers would be affected.

TOO MANY DELINQUENTS More than 7 million American car buyers are at least 90 days behind on their payments, according to a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Economists say that’s surprising given the apparent

C

Cox Automotive Pivots With Pivet, A New Fleet Services Provider

ox Automotive Mobile Group recently unveiled Pivet, a distinct brand to carry the division’s integrated solution of forward-looking fleet services. Pivet connects industry-leading Cox Automotive brand Manheim and national mobile car care company RideKleen, as well as other trusted providers, to enable end-to-end services for every fleet.

Pivet will employ intelligent technology as well as onsite teams to handle the logistics of task management, including everything from in-fleeting, de-fleeting, cleaning, detailing, fueling and charging, to maintenance, storage, parking and logistics. Cox Automotive Mobility Group will engage with other relevant smart mobility partners to further power and optimize Pivet’s innovative fleet solution.

“Fleet services will only become more vital as additional high-utilization commercial fleets are deployed, resulting in significant increases in miles per vehicle and a more frequent need for service and maintenance,” says Joe George, president of Cox Automotive Mobility Group. “The creation of Pivet represents the evolution of our vision, and our group’s passion and commitment to powering fleets and other shared mobility operators of today and in the future.”

T

Pivet’s intelligent fleet services business solution has its first physical location at Manheim Metro Atlanta, between downtown Atlanta and HartsfieldJackson Atlanta International Airport. The location offers availability to such clients as Lyft, Flex Fleet Rental, Hertz and Clutch.

In addition, the Manheim Metro Atlanta Fleet Hub team will aid in the development and offering of advanced sensor (ADAS and LiDAR) and electric vehicle technologies, with dedicated innovation labs scheduled to launch later this year.

While Manheim Metro Atlanta Fleet Hub is an example of how Cox Automotive will leverage Manheim’s large footprint and service infrastructure, Pivet’s top priority is to build its mobile fleet services capabilities. National mobile car care company RideKleen, which Cox Automotive acquired in October 2018, will lead the initial rollout of mobile fleet services.

RideKleen currently operates in 10 mobility-centric markets­— Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. – where it cleans shared fleets operated by clients Getaround, Zipcar and Enterprise Car Share. n

Ward’s Automotive Reports Closes Its Doors In Detroit

he self-described “Bible of the auto industry,” Ward’s Automotive Reports, ceased publication Jan. 28 after a remarkable run of weekly issues that began in 1924.

Initially called Cram’s Reports, Cram being the last name of its founder, the weekly served investors wanting to put money into the then-exploding auto industry. According to the Detroit Free Press, Cram’s president Al Ward put reporters at every automotive factory gate, querying workers on how many vehicles

strength of the economy.

FORD GOES TO SCHOOL Ford Automotive Career Exploration is partnering with schools in Baldwin County, Alabama to increase the quality and quantity of high school students entering post-secondary automotive education. The goal is to steer such graduates into being technicians at Ford and Lincoln dealerships.

GM HOPS ON POWERTRAIN Elon Musk has reportedly been working with Ford on an electric F-150. Apparently not wanting to be left out, word recently arose that General Motors is also working with Tesla on an electric pickup truck, built around the Tesla powertrain.

AN ELECTRIC SPRINTER? Tesla and Mercedes-Benz have apparently made some progress on discussions to collaborate on

had been built that day.

Seeing it was in their best interest, automakers began reporting official production figures. “Al Ward was the genius behind it all,” David C. Smith, retired Ward’s editorial director, told the Free Press. Ward later bought the company. WAR, as it was known in the industry, printed on colored paper and preferred dense text blocks that packed lots of information into a small space. n

an electric version of the Sprinter van. The vehicle is a popular work choice for urban skilled laborers who like its big capacity for holding parts and tools.

PUMPING UP USMCA President Donald Trump continues to urge Congress to ratify the U.S.-MexicoCanada Agreement to bolster manufacturing across all three nations. In doing so, Trump cites an automotive boom that doesn’t

necessarily compute across the industry, according to some observers.

FOOLING WITH NUMBERS Chris Basso with CarFax says odometer fraud in the South is on the rise, despite the modern use of digital odometers. Such devices can be rolled back even more quickly than the old versions, it turns out.

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 17

B E N C HM A R K S

White Paper Calls For Educational Partnerships To Grow Auto Sector

Slick New Online Resource Connects Job Seekers To Automotive Hiring

W

hile the South’s automotive sector is expanding rapidly, with new OEMs being added on a regular basis, industry leaders would be wise to consider the supply chain of skilled laborers who will be needed to fill Dr. Del Smith jobs decades from now.

“Driving the Southern Region into the Future,” a white paper produced by Alabama A&M University’s College of Business and Public Affairs, summarizes some of the work that has to be done.

The report was commissioned by the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) in partnership with the AAMU R.I.S.E. Foundation.

The paper delves into challenges facing automotive production in the South. Among those is the development of a solidly trained workforce, one that benefits from partnership with the region’s higher education stakeholders. But workforce development must begin long before students fill out college applications.

The foundation upon which successful workforce development is based happens at grade levels 6-8, the report emphasizes. Educators need to trade ideas and information with manufacturers so that both can ensure that classroom presentations include a variety of real-life job preparedness.

Partners that need inclusion reside in higher education, government, community entities and nonprofits as well as the K-12 school systems and beyond.

Above all, the report notes, the modern automotive workforce must be prepared to rapidly sense and adapt to changes in manufacturing. Workforce development then continues on to high school and beyond, with more relevant, industry-aligned degree programs.

The full report, facilitated by Dr. Del Smith, dean of the College of Business and Public Affairs and executive director for economic development at AAMU, can be accessed here: https://issuu.com/ futureofthesouthernregion/docs/2019_driving_the_southern_region_in n

N E W S

H U B

MASSIVE OVERTIME Ford Motor Co. says it has seen such an enthusiastic response to its new Ranger midsize pickup truck that it will be scheduling “massive overtime” at the factory that produces it. The truck initially got hits from 300,000 online shoppers.

PASSPORT PRICING Honda has priced its 2019 Passport at $33,035 for the base Sport trim level, according

to Car Connection, which puts it comfortably in the middle of the five-seat crossover SUV market in terms of cost. The Ford Edge comparable version costs $31,090 while the Jeep Grand Cherokee runs $35,490.

CHINA PAIN IS REAL Ford Motor Co. saw its fourquarter earnings dwindle to $0.30 per share, excluding one-time items, and $1.30 per share for all of 2018, both down

18 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

V

alvoline Inc., a leading worldwide supplier of top automotive lubricants and services, in January launched its Auto Career Accelerator, an online recruiting platform that connects emerging professionals to open positions in both the automotive services and heavyduty industries.

Available positions will be posted exclusively from within Valvoline’s Lubricant Customer network, which includes tire shops, car dealerships, quick lube centers, heavy-duty fleets and other various heavy-duty positions nationwide.

“ACA is similar to other leading job boards in connecting job hopefuls with potential employers; however, our network is industry-specific in nature and contains a robust talent assessment,” says Jamal Muashsher, Valvoline vice president marketing and customer experience. “It is our intention to pair the best and brightest with available positions throughout our extensive Valvoline network, closing what we see as an auto industry employment gap.”

Initial posted ACA positions will include entry-level technicians, mid-level technicians, management, sales and service. As the platform expands to include the heavy-duty industry, positions such as HD mechanics, CDL truck drivers and welders will be added.

An estimated 76,000 mechanics are needed over the next decade to meet the needs of the automotive industry, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. n

from 2017. The company saw its progress in China suffer due in part to tariff tensions.

TESLA FOR THE PEOPLE Elon Musk promised the Tesla Model 3 would have a starting price of $35,000 once production issues were ironed out. Although it didn’t look like he could do it for a while there, in late February Musk revealed a stripped down version retailing for $35 k before incentives.

HYUNDAI IN REVERSE Hyundai Motor saw its first quarterly net loss in eight years recently after sales slumped in China due to trade tensions and a phasing out of tax cuts on smaller cars. China has been Hyundai’s biggest market in recent years. The company incurred a net loss of $114.95 million in its fourth quarter.

AVIATOR FLIES HIGH The 2020 Lincoln Aviator won

Toyota, Nissan Among Our Mississippi Honors Recipients

E

Nissan Vehicle Assembly Plant Canton, Mississippi

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi, Inc. in Blue Springs

leven companies from across Mississippi were expected to be honored March 23 in Tupelo for their efforts toward diversity and inclusion in the state’s workforce.

The sixth annual Our Mississippi Honors Gala is set at the BancorpSouth Conference Center at 6 p.m. The corporations expected to be honored, according to Tupelo’s Daily Journal, are Atmos Energy, Caterpillar, CenterPoint Energy, Chevron, Entergy, Ingalls Shipbuilding, Kimberly Clark, Mississippi Power, Nissan, Tennessee Valley Authority and Toyota Mississippi.

The honorees were chosen from four different categories, including corporate management, corporate board, supplier diversity and philanthropy. Individuals also will be recognized at the gala, including former Clarion-Ledger investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell, slated to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Willie Jones of Jackson, president and CEO of Dependable Source Corp. of Mississippi, will be recognized as Businesswoman of the Year.

“Congratulations to all these corporations,” event chairman Wesley Wells told the Daily Journal. “We are so proud of what they stand for.

Diversity works for them and for the state of Mississippi. They understand they advantages of a diverse work environment.” n

Schaeffler Partners With Plug And Play To Spark Venture Efforts

S

outh Carolina-based automotive supplier Schaeffler Group North America has entered into a partnership with Plug and Play, a Silicon Valley-based innovation platform that connects startups with established corporations and venture capitalists.

Of the 14 industry-specific programs offered by Plug and Play, Schaeffler will focus on technologies from the Mobility and Internet of Things (IoT) verticals, while also keeping an eye on innovations coming out of Energy, New Materials and Packaging, and Supply Chain and Logistics.

“We are excited to engage with our new partners at Plug and Play, who give us a compelling new avenue to uncover trends

best-in-show recently in The Detroit News’ annual Readers’ Choice Awards at the Detroit auto show. Judges picked from the public gave their nod to the Aviator, which was revealed last fall at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

LONG HAUL BATTERIES A new startup automaker named Rivian aims to plug the market for battery-powered trucks and SUVs. The company says it will

assemble vehicles in a former auto plant in Illinois.

PHONE IT IN Auto shows aren’t always about flashy new models spinning on turntables. Ford and Volkswagen, for example, phoned in an announcement to the Detroit auto show that they would be working together to build trucks and vans.

and opportunities for advancing our ‘Mobility for tomorrow’ corporate strategy,” says Dr. Tim Hosenfeldt, Schaeffler’s senior vice president for Technology Strategy and Innovation.

“Schaeffler looks forward to connecting with the creative minds within external startups who can provide us fresh perspectives to help us meet the present and future needs of our automotive and industrial customers.”

With over 20 locations worldwide, Plug and Play’s ecosystem will help Schaeffler build on its renowned capacity for in-house innovation, which produced more than 2,400 new patents in 2017 alone through partnerships with external business enterprises and startups that uncovered new technologies, products and processes as well as untapped market segments and customers. n

WHY NOT 21 SCREENS? Kia’s new all-electric concept car sports 21 screens, if we counted correctly, when it made its debut at the Geneva International Motor Show. Certainly no chance for information overload in that environment. The vehicle is being called Imagine, according to a Kia press release.

ALABAMA SUPPLIER EXPANDS Israeli-based automotive supplier Arkal Automotive will spend $2.5

million to enlarge its plant in Auburn, Alabama. The company does injection moldings for Mercedes, General Motors, Volkswagen and others.

VOLVO TAKES FOOT OFF GAS Volvo Cars says it will put a 112 mph speed limiter on all new vehicles as it moves toward a pledge to eliminate passenger fatalities by 2020. Its XC90 flagship SUV currently does 131 mph at the top end.

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 19

EXECUTIVE Q&A INTERVIEW BY: NICK PATTERSON // PHOTOS COURTESY OF KIA MOTORS

Stuart Countess, the head of KIA in Georgia, talks about challenges and how the South Korean brand is promoting workforce development, STEM, and smarter transportation

Kia’s new Telluride is being billed as the South Korean automaker’s biggest and most refined SUV - and it’s built in Georgia for the world market.

From Georgia to the world ot on the heels of the announcement that Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia would be the home for the South Korean automaker’s big new SUV, the Telluride, the plant’s boss opened up about Kia’s place in the industry and it’s home community in the Peach State. Stuart Countess, chief administrative officer and vice president of KMMG, talked about his work and Kia’s workforce and 20 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

educational outreach, as well as other aspects of the company’s connections in Georgia.

Q: You’ve had a pretty varied career. How did what you did before, particularly at Mercedes, prepare you for your role at Kia? Stuart Countess: During my career, I have had the opportunity to work in several different areas supporting the production operation. The exposure to various areas of automotive production systems has allowed me to understand the importance of each discipline and

how they are interrelated, which is key to addressing the various challenges faced in managing a successful operation.

Q: Does your history in LaGrange (if I understand correctly) factor into your thinking or how you approach your role at Kia? SC: My working career began in LaGrange in 1988. Familiarity with the local area and having worked with its workforce prior to KMMG has helped me to recognize its strengths and develop a plan of how to integrate these characteristics with the automotive

industry disciplines.

Q: What’s the most rewarding aspect of what you do every day?

SC: I like the variety of challenges that come with the job each day. Having a good working relationship with all of our team members and our shared goal to be successful, is most rewarding.

Our KMMG team members and their passion to be the best is what truly sets us apart.

Q: What are the challenges that Kia faces in the marketplace and how does your operation deal with those?

SC: We are certainly dealing with the change in consumer product demand.

Shifting to a more CUV/SUV product mix is critical. Yet, we still are able to meet the mid-size sedan demand. Our flexibility to quickly shift to marketplace demands is understood by our team.

However, we always recognize that we have to provide our consumer with a high quality product as we compete against others in the same segment(s).

Q: Talk about how KIA sees something a lot of car companies are talking about now — mobility.

What does that term mean to you and how does Kia approach it?

SC: Mobility, related to the automotive industry, can have various definitions… but for me, it’s the integration of the Countess with children involved in the World In Motion program.

Kia’s new Telluride is being billed as the South Korean automaker’s biggest and most refined SUV - and it’s built in Georgia for the world market. new technologies into, and within automobiles. Today’s vehicles are capable of communicating with their drivers, occupants, as well as their surroundings.

Using this technology, we are able to improve the overall experience in a number of areas from a customer perspective. From a manufacturing perspective, our job at KMMG is to ensure that our assembly processes and testing procedures deliver a high quality product to our end customer.

Q: Tell us about your work with The Ray and why that’s important to you?

SC: We have a unique opportunity with “The Ray.” This stretch of interstate fronts our plant on I-85. We have partnered with “The Ray” on several different projects over the past four years. As a maker of automobiles, the mission of “The Ray” matches with Kia’s objective of being an innovative company. Therefore, we should work together to improve the roads, safety and communication systems, etc. and how cars utilize these roadways.

Q: Kia’s been involved in Troup County for some time. How have you been giving back to the community there?

SC: We focus primarily in two areas.

One [is] workforce development. And two [is] corporate social responsibility and volunteering.

Q: Talk about workforce development.

SC: We have partnered with the SAE Foundation to sponsor “A World SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 21

E X E C U TI V E

Q& A

Telluride... is a vehicle designed in our California studios and was targeted for the American market.

In Motion” programs in our local elementary school systems. These classroom activities promote the practical use of “STEM” subjects, encouraging/developing critical thinking and problem solving. KMMG was a founding member of the THINC College and Career Academy. This academy is an opportunity for high school age individuals to experience different areas of potential job opportunities. It provides “hands-on” experiences that allow the individual to further evaluate for future educational advancement or a future career path (i.e. job). We also have implemented a Work Based Learning Program. The goal of this program is to recruit the very best high school students, and provide them with an outstanding experience at KMMG (which includes project work), and to establish a strong source to recruit from for full-time employment. Our program is very hands on while giving students real world experience in the manufacturing environment. In addition, we work with the Technical College System of 22 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

Georgia (TCSG) to provide input on future educational pathways that we see a need in coming products/product developments. Also, we provide tours for every 8th grader in Troup County and many other counties in Georgia, showing these young individuals what a manufacturing environment offers. There is a misconception about manufacturing and the many fields of opportunities that are involved. By providing a tour/insight, we are looking to generate interest in a future workforce who could be the next team members of a manufacturer.

Q: What about social responsibility and volunteering?

SC: KMMG takes pride in our community through involvement and support of various local civic and development organizations. Through our CSR program, we recognize a positive impact in our community and its citizens. We sponsor a 5K event each year to promote healthy living, as well as local community enhancement projects throughout the year. Our Team Members volunteer for various KMMG

sponsored events and participate in charitable giving programs including Back To School initiatives, Toys for Tots, and KMMG Matching Gift programs.

Q: THINC is one project that you’re involved in related to workforce development. What’s the most important takeaway from your standpoint?

SC: KMMG is proud to be involved with the THINC College and Career Academy. It provides a foundation for the workforce of the future to explore their future opportunities and guides their decisions on the educational and career choices they might pursue. I feel that the impact of this program will be felt in an increasing measure over the years within this community.

Q: What’s next for Kia from a manufacturing standpoint?

SC: We just launched the 2020 Telluride. This is Kia’s largest vehicle in the CUV/SUV segment. It is a vehicle designed in our California studios and was targeted for the American market. It addresses many of the consumer requests from previous CUV/SUV products. It provides options for a 7 or 8 passenger seating configuration, includes a number

of different advanced safety features (blind spot detection, rain sensing wipers, highway drive assist, smart cruise control etc, that set this product apart from our competition. This product will only be manufactured in West Point, Georgia and will be exported to many countries outside the US.

Q: If there’s one thing people should know about your Kia operations, what would it be?

SC: If you had the opportunity to see Kia’s Super Bowl commercial introducing the 2020 Kia Telluride, you were introduced to the people of Telluride. Our workforce and the community were on display in this advertisement. The words in that ad truly depict our team, “We are not known for who we are, we hope to be known for what we do, what we build…”

This is a team that “Gives it Everything” with each vehicle and now it will be sharing it with the world. n

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 23

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK Kia just announced the company’s first pure electric four-door passenger car, dubbed Imagine, which made its debut as a concept in Geneva, Switzerland in March. “Our all-electric concept is designed to not only get your pulse racing, but to also signpost our holistic and emotional approach to electrification,” said Gregory Guillaume, vice president of Design for Kia Motors Europe.

The EV Charge

Commitment from major auto makers, dropping battery prices signals expected increase in electric vehicles TEXT BY BILL GERDES // PHOTOS COURTESY OF UT KNOXVILLE/KIA

D

avid L. Greene says his wife calls his car “hyperdrive, like from the Star Wars movie.”

“Hyperdrive,” for nonStar Wars fans, allowed starships to travel faster than the speed of light.

Greene’s car, a BMW I-3 electric, may not exceed the speed of light, but Greene and a lot of other auto industry observers, say they think electric vehicle sales are on the cusp of speeding up, thanks to rapidly dropping battery pack prices and green house concerns.

Greene, Senior Fellow of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy and a research professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, says, “I think the best way to look at it is level of sales last year. Electric vehicles

24 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

sales in the U.S. are increasing rapidly, but still, last year electric vehicle sales accounted for less than 1.5 percent of the total 2018 vehicle sales. That’s a 50 percent increase over the year before, so the sales have been growing rapidly but from a very small base.”

In 2018, Greene says, electric vehicle sales were somewhere around 316,000 units, which is a small fraction of the total vehicles sales. Worldwide sales, thanks to greenhouse concerns, were about two million, with Europe and China accounting for most of the sales.

Robert Wagner, Director of National Transportation Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, says auto industry commitment to electric vehicles and huge strides in battery pack development are key factors in the growth of EVs.

“There are a lot of studies out there, a lot of analysis around how they anticipate the EVs will roll out,” Wagner says. “There is a lot of variability in the range of those studies, but nonetheless, they are interesting to look at and understand the trend. There is a lot of strong commitment from industry at the moment. General Motors and Volkswagen — they are making a lot of commitment to this path forward.”

The U.S. Department of Energy, universities and other research organizations have committed to funding a lot of foundational science in electrification as well as other fuels, Wagner says.

Two major hurdles EVs have to overcome are battery development and public perception.

“The public still has very little firsthand knowledge and is not familiar with what an electric vehicle is like and is all about ,” says Greene. “So the awareness, if you will, the understanding on the part of the general public, is not very high and that is largely because the

sales have been low and as a percentage of the fleet, is less than a quarter of one percent of the vehicles on the road. So there is a lot of them now but still they are relatively rare and the public is not familiar with things like what it means to recharge the vehicle, how long it takes, what the performance of the vehicle is like, and those kinds of things.”

“The main hurdle,” Greene says, “is that you have a limited range and a long re-charging time. So where you can go to the gasoline station and fill your vehicle in about five minutes, if you simply plug your electric vehicle into a wall socket, it would take 10 hours or something like that.”

EV owners can move up to a level two charger, which starts at about $400, and which most people can install in their homes. Level 2 chargers take about the same amount of electricity as a clothes dryer. Most homes have that capability, Greene says, and “still it is going to take about four or five hours to fully charge a vehicle.”

On the other hand, Greene says, “there are DC fast chargers in the public space that can charge a vehicle in about 30 to 40 minutes. And people are working on technologies that can charge even faster than that. “ Wagner agrees.

“Charging infrastructure is growing very fast,” he says. “We are starting to see more of what is classified as fast chargers, reduced charge time, so a combination of more efficient batteries, faster charge times and the availability of the charging network will of course help drive things.”

In addition to battery charging times and public perception, there is the issue of cost.

“The vehicles are more expensive than a comparable gasoline vehicle in terms of size and quality, and that is primarily because of the battery,” Greene says.

According to energysage.com, starting prices for the more popular electric vehicles range from $22,490 to $72,000 after a $7500 federal tax credit,

The public still has very little firsthand knowledge and are not familiar with what an electric vehicle is like and is all about.

—David Greene

and there may be other state and local tax credits and incentives from other utilities and organizations.

So why buy an electrical vehicle?

“I think there are several areas in which I think an electrical vehicle is superior,” says Greene.

“The first is the acceleration performance. The electric motor gives almost instant torque at zero rpm. The internal combustion engine has very low power at low rpm and then peaks somewhere around 4000 – 6000 rpm.

“The second thing is, you do not need gears. So whereas the internal combustion engine, because that power train keeps wanting to shift gears to take

advantage of the higher power of the engine, the electric motor doesn’t have to shift gears. So you have a very smooth acceleration experience.

“And then you have very low maintenance. I have had my electric vehicle almost two years now with one scheduled maintenance and there wasn’t much for them to do ­— you know, check the brakes, windshield washers, that sort of thing.

“The third thing that is very nice is that once you get used to charging your vehicle, it is very convenient.

Friends say to me ‘oh the price of gas went up’ or ‘the price of gas went down’ and I say, oh really, I had no idea. You

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 25

I N D US T R Y

O U TLO O K

just come home and plug it in in your garage and that’s that.

“I think those things, plus what some people may think is important or not so important, but it is a zero emissions vehicle. Nothing comes out of the tailpipe. There’s no tailpipe. So there are no pollutant emissions as I am driving on the road that would affect the air quality. I myself have chosen to buy green power from the Tennessee Valley Authority so I have more than enough green power to charge my vehicle. So whatever up-stream emissions that may have been caused by my vehicle are cancelled out by using green power.”

Greene and Wagner both say they think the near future will bring about significant changes.

“How a vehicle is being used will play a big role in what happens,” Wagner says. “If you have a vehicle that comes home every night, it is certainly easier to handle the charging requirements than if you have one that is on the road away

26 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

from home.”

Wagner adds, “The way I always think about the future of mobility and vehicles is, it is going to be a diverse, in the near term anyway, portfolio. You have to have the right technology for the right application, and that can vary, based on where you are.”

There is much speculation about how fast the electric vehicle market might grow, but there are signs that barriers are slowly being broken down.

For example, says Wagner, “A couple of things useful to look at is the number of offerings from the different big autos, in the electrical vehicles that are coming in the next few years. The other thing that is changing a lot is the range. A recent study I saw showed the range in 2011 had a median of like 73 miles for the average EV, but now it is up to 125. The peak number available in 2007 was 94 miles and now is 335. So clearly things are trending and the technology will be more appealing to a larger audience than

it was a decade ago.”

In addition, battery pack prices are dropping quickly from $1000 per kilowatt hour a decade ago to $140 kilowatt hour today as more and more battery producers are expanding or opening new plants. A Benchmark Mineral Intelligence blog referred to a “battery arms race” caused by the rise of electrical vehicles.

The EV landscape is not all rosy, however. GM recently stopped production of the Chevrolet Volt.

Despite its demise, not everyone sees the Chevrolet Volt as a failure, however.

“While it was a financial loser, it did what was intended,” now retired former GM Vice Chairman Lutz, told The Associated Press. “We viewed it as a stepping stone to full electrics, which were totally out of reach due to the then-astronomical cost of lithium-ion batteries.”

“GM by 2020 will have more than 20 EV offerings and that is a good sign of the commitment of the industry in pushing this forward,” says Wagner.

“I am a technology guy and I am fascinated by the technology and how fast it has moved.”

Currently more than 3 percent of new vehicle sales, electric vehicles sales could to grow to nearly 7 percent — or 6.6 million per year — worldwide by 2020, according to a recent report by Navigant Research.

While many people may think of personal electric vehicles as relatively new, the U.S. Department of Energy points out that electric cars were introduced more than 100 years ago.

“Electric cars didn’t have any of the issues associated with steam or gasoline,” the Department of Energy says. “They were quiet, easy to drive and didn’t emit a smelly pollutant like the other cars of the time. Electric cars quickly became popular with urban residents — especially women. They were perfect for short trips around the city… As more people gained access to electricity in the 1910s, it became easier to charge electric cars, adding to their popularity with all walks of life.” n

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Driving Future Leaders To Succeed

Destin Gillam, a diesel tech apprentice at a Ford dealership is already on his way to become a master technician.

New Alabama facility establishes real world setting to ready automotive professionals for a quick start TEXT BY: CARA D. CLARK // PHOTOS BY: DENNIS KEIM AND COURTESY OF CALHOUN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

N

orth Alabama is at the forefront of an initiative to transform automotive training from the traditional high school shop to cutting-edge apprenticeships with dealerships and manufacturers. The widening gap between trained workers and available jobs sparked a concept that first originated with Lewis Nall, an automotive instructor at Calhoun Community College, and the inspiration for the college’s Advanced Transportation Automotive Center.

“In five years, I think we’ll be one of the larger programs around,” Nall says. “If you think about the Madison, Huntsville, Morgan County area and

how dense the population is, the need is great.

We have about 30 to 40 in the program next semester, and we intend to expand as much as money will allow. The goal with this $9 million building is to have a couple of hundred students. We think it can support that many because of how much better these jobs pay compared to others.”

Ground has already been broken for the 23,400-square-foot facility, slated for opening in August 2020. The cost of the facility and its equipment is projected at $9.6 million. A $1.5 million U.S. Department of Commerce grant for the program was approved, and $1 million will come from a state appropriation.

The school boasts electronic training machines, as well as a fleet of cars for students to work on.

“Everything is as close to real world as we can get,” Nall says. “My philosophy of teaching is that the students should first learn with lectures in class, then real, live work. Students work on engines that don’t run, then engines that do run. They take them apart and make them run. We work on trainers, then real cars.”

The new facility has three new classrooms in addition to the stalls, allowing students to learn about engines in the classroom, then they rebuild those engines in the lab setting.

“A good technician has to be a good critical thinker,” Nall says. “A scanner tells you what’s wrong, but it doesn’t tell you what to do. The student has to interpret those symptoms to find out what the cause is.”

Before Calhoun, Nall developed a similar program at Owensboro Community and Technical College in Kentucky. When he came to Calhoun, his first step was to meet with area automotive dealerships and shops about the potential for a work partnership.

“We wanted dual enrollment with high school students to be able to take classes here at Calhoun using the same materials and lesson plans,” Nall says. “All of the studying they do is online.”

With high school students following the same study courses as others on campus at Calhoun, Nall’s program is paving a faster road to the workforce.

“High school students can come in as SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 27

W O RK F O R C E

D E V ELO PME NT

Lewis Nall took lessons learned in Kentucky and now has high school students working with Calhoun Community College on a path to the workforce.

Advanced transportation automotive center.

juniors and finish half of the required credits before they even finish high school,” Nall says.

With 24 college credits under their belts, these students have a jump start, but Nall got even more cooperation than he expected when Cathy Anderson, owner of Woody Anderson Ford in Huntsville, lent her efforts to the initiative.

“It has been evident in the auto industry with all manufacturers that we have a deficit in technicians,” Anderson says. “The intent I pursued was to seek out a local school and seek their counsel on what to do. It just so happened previous president Dr. Jim Klauber had led a school in Kentucky, and he engaged with Lewis. He is passionate about giving young people an introduction to a career path with 28 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

automotive technology.”

As part of the dual-enrollment program in automotive technology, Destin Gilliam, a junior at Madison County High School, is already a diesel tech apprentice at Woody Anderson.

“The goal is for every student to work on their internship at a shop or a dealership,” Nall says. “The classes are very real-world like. In college, you have to wear a uniform shirt every day.

In high school, we have T-shirts for the students to wear.”

Nall is preparing to expand dual enrollment to Austin High School in Decatur, slated to come on board this spring. From 19 students, the program will grow to 40.

“The great thing about dual enrollment in Alabama is that it’s free for students,” Nall says. “The state pays

The automotive field is going to change so much in the next five to 10 years. We’re going to lose about half of our technicians over the next 10 years due to retirement.

That means great opportunities are opening up. We don’t need students who are just good with their hands.

We need good critical thinkers.

—Lewis Nall for it, and the students get 24 hours of credit. That gives them an opportunity to take advantage of associates degrees, and it costs them half of what it would if they didn’t take advantage of dual enrollment benefits.”

With the benefits of dual enrollment and apprenticeships, young people can be in the workforce within a year, satisfying the demand for trained technicians in automotive.

“Working with Ford Automotive, students can go online and do training,” Nall says. “The young man working at Woody Anderson now can get most of his Ford training done and become a master technician.”

Calhoun’s new building will have 20 working stalls with cutting-edge technology. The facility is slated for a 2020 opening, but Nall begins teaching

students in the fall, with classes of his own.

Nall arrived in Alabama with a vision for a pipeline of workers ready to begin their careers. When he talked to Anderson, she shared the vision with Ford executives, who then met with Nall to discuss the program and middle and high school involvement.

“Automotive is a diverse field,” Nall says. “It’s not just fixing cars. We have alternative fuel coming up, we have autonomous vehicles, service managers, service writers, parts’ specialists… a gentleman at Woody Anderson who came to speak (to students) started as a mechanic, now he’s second in command to the owner.”

“The biggest need for this program is the shortage of trained, qualified technicians in the field. What is really unique about this industry is how the opportunities are changing.”

Nall says salaries for lead technicians in the field is in the $35 to $40 an hour range.

In creating a real work environment in the training program, Nall is giving the experiential background young people need to go straight from school to the workforce. For example they’re putting on timing chains, running diagnostics, and working on brake alignment and suspensions.

In his previous program in Owensboro, Nall’s main objective was big-picture, producing technicians fully capable of doing the jobs they were trained for in all areas of automotive expertise.

“That’s the key,” he says. “I teach them soft skills, as well as technical skills. They know they have to show up on time, be respectful. A college degree is important in the automotive field, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. Dual enrollment really is such a good deal.”

Nall shares the fascination many of his students feel for the automotive industry. He says he began working on cars at only 11 years-old when he pitched in at a Volkswagen shop in someone’s backyard.

From scrubbing the grease off pieces of engines and drive trains, then working in the high school automotive tech center, Nall says he was ready to change gears, but he wasn’t up to speed yet.

“I could fix anything with wheels, but I dropped out of high school and moved to Texas, then found out not having an education is a good way to starve to death,” Nall says. “I came back and graduated.”

Now, he’s just four classes away from finishing a master’s in organizational leadership — not bad for a former high school dropout — and he has his eye on the changing landscape of automotive.

“The automotive field is going to change so much in the next five to 10 years,” he says. “We’re going to lose about half of our technicians over the next 10 years due to retirement. That means great opportunities are opening up. We don’t need students who are just good with their hands. We need good critical thinkers.”

In the shop of today, computers are used to figure out the issues, and experts will need the skills to manage sophisticated systems.

“As these young men and ladies move through high school and college into the workforce, I want it to be a smooth transition,” Nall says. “That’s been my heart. I like making a difference, and

education can make a huge difference in young people’s lives. Most kids will rise to the expectations you have for them if you will help them. I work very hard to help my students succeed.”

“Our intent with the school was to educate other dealers in the area, not only Ford dealers,” Anderson says. “We are all on board to support Lewis. He is keeping these students moving forward even without a building. The funds are there; the land is there; we’ve already put a shovel in the ground; and he’s already teaching and doing a marvelous job.”

Anderson has been instrumental in involving leaders from Ford Motor Service in Detroit to offer young people opportunities to work on Ford training systems and pilot programs that fund future education efforts. She admires the enthusiasm Nall brings to the program and the way co-op programs open doors for youth.

“We don’t educate our young people enough in schools that when we say automotive, it does not mean you go directly into automotive repair or changing oil,” Anderson says. “With robotics and diagnostics, things are changing in this industry. It opens doors to many other careers in automotive, not just technical, but for business managers, finance managers, and all of the other people who work with us.” n

Most kids will rise to the expectations you have for them if you will help them.

I work very hard to help my students succeed.

—Lewis Nall

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 29

BE ST PRAC TIC E S

Alabama Changing The Game In Workforce Development CPT Certification allows new employees to hit the ground running TEXT BY CARA D. CLARK // PHOTOS COURTESY OF ACCS

J

eff Lynn, vice chancellor of workforce and economic development, Alabama Community College System, speaks with an enthusiasm that’s contagious. He’s talking about the dynamic nature of the automotive industry in Alabama, and his role in developing a program to supply the skilled workers that help it thrive.

Lynn joined the Alabama Community College System in October 2016. He had already built a new workforce program in Louisiana, working with new and expanding companies. He now has mapped out a comprehensive program, involving the AAMA, to develop an automotive workforce that’s fully prepared to hit the ground running.

“When I moved back to the state of Alabama, I did some analytics to see what makes up the DNA of Alabama these days,” he says. “I found out there is a phenomenal manufacturing base

30 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

in Alabama with Tier 1 suppliers, Tier 2 suppliers and OEMs.” While he saw the strength of the base, Lynn noted the lack of a corresponding strong workforce pipeline with curriculum programs nationally certified or recognized in high schools and colleges in the state. He knew a Manufacturing Skills Standards Council (MSSC) was what Alabama needed to standardize training and produce workers who were Certified Production Technicians (CPT), Certified Logistics Associates (CLA) or Certified Logistics Technicians (CLT).

“I began to pull together a program because I saw a desperate need to help develop that talent,” Lynn says.

The resulting Ready to Work (RTW) program and CPT certification is cutting edge stuff — not just in the automotive sector. The program provides a career pathway for individuals with limited education and

experience and gives trainees the entrylevel skills required. The curriculum is set to standards sought by business and industry employers and the skills cited in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills Reports. When graduates complete the RTW program, they receive industry-recognized credentials with a National Career Readiness Certificate and an Alabama Certified Work Certificate.

“This really is a good program for all manufacturing, but it’s especially great for automotive,” according to Lynn. He believes that, “The most

important things about this are the four different modules of the CPT program: Safety, Quality Practices and Measurement, Manufacturing Processes and Production and Maintenance Awareness.

“It addresses the core technical competencies of higher skilled workers in all sectors of manufacturing. Several automotive companies have used this to start up plants and to help screen new employees.”

Qualities that will elevate Alabama’s workforce future are a strong work ethic, sound reading and math skills, good manufacturing knowledge, workers who are multi-skilled, flexible and adaptable to change, creative, inventive adept problem solvers, good communicators, and team players, he says. While that sounds like tall order, the workforce development plan has built in the training to back that up.

“We can be the first state in the U.S. to roll that out statewide,” Lynn says. “It could be in all 24 colleges we have, and we can embed it in the dual enrollment programs we have in our high schools.”

The need was so great it has been targeted by Scott Russo, talent acquisition manager, Mazda-Toyota

This really is a good program for all manufacturing, but it’s especially great for automotive. The most important things about this are the four different modules of the CPT program: Safety, Quality Practices and Measurement, Manufacturing Processes and Production and Maintenance Awareness. It addresses the core technical competencies of higher skilled workers in all sectors of manufacturing. Several automotive companies have used this to start up plants and to help screen new employees.

—Jeff Lynn - Alabama Community College System

Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc., who had a says he had a eureka moment when he saw Lynn’s program. He told Lynn at the time that had he been the one to design a workforce program, it would have been precisely like the one now in place.

Russo is already eager for the program to run its first full cycle so that his team can start hiring the talent.

“MSSC’s CPT certification provides students with a foundation in safety, quality, manufacturing processes and maintenance awareness. These are fundamental tools used in advanced manufacturing jobs,” Russo says.

“This program allows industry to deeply engage with education to help tailor programs of study to meet industry needs. We expect a higher level of performance and skills coming into entry-level manufacturing jobs and employers have assurance in knowing that those hired with a CPT certification have the tools to succeed in their organization.” He says, “Coming in with this base of knowledge learned in MSSC’s CPT program shortens the learning curve and allows students to hit the ground running, reinforcing their confidence and ultimately, their success.”

Lynn continues sharing his commitment to the project as he pushes the plan throughout the state.

Not only is it growing in high school

with dual enrollment, adult education and even in corrections training, it’s also attracting members of the military and the National Guard, with a growing number of soldiers going through the MSSC program. “On top of this,” Lynn adds, “we’re going into more apprenticeship programs.”

Though typically these programs are at colleges, full-time students can become full-time workers, going to work three days a week and attending school two days.

“They start out with a great salary and get hands-on training while in college,” Lynn says. “Students come out after five semesters with little or no debt. They have a great job starting at [$50,000] or higher, and in three to five years, they are making six figures.”

Statistics show by 2020, 65 percent of all jobs in the U.S. will require postsecondary education and training in addition to a high school diploma.

Lynn is ready for that transition.

“All the things we are doing is because we are working directly with automotive OEMS and suppliers to be sure we are matching our programs to needs,” Lynn says.

Ron Davis, head of the AAMA, has been instrumental in connecting Lynn with members and giving insight into what AAMA needs and how the program can be most successful.

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 31

BE ST

P R AC T I C E S

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Jason Hoff, then-CEO of MBUSI, and Markus Schäfer, member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain at the ground-breaking of the new electric battery plant.

“Frankly our job is to prepare a strong, qualified work force with soft skills, technical skills, competencies and behaviors that these companies desperately need,” Lynn says. “We need a qualified pool of applicants for these companies to offer positions to.”

Lynn has even more ambition, stepping up programs across the state and beginning others, including the FAME program.

“Work-based learning programs, such as FAME’s Advanced Manufacturing Technician program, allows students to gain the fundamental skills needed in technical trades and to immediately apply those skills in real-world work

environments,” according to Russo.

“This not only reinforces learning and retention, but also provides the industry an opportunity to actively engage with students, teaching them the critical aspects of working in advanced manufacturing, such as safety, 5S, problem solving, teamwork, and other workplace behaviors required to succeed.”

Lynn expects a fair amount of turnover in automotive as workers leave for new opportunities, and there’s a constant need for backfill. He predicts a huge wave of new jobs.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Lynn says. “A lot of people don’t realize what great careers are available in the

MSSC’s CPT program allows industry to deeply engage with education to help tailor programs of study to meet industry needs. We expect a higher level of performance and skills coming into entry-level manufacturing jobs, and employers have assurance in knowing that those hired with a CPT certification have the tools to succeed in their organization.—Scott Russo – Mazda-Toyota 32 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

automotive industry. It’s a very safe, clean environment that offers great careers with great benefits. Employees get health and retirement benefits and an opportunity to grow within that company. This is an opportunity for successful students coming out of twoyear colleges to make a great career for themselves. I challenge our parents, teachers and counselors to really market those programs.”

Lynn doesn’t anticipate any lessening in demand for employees for at least five years.

“It’s an amazing role Alabama is playing in automotive,” Lynn says.

“Once Mercedes decided to pick Alabama, it opened the eyes of the globe to the great work environment we have and our great two-year college system. With demand going up so quickly, we have to step up like never before. At the two-year college system, we have a new board and a new chancellor, and they’re excited about supporting our automotive system across the state of Alabama.” n

VISION

What Do Drivers Want?

It might take a psychologist — like Johnell Brooks of Clemson — to answer that.

TEXT BY LINDA H. LAMB // PHOTOS COURTESY OF CLEMSON

P

eople are funny about their cars. Give them $30,000 worth of engineering, fuel economy and safety features, and what do they go nuts about?

The handy configuration of cup holders in a busy mom’s minivan. The sporty spoiler on a Camaro. The cheery dashboard bud vase in a Beetle. Heated seats to warm up a shivering driver on a snowy morning.

As a human factors psychologist, researcher and associate professor at Clemson University in South Carolina, Johnell Brooks makes it her mission to study what people really want as they interact with their vehicles. She jokes that her role at Clemson’s International Center for Automotive Research is “to teach engineering students that

humans exist.”

But she’s not just working on issues of style or comfort. Focusing on “human factors” puts her in the thick of some of the toughest issues facing the auto industry today. For example:

• How will automakers reach out to

millennials for whom driving and car ownership are not the thrilling rites of passage they used to be?

• What innovations can make driving

safer for older adults, who don’t want to give up driving until someone pries their hands off the steering wheel?

• How can engineers address the

burgeoning numbers of would-be drivers dealing with various health conditions, such as young people

with autism and military veterans coping with injuries?

• And — a big topic at CU-ICAR

and elsewhere — how should autonomous vehicles be designed so they appeal to people most likely to embrace their use?

Brooks describes her interactions with CU-ICAR’s intensely focused engineering students as “fantastic,” while cheerfully conceding that she’s a bit of an outlier in their midst.

“I don’t have an engineering brain,” she says. “I certainly don’t have an engineering skill set.”

What she does have is the ability to broaden the perspective of the engineering student who fantasizes about creating a Formula 1 racecar, but is less jazzed about vehicles in which parents carpool with their kids. She also strives to pass along her passion for finding pragmatic solutions for drivers with health challenges.

“Working with engineers every day, there are so many things that, SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 33

VI SI O N

As [engineering students] go through her exercises and then share their observations … it helps them remember how important it is to consider the actual consumer. — Zoran Filipi, chair of Clemson’s automotive engineering department

as a team, we are capable of doing,” Brooks says.

Her own doctoral dissertation analyzed a problem that’s not common among grad students, but often worries their grandparents: difficulty driving after dark because of declining acuity in their night vision.

Research that makes a difference — that’s always the end game for Brooks.

“I want to focus on issues that people face every single day.” she says.

Autonomous Vehicles: What Will People Want?

A study which Brooks led, which was published in April 2018 demonstrates the forward-looking aspects of her research. It explored design issues for users of autonomous vehicles — specifically, those whose challenges or impairments make them likely users of such vehicles.

Student teams worked on detailed profiles of four (real) individuals they pegged as possible early adopters:

• Klare, a millennial college student with impaired vision.

• Phoebe, a big-city attorney who hates driving.

• Carly, an employed mom of three kids.

34 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

• Allen, a designer whose spinal cord

injury left him with no use of his legs or left arm.

Among the study results: Carly realizes that ideally, she’d want to sit behind her kids, not with her back to them as she does while driving now.

For Allen, voice control features would be a plus. Klare imagines having extralarge dashboard displays. Phoebe says she needs space to confer with up to four clients.

The study is a jumping-off point for similar research on potential autonomous car users such as senior citizens or families with infants. “We’ll have to think about a broad range of users,” Brooks says.

Working With Simulators:‘A Passion For People’ For Brooks, an especially rewarding area of research involves fine-tuning simulators to help drivers who have physical challenges.

She learned early in life how driving can affect a person’s sense of freedom. At age 21, she developed a case of meningitis that left her unable to drive for a while. “It was kind of like being on house arrest,” she recalls.

Her work with driving simulators has addressed young people on the

autism spectrum and people who use wheelchairs. Also, in collaboration with Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Clemson researchers are working with simulators to investigate how soon a person should drive after suffering a concussion.

In a study funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Brooks and her team looked at how seating position affects older drivers. It highlighted the importance of having seats properly adjusted — and controls that are easier to reach and operate.

“The loss of driving independence issue is such a huge issue,” says Steve Hallmark, the CEO of the Utah-based simulator maker DriveSafety. Hallmark has worked with Brooks on simulators designed to be used in occupational therapy settings — including extensive use with wounded service members in Veterans Administration hospitals around the country.

“Johnell has brought a wealth of depth and experience to what we do,” Hallmark says. “She has been key to significant changes to make the simulators more useful to patients and more comfortable for them.”

In her lab at CU-ICAR, Brooks demonstrates some features that have been incorporated into driving simulators in an effort to make them more realistic. For example, there are urban and rural driving settings, virtual encounters with other vehicles and scenarios in which pedestrians appear.

For someone learning a new way to drive — say, using different controls because of lost limbs — practicing with simulators can be an important step toward driving again.

Brooks’ approach is “all about real-life applications,” Hallmark says.

“She has a passion for people, and for looking beyond the theoretical to ‘how can we really help these people?’ ” In Search Of The Next Cool Thing Zoran Filipi, who chairs Clemson’s automotive engineering department, says Brooks is “a true innovator” whose

work affects engineering students in significant ways.

He cites an exercise in which she asks students — predominantly young males — to get into and out of a sports car, a minivan and a Mini. Then, she has them don “pregnancy” belly padding or high heels, and try it again. Not so easy, is it, guys?

Filipi laughs recalling the spectacle, but says it’s an excellent way to encourage greater sensitivity among the future engineers.

“As they go through her exercises and then share their observations … it helps them remember how important it is to consider the actual consumer,” Filipi says.

Having a psychology background means Brooks gets excited about research in clinical settings. But her position at CU-ICAR — a place where creativity is in the air — means she’s also working with people obsessed with finding the next cool thing in

automotive engineering.

They’re definitely thinking outside the cup holder. In projects such as Clemson’s Deep Orange concept vehicles, they have worked on features like unusual swivel seats to accommodate the gregarious members of Generation Z, and a sport utility vehicle with external USB ports for those who might want to charge up and web surf in the great outdoors.

The Deep Orange 7 vehicle was a reimagined BMW Mini for which Brooks’ expertise in simulators came in handy. Researchers tested a parking assist system to help prevent a careless driver from banging into it in a parking lot. Blades of color (blue in front, red in back) deliver a warning for anyone who gets too close, and if they miss that, a display flashes “STOP.” Another intriguing idea in that iteration of Deep Orange ­— in which grad students design and build vehicles in cooperation with industrial partners

She has a passion for people, and for looking beyond the theoretical to ‘how can we really help these people?’

— Steve Hallmark, DriveSafety CEO

— explored sensors that detect hand gestures. No, not the ones you usually see in traffic, but gestures that could activate a sound system or turn on the air conditioning.

Brooks and the team found that making the right gesture was not always intuitive. Still, the concept could suggest promising ways to avoid the distraction of fiddling with buttons and dials.

But what will be the next gottahave feature to capture the attention of the car-buying public? It’s bound to involve tech. And autonomous vehicles, perhaps? It’s obvious that Johnell Brooks is working on some cool possibilities, but a conspiratorial smile is all she’ll provide for now.

“I’ll tell you in a year,” she says. n

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 35

INNOVATION

FIXD on Providing Drivers Peace of Mind

FIXD sends diagnostic info to Android and iOS devices.

John Gattuso’s fascination with cars drove him toward a project to diagnose automotive problems and build a successful company TEXT BY CARLA CALDWELL // PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOHN GATTUSO, FIXD

C

ar posters filled John Gattuso’s room when he was growing up in Virginia, and at an early age he knew he wanted to be an engineer. In high school he excelled in mechanical studies, prompting his parents and teachers to encourage him to attend The Georgia Institute of Technology.

“I don’t know what it was about

36 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

cars,” Gattuso says. “My dad was not really into cars, nor did he work on them. But I fell in love with them. One of the things that attracted me to Tech was the large number of extracurricular programs that are automotive-oriented.”

Gattuso was president of a car club at Georgia Tech and built several cars.

He also became the person family members and friends called when they

had a car problem.

“I didn’t mind walking through what was going on,” says Gattuso, now 27. “But I thought there had to be a way to educate people about their cars.

Having a car problem is stressful.”

Gattuso got the chance to help during his senior year, when he was enrolled in an entrepreneurship class offered by CREATE-X. The program is for Georgia Tech students who want to launch their ideas as fully functioning and viable startups.

Gattuso worked to develop FIXD, a monitor that plugs into a vehicle’s onboard diagnostics II port. The monitor transmits the information in easy-

to-understand terms, via Bluetooth, to a driver’s smartphone using an accompanying app. The FIXD app works on Android and iOS devices.

The FIXD monitor can detect most problems connected to the drivetrain, according to Gattuso. It works on gaspowered and hybrid vehicles, model year 1996 and newer. All U.S. cars built since 1996 are required to have the port, which always is within two feet of the steering wheel.

Gattuso co-founded Atlantabased FIXD in 2014 with two friends Frederick Grimm, 27, who is from North Augusta, South Carolina, and was Gattuso’s roommate at Tech; and Julian Knight, 27, of Atlanta, who was their across-the-hall neighbor.

FIXD features include:

• FIXD will display the reason a check engine light is on, the severity of the problem, and the average cost of the repair.

• The FIXD algorithm determines mileage and displays when maintenance should be done.

People often worry when they have a car problem and that’s understandable. Many people live paycheck to paycheck. Not knowing if you have a $1,000 problem, or a $100 problem, or a $10 problem can be stressful. We want to give peace of mind, — John Gattuso, co-founder of FIXD

be done in two minutes, with no tools required.

• FIXD will alert the driver if a

problem with the vehicle is detected.

There are many more features, and more are in development, said Gattuso, who graduated in 2015 with a degree in mechanical engineering.

“People often worry when they have a car problem and that’s understandable,” Gattuso says. “Many people live paycheck to paycheck. Not knowing if you have a $1,000 problem, or a $100 problem, or a $10 problem can be stressful. We want to give peace of mind.”

Information empowers people, he adds. Car owners are less likely to overpay at a repair shop, and they can avoid making a repair right away if it

isn’t necessary.

“Just giving people information they need can help them make an informed decision,” says Gattuso.

“People often want to know, ‘Will this problem cause a lot of damage?’ ‘Do I need to stop driving my car?’ ‘Can I wait until I get my paycheck next week?’

One of the most common problems is an evaporative emission leak and often that means your gas cap is loose. The fix can be as simple as tightening your gas cap.”

While at Tech, Gattuso co-oped with General Electric, and his senior year he was offered a job with Chrysler in Detroit. It was a tough call, but his mind was on FIXD. “I had a good relationship with the recruiter and described my dilemma,” Gattuso says. “They said I should go

• The app can suggest nearby repair

and parts shops with good ratings (based on the driver’s phone location settings) and can display the average price for a repair or part.

• Installation of the FIXD monitor can

My parents were not too keen on me quitting a perfectly good, high-paying job with a great company, but my mother told me to do whatever makes me happy.

My grandmother was the one mostly upset. She held that stance a long time, but finally came around Christmas 2017.

I think the fact we had sold a couple hundred thousand of them helped. — John Gattuso,

co-founder of FIXD

FIXD co-founders, from left, are Frederick Grimm, John Gattuso and Julian Knight SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 37

I N N OV AT I O N

FIXD plugs into a vehicle’s dash and transmits diagnostic information in easy-to-understand terms, via Bluetooth, to a driver’s smartphone.

It’s exciting to see how far FIXD has come in such a short time.

They are a very talented team and we are very happy to be working with them. — John Avery, director for the Advanced Technology Development Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology

ahead and start my company and were very encouraging of that.

“My parents were not too keen on me quitting a perfectly good, highpaying job with a great company, but my mother told me to do whatever makes me happy. My grandmother was the one mostly upset. She held that stance a long time. She came around Christmas 2017. I think the fact we had sold a couple hundred thousand of them helped,” Gattuso says.

“She was like, ‘Hey, can you show me how that thing works?’ She wanted one. She got one and used it.”

The private company does not share revenue information, but Gattuso did say the company recently sold its one-millionth FIXD monitor. On the company’s website, a single unit sells 38 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

for $59 plus shipping and handling.

The most popular purchase, the website notes, is a two-pack, where the purchaser buys a monitor at full price and receives a second monitor at 50 percent off.

The monitor is sold online at www.

FIXDapp.com, Walmart and Amazon; and at 1,700 Target locations and 500 Best Buy stores.

For now, the FIXD company is located at the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) in Midtown Atlanta. ATDC is the state of Georgia’s technology startup incubator, and operated by Georgia Tech. Once companies earn sustained profit for a specified period, they must obtain an independent site.

FIXD is a great example of a

company that was born from a studentlead project that leveraged Georgia Tech’s various entrepreneurial services, says John Avery, director of ATDC. “Of course, the biggest part of the effort remains with the entrepreneur, but these services can bring significant support to early-stage companies to get established by providing experienced coaching, connections and investment.

It’s exciting to see how far FIXD has come in such a short time. They are a very talented team and we are very happy to be working with them. “ FIXD hopes to locate nearby when the times comes, and perhaps be of help to others who take the entrepreneurial path. In the meantime, the co-founders plan to grow the company’s retail presence and develop new features.

“Our goal is to take drivers from the moment they have a problem, to the moment it is repaired,” Gattuso says.

“We want to walk them through that whole experience and remove any sort of headache they have.” n

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 39

Faces of the Industry

Regional Champion Don Stoegbauer, the first Hall of Fame winner in SAMA history, fought hard to make the southern automotive industry stronger TEXT BY: NICK PATTERSON // PHOTOS BY: DALLUS WHITFIELD

W

hen Don Stoegbauer was called to the stage at the 2018 Southern Automotive Conference in Atlanta, he was caught off-guard.

At the time, the leaders of the Southern Automotive Manufacturers Alliance (SAMA) were already there, waiting for him with big smiles on their faces. Alabama Automotive 40 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

Manufacturers Association (AAMA) President Ron Davis was talking about the history of SAMA, which is operated jointly by similar state automotive manufacturing organizations.

SAMA had come together in 2017 after years of the AMAs working to create a regionally unified front.

“There was a leader involved in this activity that was a visionary, a very strong

leader and a friend across the region,” Ron Davis said. “There’s nobody who waved the flag harder, spoke louder and did a stronger job to form the SAMA organization than Don Stoegbauer.”

Then, with Stogie – as Stoegbauer is known to friends – on the stage, Davis announced the inauguration of the SAMA Hall of Fame. A surprised Don Stoegbauer became the first member.

“Well, I can tell you this, I was shocked,” he says a few months later. “I was humbled. I didn’t expect it. What Ron had told me was, ‘Hey, we need to know that you’re here because we’re going to wave at you and mention you as a regional guy, as a SAMA guy, and just have you get up and wave.’

“You know, it was a lunch time meeting and I said, ‘I’ll be there, and I’ll do that.’ I had no expectation of plank owner or inaugural first-time person into this Hall of Fame. And so, then, I was humbled by it. I didn’t see it coming. I have the trophy sitting on my desk in front of me.”

“Humble” is a word people use when describing Stoegbauer – “gentleman” is another, after decades of service to the automotive industry.

Today he runs his own consultancy out of Gallatin, Tennessee. But for many years, he was the executive director of MAMA, the Mississippi Automotive Manufacturers Association and even before that, his history in automotive goes back a long way.

He worked for General Motors for 23 years, before becoming director of Nissan North America for more than 7 years. For more than 2 years he was the consulting group leader for Hopkins Services and Management Group in Mississippi, during which time he became head of MAMA. He left MAMA in June 2017 and began his own consultancy.

“I was actually doing a little consulting when I left Nissan and then I got into being the MAMA executive director for awhile,” Stoegbauer says, adding that he started an LLC

in Tennessee about a year and a half ago, serving suppliers and would be suppliers. “I mostly focus on Tier 2s and Tier 3s that either want to get into the automotive arena or are in the automotive arena and want to expand their business without spending a whole bunch of money on brick and mortar and all that, because… after 2008 nobody wants to do a whole lot of that anymore,” he says.

“So I’ve worked with a couple of small companies here in Tennessee; I’ve been over at the Nissan plant a couple of times; I’ve been over at SaarGummi that does weather strips for a bunch of people; and that stainless and titanium tubing plant that is making fuel lines and fuel fillers and brake lines and things like that for automotive; and I’ve been doing some phone consulting with some people that want to broaden their insights in automotive in this region, as well.”

It wasn’t that long ago that the South was considered an emerging market as far as automotive was concerned, but Stoegbauer has long been an advocate of regional focus.

“When I was at MAMA, even though I was the MAMA guy, I think the other AMA presidents will tell you, I was always the regional guy; I was always the guy saying, ‘Hey, this is bigger than one state or two states. This is a four-state or five-state, six-state deal, and as you join together and look at it as a region, you get a lot bigger and a lot more powerful.

And then a win in Tennessee can be a win in Alabama and Mississippi, as well,’ ” Stoegbauer says. “Like the Huntsville plant Toyota joint venture there is a good example – that’s a win for Alabama, for Tennessee and for other states, as well.”

During the sector’s formative years in the southern region, Stoegbaur says, plants grew so quickly, that it was necessary to get resources from other parts of the country. “You had to reach to the Midwest or elsewhere to get the talent you needed to be able to run and keep up with technology in some of these plants,” he recalls. “So MAMA,

There’s nobody who waved the flag harder, spoke louder and did a stronger job to form the SAMA organization than Don Stoegbauer. — Ron Davis, Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association TAMA, AAMA – their aim, their goal is to build the workforce we need in the region, within the region in these states.

“And so, they have been a big help with scholarships and with technical training and getting companies to support technical training and getting in the high schools and in the colleges and internships and hands-on. And so, the pendulum is swinging in our direction where we can now have more homegrown technology, savvy engineers and technicians and people who …will do well in this business.”

During his time with MAMA, he saw the region get involved even in planning MAMA’s hosting of the Southern Automotive Conference, which rotates between SAMA states.

“We [MAMA] were by far the smallest AMA organization of the groups at that time,” Stoegbauer says.

“I invited other AMAs to sit in on our calls to help us with planning and to be a part of the planning for our SAC. And that got us really a whole lot more buy in and a whole lot more of a regional approach.”

One way that MAMA found to give back to the region was through its scholarship fund. MAMA’s scholarship committee introduced students to OEMs, Tier 1s, 2s, and 3s through planned events, encouraged companies to hire the students as interns, and

put together field trips to bring the students into the plants, “so they could get hands-on understanding and see firsthand that automotive factories aren’t gray, dingy, dirty places that mom and dad used to tell you they worked in,” Stoegbauer says.

“By doing those things, we were able to engage with our scholarship recipients, get them into the automotive industry locally – at least in the region, maybe not in Mississippi, but in the region – and start retaining some of that talent here.”

His Hall of Fame win means so much to Stoegbauer because he’s always viewed the regional success of the automotive industry as a group effort.

“It means a lot to me because it was my peers; it was my peers and my teammates and I considered us always that way – teammates,” he says. “You know, I think there are people just as deserving as I might be for something like that that have done just as much, if not more. But when you go back and look at it all and they kind of laid it out to me. They said, ‘We probably wouldn’t be where we are today as a region without you pushing and prodding and leading us in that direction because we were all thinking locally and you kept thinking regionally.’ So I’m honored.

I’m honored to be that recipient and I don’t take it lightly.” n SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 41

Supplier Profile

Quality Still Comes First Roy Metal Finishing Director of Product and Business Development Adam Brumfield says company continues to evolve and adapt TEXT BY SCOTT ADAMSON // PHOTOS BY SCOTT ADAMSON, AND RMF

A

company that plated parts for textile looms was a perfect fit for South Carolina in 1961, so it was no surprise that Roy Metal Finishing Company became a staple of Greenville soon after it was founded by Donald Roy. With the motto, “Quality — Our Specialty,” RMF started fast and developed a well-earned reputation as a plating company that put the customer first.

But a quick look around shows that textile mills still standing are now monuments to nostalgia — some even 42 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

repurposed as high-end lofts.

Technology that keeps mill equipment running is not required when there are no mills left to run.

But companies that last do so because they’re able to adapt. Roy Metal Finishing has done much more than survive as it closes in on half a century of service.

Today, RMF is a third-generation family-run operation. The company is now part of Aalberts Industries N.V. — thrives as a member of the international business community.

“The Roy family, since 1961,

started out supplying all the textile replacement components until they got worn out,” says Adam Brumfield, Director of Product and Business Development at RMF. “That’s how Mr. Roy got into business. Then in the late 1990s, NAFTA kind of took over and made Mexico and China more popular, so all that stuff went offshore. But that’s when BMW came in and just drove the growth in automotive in this area.”

Current President/CEO John Pazdan has guided the company through a transformation from a general industry “job shop” finisher to a key provider of corrosion resistant coatings to the automotive industry.

RMF is the largest zinc nickel electroplating shop in the southeastern United States, and electroplates all things related to iron. Last year alone, the company plated 270 million parts.

“Our industry is so unique because

About 90 percent of our business is anything that rolls. we provide a service,” Brumfield says.

He adds, that “Customers send us parts they sell to other companies for 100 bucks, and what we do to the part costs about 50 cents. So, it’s important that we’re good and that we minimize any fallout or scrap, because that’s just straight cost to the customer. Having stability of the cost consistent where we don’t get upside down from a liability standpoint means our customers, of course, are profitable.”

Last September RMF was acquired

by Aalberts, a public Dutch technology company founded in 1975 and based in over 50 countries. It specializes in the manufacture of mission critical systems. However, the RMF management team continues to run its shop and is spearheading a business plan designed to expand Aalberts surface treatment business in the United States and Canada.

“Just about every major coating company was family owned,” Brumfield explains. “And now that you get into the second and third generational ownership, it’s like any family-owned business. The third generation is when a business typically fails or stops growing, or the kids lose interest. What we do is expensive, so being bought by a global company is our best move to keep growing.”

The mission, however, hasn’t changed, he says.

“The only difference now is who gives us money,” Brumfield says. “A lot of times when folks hear you’ve been purchased by a big conglomerate, it’s more of a capital investment group that just wants to build you up, cut your costs, and resell you and package you off. That’s not the case here. This property here is probably $40 million in development. To grow like our customers want us to grow and with the new technologies they want us to

present to them and the capacity, it was going to take another $15-20 million.”

For that to happen, becoming part of the Aalberts family made the best business sense.

“The family wanted the company to keep growing, but not in the interest of taking on more debt,” Brumfield says.

“The Aalberts organization is huge, but what we do fit into where they wanted to grow in North America. Most of their companies are 50-75 people but we have 200, so their interest in us was driven by the stability of the company and the growth potential within this region.”

From automobiles to heavy

equipment and, now, the aerospace industry, RMF provides barrel and rack zinc and zinc alloy plating as well as corrosion-resistant heavy zinc phosphating, passivation, water soluble dipspin coatings, sorting, and boxing.

“About 90 percent of our business is anything that rolls,” Brumfield says.

Customers aren’t hard to find.

They include BMW, Mercedes, VW, Ford, GM, FCA, Volvo, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai/KIA, John Deere and Caterpillar.

“BMW for many years would import most of their components and then they made an effort to promote SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 43

Our business is based on volume— we like a lot of parts.

the supply chain within the region, so we were able to tap into that process,” Brumfield says. “We don’t supply directly to BMW. We’re tier 2 or tier 3, but a lot of the growth in the southeast has been in BMW and Mercedes and Hyundai KIA. The whole (Interstate 85) corridor has been very attractive to OEMs in our area.

John Deere and Caterpillar have corrosion resistant specifications that call for zinc plating followed by e-coat and powder coat, and those processes are handled from start to finish at RMF, all under one roof.”

The plating and coating lines are fully automated and operate 24 hours a day.

44 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

“Our business is based on volume… we like a lot of parts,” Brumfield says.

“As the supply chain for all these guys is how we’ve grown. A lot of these companies have taken the model of BMW in that they’ve encouraged their suppliers to be on the East Coast. The mobility industry is what we call it, with vehicles first, and then heavy trucks is probably our number two business, and then lawn and garden equipment and so on.”

BMW, Volvo, Boeing and Husqvarna all have plants in South Carolina. The states which are surrounding RMF feature everything from Volkswagen to Toyota plants.

“We’ve had some opportunities

to go to Mexico in a joint venture down there and had chances to put up satellite facilities in Alabama and Georgia,” Brumfield says. “But it hasn’t made good business sense to do it because a lot of our customers come up I-85 and the sheer weight of the parts we do can be a logistical challenge.

At this point our focus is here in Greenville County.”

The company’s more than 200 workers help run RMF’s three plants in the greater Greenville area.

Plans call for the Conestee plant to move its operations to Greenville, while the Mauldin plan will remain open.

“The facility in Mauldin offers similar technology, but we’re landlocked over there,” Brumfield says. “We have three processing lines and it’s a busy plant — one we’ll keep open because it’s very productive. By the end of 2020 we’ll be two Aalberts locations. We’ll transition the labor that’s at Conastee here, and the goal is to have two facilities and keep growing this campus.

“We have 24 acres and 10 to be developed still. This is the future.”And helping ensure that future is stability.

The management team at RMF isn’t planning to go anywhere, and that cohesion means the motto “Quality — Our Specialty” will continue to define Roy Metal Finishing.

“I’ve been here 20 years and I’m probably one of the younger tenured folks,” Brumfield says. “We have a couple of guys who’ve been here 35 years. They started plating and racking parts, and they’re now in a management position.

“They’ve grown with the company.

A huge part of what we do is maintain a stable management team.

“We want to solve our own problems and be progressive in terms of our customers.” n

Who covers them all and more?

]

Bimonthly. Free. southernautomotivealliance.com

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 45

Supplier Profile We have a strategic roadmap that the leadership teams both in Germany and United States get together twice a year and review to make sure that we know where the industry is going and that we have a footprint in emerging technologies in this industry. ­—

Kelly Nelson, President/CEO RAPA

Family Affair German supplier encourages high-tech research, training and a family atmosphere at its Auburn, Alabama subsidiary.

TEXT BY GAIL ALLYN SHORT // PHOTOS COURTESY OF RAPA

I

t happened nearly100 years ago.

That is when August Pausch, a technician, and Hans Rausch, a businessman, in 1920 founded a small manufacturing firm in Germany to make fuse inserts for electrical circuits.

The Rausch & Pausch Co., grew, and with the growth came changes to its product line. In the 1950s, the company started manufacturing relays for washing machines and television sets. A decade later in the late 1960s, Rausch & Pausch began developing and producing magnetic valves for oil-firing devices.

Then in the 1980s, the company entered the automotive manufacturing industry, developing and manufacturing valves for opening convertible tops on Daimler vehicles.

The family-owned company, Rausch & Pausch GmbH (RAPA), headquartered in Upper Franconian

46 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

Selb, Germany, has since evolved into a global enterprise with more than 1,000 employees worldwide, manufacturing multifunctional valves for the automotive and medical industries.

But five years ago, in 2014, RAPA launched a new chapter in its history, when it opened a production facility and headquarters, RAPA L.P., in Auburn, Alabama.

The Auburn plant was RAPA’s first plant outside of Germany. The company invested $18 million in capital toward the construction.

Kelly Nelson, president and CEO of RAPA’s Auburn headquarters, says several factors influenced the decision to open a plant in the United States.

“We were growing,” says Nelson, “and there’s a motto in the automotive industry that says, ‘In the region, for the region,’ which means you manufacture

within that region for that region. As a bigger footprint of many of our suppliers [came] into the NAFTA region, we were challenged in 2010 in Germany to come up with a strategy to support that thought process.”

After visiting more than 30 different sites, RAPA settled on Auburn, a city of close to 64,000 people and home to Auburn University.

He says the company picked Auburn for its small-town atmosphere, which is similar to Selb, Germany. Moreover, Auburn’s close proximity to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — just over an hour and a half drive — was another plus.

“There was also a good relationship between the city’s industrial development board and the College of Engineering at Auburn University,” Nelson says.

High-Tech Valves RAPA is a Tier 1 supplier that manufactures valves instrumental for functions such as chassis control and torque vectoring. It also produces valves and valve blocks for convertible top control. Company clients have included giants in the automotive industry, such as BMW, Continental, Daimler, Jaguar, Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen, Land Rover and Tesla.

Meanwhile, at the Auburn Technology Park West location, RAPA L.P., is supplying clients like Chrysler and the German transmission

manufacturer ZF. One hundred twenty associates work at the highly-automated Auburn plant which Nelson says produces approximately 4 million units annually operating four assembly lines, two in powertrain and two others in suspension technology.

Specifically, he says the Auburn plant makes valve technologies for the transmissions that Chrysler manufactures in Kokomo, Indiana.

In particular, RAPA L.P., manufactures a stop-start device called a Hydraulic Impulse Storage (HIS) valve, used in stop-start vehicles that shut off when drivers come to a stop and revs up again when they stop braking. The idea behind start-stop vehicles is to limit idling and thereby reduce fuel consumption.

“When you take your foot off the brake, our unit injects just enough transmission fluid into the system to basically jolt it back into action in the microseconds that it takes the engine to come back online and then take over the full power of that transmission,” he says.

Nelson says RAPA strives to stay on top of what is happing technologically in the automotive industry, anticipate customers’ future needs and help them resolve problems along the way.

“We have a strategic roadmap that the leadership teams both in Germany and United States get together twice a year and review to make sure that we know where the industry is going and that we have a footprint in emerging technologies in this industry,” Nelson says.

One of RAPA’s major goals is to challenge itself to come up with solutions to problems customers cannot solve.

“If we can take a few things off their plate and solve some problems for our customers,” says Nelson, “they’ll continue to come back to us to help solve those topics. So we’re providing solutions based upon emerging technologies taking place that are our market.”

In fact, RAPA L.P., has its own research and development department that is working on several projects in partnership with suppliers on topics ranging from autonomous vehicles to noise reduction, he says.

“One thing that’s very important for our emerging customers will be in the area of noise,” says Nelson. “As we move toward electrification, it’s important that our valves are quiet because you don’t have the background noise of the engine in an electrified vehicle. So noise has become a primary focus.”

Training Matters Nelson says RAPA L.P., is a place of constant training as well as internal auditing of their production processes to keep their PPMs low.

Besides that, he says his approach to training also includes having new associates to meet with him every 30 days during their first 90 days of employment to discuss how they can be successful within the organization.

“We talk about safety,” he says. “We talk about the quality of our products

and who it goes to, and what our expectations are around our quality systems. Then we talk about our production system, and the ways that we control our production. We want every employee to understand that their fingerprint is on what we call our ‘value stream.’ Our value stream is how we manufacture, and the only way we get paid is to manufacture products that are better than our competition.”

Additionally, Nelson says RAPA has a culture of continuous improvement throughout the company.

“One hundred percent of our employees will participate in continuous improvement activities every year,” says Nelson, “and we use our employees not as operators per se, but as process experts so that they, having worked there for so long, are able to bring information back to our engineering department or information back to our production department or whatever it may be ... And they have a specific capability to change or improve the process based on their feedback.”

A Family Environment The Pausch family has operated RAPA for four generations, with family members on the board and Roman Pausch as the current managing director.

And although RAPA is a global company, Nelson says RAPA’s efforts to maintain a “family mindset,” has contributed to the company’s survival over the decades.

For instance, he says that when he is not traveling on business, he walks the factory floor at RAPA L.P., three or more times a day just to stay in touch with the employees.

“I think it’s important to go around and talk to my employees,” says Nelson, “and not about work 100 percent of the time. In fact, many times it’s about them. With 120 folks here, it’s easy to know everybody, and it’s easy to talk to everybody. … And they need to know that they can approach you with anything. So we’ve been successful in building an open, communicative, and, I think, a family environment.” n SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 47

BUILDING A READY

WORKFORCE Award-Winning Training Programs Continue to Attract Auto Industry to South TEXT BY: CARLA CALDWELL

Southern states offer some of the top workforce development programs in the country. Many of the programs provide workers for the automakers and parts manufacturers who are investing billions in operations throughout the South. Programs vary, but all are geared to help companies fill jobs with skilled workers. This report looks at some of the many workforce development programs offered by states served

by Southern Automotive Alliance magazine. A story on page 68 looks at workforce development programs offered by educational institutions within those states.

ALABAMA Alabama is No. 5 in the nation for annual vehicle production. Close to 1 million cars and light trucks were produced in 2018. Motor vehicle manufacturing provides 13,600 jobs in the state, and parts manufacturing another 25,800 jobs, according to the Alabama Department of Labor.

Vehicle manufacturers with assembly plants in Alabama are Autocar, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, New 48 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

Flyer and Toyota. More than 200 Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotive suppliers make up the state’s robust supply chain. In November 2018, Mazda and Toyota broke ground in Huntsville on a $1.6 billion joint-venture plant. Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA Inc. is expected to create 4,000 jobs and have the capacity to build 300,000 vehicles annually, beginning in 2021. Toyota already operates an engine plant in Huntsville that employs 1,400.

Alabama’s myriad workforce development programs are often tasked with training workers for the automotive sector. Programs and services include, but are not limited to, those provided through the Alabama Department of Commerce, which also recruits new business to the state and distributes federal dollars; the Alabama Department of Labor, which operates 50 careers centers; and the Alabama Community College System, which

provides many hands-on workforce development training programs. Most programs are federally funded.

passionate about making sure our resources get to the people who need them most.” Washington says.

Career Centers Fifty career centers spread throughout Alabama are a major component of the state’s workforce development efforts. The centers provide numerous services for employers and employees. They match employees who meet certain criteria with apprenticeship and on-the-job training programs; help job seekers polish resumes and interviewing skills; and can help job seekers determine if they qualify to earn additional education, or a vocational certificate, at no cost. In some cases, job seekers can earn a degree and move into a high-paying job.’

Employers who go through a career center to find workers have access to numerous services.

The state does “pre-screening of potential employees and hand over the resumes that best fit the employer’s job descriptions,” according to the Alabama Secretary of Labor Fitzgerald Washington. “If an employer needs space for a one-on-one interview, or for a job fair, they can utilize one of our career centers to do that.”

Employers who participate in the centers’ on-the-job training programs can receive up to a 75 percent wage reimbursement for an approved period, and employees can earn while they learn.

Washington says the state’s programs are successful due to Governor Kay Ivey’s strong commitment to workforce development and collaboration among departments.

“We have a great team. They are

AIDT AIDT (sometimes called Alabama Industrial Development Training) is an independent workforce development agency under the supervision and oversight of the Alabama Secretary of Commerce. The program encourages economic development through jobspecific training. Services are offered throughout the state at no cost to either new or expanding businesses.

Hands-on programs often are provided through the Alabama Community College System.

The Alabama Robotics Technology Park, for example, is a collaboration between the state of Alabama, Calhoun Community College, AIDT, and robotics industry leaders across the nation.

Trainees include working residents who want to advance in their trades; students in high school and technical college who have shown an interest in the construction or manufacturing trades, and unemployed residents who want to complete training and go directly to work.

Employment Grows Employment figures released in January 2019 show Alabama’s unemployment rate at 3.8 percent, and more than 50,000 people were working than at the same time a year ago. Alabama ended 2018 at 3.7 percent unemployment, an all-time low.

“Economists predicted we would gain 27,000 jobs in 2018, and we ended up with a gain of 45,000 jobs. In

manufacturing alone, there was a gain of 11,000 jobs,” Washington says.

Earnings also are up. The average weekly earnings for Alabamians in 2018 was $857.77, representing the highest average in the state’s history.

Washington notes there still were 80,000 unemployed at the end 2018.

“I have to think there was a percentage of those looking for work who did not have the training employers were looking for. We must continue our efforts to inform job seekers that there are training programs to meet the opportunities the (Alabama) department of commerce is recruiting into our state,” Washington says.

The state’s workforce is strong, Washington adds. “Companies would not be investing in billion-dollar operations here if we did not have the workforce to satisfy the jobs.”

Business continues to head to Alabama. In March, South-Korean based Yongsan announced it will invest more than $5.5 million to open Yongsan Automotive USA in Opelika. The plant will supply interior parts for Hyundai Motor Manufacturing of Alabama.

Yongsan expects to employ 150 workers after three years. B

GEORGIA

Kia’s decision in 2006 to open a production facility in West Point, about 80 miles southwest of Atlanta, is credited with kickstarting the state’s strong auto industry. Kia alone has helped create more than 14,000 jobs and produced 2.6 million vehicles. The company’s facility represents a $1.1 billion investment.

“The auto industry has definitely

been good for the state’s economy.

Everything followed Kia. And it’s not just the building of cars. People often don’t realize all the thousands of jobs that follow that. You’re going to have other suppliers that want to be very close, whether it is batteries, or tires, or steering components, or any kind of custom work. And there are thousands

Numerous training and support programs provided through state agencies and educational institutions, coupled with the state’s willingness to work with businesses, continue to attract automakers and parts suppliers to Georgia, says Mark Butler, Georgia Commissioner of Labor.

We do pre-screening of potential employees and hand over the resumes that best fit the employer’s job descriptions.

If an employer needs space for a one-on-one interview, or for a job fair, they can utilize one of our career centers to do that.

— Fitzgerald Washington, Alabama Secretary of Labor

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 49

S P OTLI GH T

Kia Plant in West Point Georgia

of jobs connected to businesses that supply services to those plants,” the commissioner says.

The state’s Quick Start program, which is part of the Technical College System of Georgia, worked with Kia Manufacturing Georgia to set up a temporary training center for workers.

Today, a permanent training center near the plant that is jointly operated by the program and automaker offers training in robotics and welding, and has electronics labs, classrooms, and equipment for training on programmable logic controllers.

For the sixth consecutive year, Site Selection magazine has ranked Georgia as the No. 1 state in the nation for business climate. Workforce skills are, for the third year in a row, the most important criteria to site selectors, according to a survey published with the rankings.

“What you get here in Georgia are great partnerships between the public and private sector. We understand what companies are looking for, and where. They are looking for talent

KENTUCKY The auto industry is a pillar of Kentucky’s economy, with a dramatic impact in terms of job creation and investment. Automotive investment in the state continues to grow, backed by business-climate improvement 50 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

and a partnership. We provide that, and customize training to their needs, Butler says.

Companies continue to move to Georgia. In late 2018, SK Innovation, a Korea-based developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles, announced it will invest $1.67 billion in a new manufacturing plant, and create more than 2,000 jobs, in Jackson County, about 60 miles northeast of Atlanta.

offered for employees who work with metals and machinery, welding, plastics, composites, or robotics. In addition to Kia, the program has worked with other large auto sector companies, including Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing Inc., which moved to Bartow County, Georgia, in 2006. In November 2018, the company announced a $138 million expansion, and the creation of more than 150 jobs — raising its total number of Georgia employees to approximately 2,100.

Don Bunn, president of Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing Inc., applauded Georgia in a statement when he announced the company’s expansion plans.

“The level of cooperation from the State of Georgia and Bartow County over the years continues to exceed our expectations,” says Bunn. “Toyo Tires is proud to be a member of the Georgia business community and strives to show its appreciation by being a great place to work and by supporting community organizations throughout the state.”

Quick Start Georgia Quick Start is part of the Economic Development division of the Technical College System of Georgia. It provides free services to companies moving to the state; existing companies expanding in Georgia, and Georgia companies that are adding new technology to maintain, or gain, a competitive edge. The program is credited with helping a million people raise their skill levels.

Quick Start has almost 50 years of experience in automotive-related advanced manufacturing. Training is

WorkSource Georgia WorkSource Georgia, launched in 2016, is a federally-funded employment and training system. The program is managed by the Georgia Department of Economic Development Workforce Division. It aims to connect talent with opportunity. The Workforce Division provides Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds and technical assistance to 19 Workforce Development locations across the state.

WIOA funds are allotted to dislocated workers, low-income adults and youth and administered specifically through services geared toward helping disadvantaged citizens obtain meaningful employment. J

measures — including passage of rightto-work legislation, location advantages and existing-industry momentum.

State leaders expect to see additional investment continue in the coming years.

Providing employers with a highly skilled, highly qualified workforce

is essential for Kentucky’s economic growth, says Derrick Ramsey, Cabinet Secretary, Kentucky Education and Workforce Development.

“Bridging education and training with workforce demand is how Kentucky prepares our citizens for current and

By aligning the state’s workforce and educational resources, we are ensuring Kentuckians have the skills and training necessary to meet industry demand. — Derrick

Ramsey, Cabinet Secretary, Kentucky Education and Workforce Development future workforce demands. Through collaboration with workforce partners, Kentucky has seized the opportunity to leverage public and private partnerships to create a workforce system that consists of education and employer-driven training as key components. By aligning the state’s workforce and educational resources, we are ensuring Kentuckians have the skills and training necessary to meet industry demand,” Ramsey says.

Ford, Toyota and GM all play a significant role in Kentucky’s automotive landscape. Since 2009, the state’s OEMs (two Ford plants and one each for Toyota and GM) have announced nearly $6.4 billion in investments, which more than doubled the state’s vehicle output.

According to the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development: • Kentucky’s 520-plus automotive facilities — including four autoassembly plants — employ nearly 101,000 people.

bodies, and trailers in 2017.

• Since its first vehicle rolled off the line in 1988, Toyota Manufacturers Kentucky has produced more than 11 million vehicles.

Many Workforce Development programs serve the sector.

• Kentucky’s Registered Apprenticeship (RA) program is focused on combining education and on-the-job training.

Registered Apprenticeship allows companies the opportunity to implement a career pathway to create a pipeline for developing highly skilled workers. The model relies on a collaboration among Kentucky businesses and educational institutions to train the workforce of the future. Nearly $1.1 million in federal funding has been designated to help establish and grow intermediaries to connect Kentuckians with employment and training through apprenticeship opportunities. This flexible, employer-driven approach to training and job-based learning has benefited more than 3,576 apprentices in 261 programs in Kentucky.

• Kentucky has invested $100 million through the Work Ready Skills Initiative (WRSI) to help build the state’s workforce by expanding career and technical facilities and upgrading

equipment through local partnerships between private industry and educational institutions. The program aims at building a highly trained, modernized workforce to directly meet the needs of employers and promote sustainable incomes for Kentuckians.

• Kentucky is committed to increasing its workforce participation rate by expanding the skilled, competitive workforce necessary to attract new businesses to the state. Through Work Ready Scholarship (WRS), Kentucky is helping students and adults with education opportunities by providing tuition assistance towards career certifications or associate degrees in high demand job sectors. WRS eliminates the financial barrier that often prohibits individuals from seeking education opportunities by providing a pathway for accessing training and education through over 350 programs — tuition free. The scholarship is available at 16 colleges as well as more than 70 career and technical campuses across the Commonwealth.

• In partnership with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Talent Pipeline Management is an interactive tool designed to help employers identify current and future workforce demand in a real time fashion. s

• $281 million-plus in new automotive industry investment announced in 2018 and 1,600 new full-time jobs.

• Kentucky ranked No. 1 nationally in production of passenger vehicles per capita in 2017 and overall third-largest producer of passenger cars and trucks.

• Business Facilities magazine ranked Kentucky 5th for Automotive Manufacturing Strength on its Annual State Rankings list in 2018.

• Two-thirds of Kentucky’s counties have at least one auto-related employer.

• Kentucky exported nearly $5.92 billion in new vehicles, automotive parts,

Sec. Derrick Ramsey hosted a roundtable to discuss how Kentucky is leading the way in the creation of civil service Registered Apprenticeships throughout the Commonwealth SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 51

S P OTLI GH T

SOUTH CAROLINA BWM Spartanburg SC

industries and arrange apprenticeships and job-shadowing opportunities.

“Our Regional Workforce Advisors are our boots on the ground, connecting local industries with their respective school districts across our state,” says Elisabeth Kovacs, deputy director for Workforce Development, South Carolina Department of Commerce. “The role they play is critical. By facilitating communication and collaboration between the business and education communities, we are able to better equip our youth with the skills they need to thrive in the South Carolina workforce.”

The automotive industry has an annual economic impact of more than $27 billion in The Palmetto State.

South Carolina is the No. 1 exporter of completed passenger vehicles and of tires. And more than 61,000 people work in the automotive industry In 1994, the first BMW produced in North America — a 318i — rolled off an assembly line in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Over 25 years, BMW has invested $7 billion in its South Carolina operations, according to the South Carolina Department of Commerce.

BMW’s success has attracted other

auto manufacturers. In 2015, when Volvo broke ground in South Carolina on its first manufacturing plant in the western hemisphere, the company cited the state’s infrastructure, easy access to international ports, attractive investment environment and a welltrained labor force.

Regional Workforce Advisors South Carolina has 12 Regional Workforce Advisors that bridge the business and education communities.

The advisors help businesses partner with schools to train workers for

readySC This program is operated by the South Carolina Technical College System to train workers, creating a curriculum to fit a company’s specific needs. The program served 88 companies and trained 5,070 people in fiscal 2017-2018, the last period for which numbers were available.

Read more about this program in the Workforce Development education section on page 68 and online.n

MISSISSIPPI

will be created by 2028., it adds.

In November, company and state officials celebrated the opening of a new workforce training center at the Continental site. Continental has entered into a partnership with Hinds Community College to support recruitment and training.

“Continental’s Commercial Vehicle Tire business throughout the Americas region has been growing significantly over the past years as we have continued to introduce leading products, technology, services, and solutions designed specifically for our trucking and transportation fleet customers,” said Paul Williams, Executive Vice President, Truck Tires at Continental, the Americas region, during the celebration.

“This training center is the first step in a long journey of ensuring top quality jobs for our employees in Clinton and with that also setting the foundation to

manufacture premium quality products for our customers.”

Numerous training opportunities are available through the development authority and other Mississippi agencies and departments.

Programs include: Mississippi Works, which connects employees with employers. The program’s goal is to provide Mississippians with great jobs, and businesses with talented workers.

Job centers will help businesses to find employees through traditional recruitment activities, an online recruiting/application process and job fairs. The job center program provides on-the-job training, which helps offset training costs. Businesses may qualify for reimbursement of up to half of a new employee’s wages during training.

The state’s community college and universities also offer numerous workforce development opportunities. Y

The Mississippi Development Authority is the state’s lead economic and community development agency, with approximately 300 employees who provide services to businesses, communities and workers. The agency works to recruit new business to the state, and to retain and expand existing industry and business.

Mississippi is home to major auto manufacturers, including Nissan (Canton), Toyota (Blue Springs) and PACCAR (Columbus). Overall, the state has almost 200 automotive suppliers that employ approximately 26,000 workers.

Continental Tire is set to open late this year in Clinton, Mississippi. Total investment for the Continental site is $1.45 billion. When the plant officially starts production in 2020, approximately 400 employees will be hired, the company says. Approximately 2,500 jobs 52 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

TEXAS Almost 40,000 people in Texas work in vehicle and parts manufacturing, which lands the state in the top 10 in the country for number of jobs in the auto manufacturing sector. Major automakers in the Lone Star State include Toyota and General Motors.

In late 2018, Area Development magazine rated Texas as the No. 2 state in the nation to do business (behind only Georgia). The magazine applauded The Lone Star State’s workforce development efforts, and low cost to do business.

In July 2018, CNBC ranked the state No. 1 for business. Texas’ workforce development programs were ranked No. 7 in the country by the network.

Programs include: The Skills Development Fund is Texas’ premier job-training program, providing training opportunities for Texas businesses and workers.

The program relies on collaboration among businesses, public community and technical colleges, workforce

TENNESSEE Tennessee is home to 900 auto suppliers and more than 135,000 residents are employed in the automotive industry.

Tennessee has been Business Facilities magazine’s top state in automotive

Volkswagen assembly Line, Chattanooga Tennessee

development boards and economic development partners.

The program assists businesses and trade unions by financing the design and implementation of customized job-training projects. The fund merges business needs and local customized training opportunities into a winning formula to increase the skills levels and wages of the Texas workforce, the state’s workforce commission says.

Workforce Development Boards and Economic Development Corporations (EDC).

The Texas Workforce Commission has dedicated $1 million to support collaborations between (EDCs) to provide high-demand occupational job training in local workforce areas. Funds will be available through Aug. 30, 2019.

High Demand Job Training Program The Texas program is intended to support boards in partnering with local economic development corporations

manufacturing strength for five of the last eight years, due in large part to the state’s highly trained workforce.

Tennessee’s automotive manufacturing cluster includes three major assembly plants and automotive operations in 88 of the state’s 95 counties.

General Motors Arlington, Texas Plant

that use their local economic development sales taxes for highdemand job training.

The state also offers an apprenticeship training program and internships for job seekers.q

Nissan’s North American headquarters is in Franklin. Its plant in Smyrna is the most productive in North America, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development.

With General Motors in Spring Hill and Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee continues to invest in training for the state’s high concentration of automotive employment, the department says.

Automotive-related manufacturers in Tennessee include Hankook Tire, Bridgestone Americas, Calsonic Kansei, Magnetti Marelli, SL Tennessee, Denso Manufacturing, Yorozu Automotive, JTEKT, Mahle, and M-Tek, the department notes.

Tennessee has created workforce partnerships to train workers in highdemand skills, resulting in a steady pipeline of qualified candidates, the state economic department adds.p SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 53

REGIONAL REPORTS The Georgia Automotive Manufacturers Association, Inc. (GAMA) is a non-profit trade association which passionately promotes the interests of Georgia’s automotive and ground transportation industry. GAMA is a community of businesses with common interests and goals which provides a highly interactive forum to help members achieve the following: • continual improvement in their businesses • higher levels of innovation, quality, and profitability

• professional success through unique educational opportunities • successful networking among customers and peers

GAMA is having another great year. GAMA has redesigned and updated its website – www.GAMAGeorgia.org. More features will be added.

GAMA currently has the following meetings scheduled for 2019, and will likely add a few more.

• MARCH 12, 2019 – Quarterly Meeting - “Critical Issues Regarding OSHA” – being held at the Hampton Inn in West Point, GA/Lanett, AL (near the Kia assembly plant in West Point, Georgia). Our prior meetings on this topic have been among our most popular meetings. OSHA is still top-of-mind for OEMs and suppliers in the Southeast, especially in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

• MAY 7, 2019 – Annual Golf Tournament supporting the Southern Automotive Women’s Forum (SAWF) at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia (near Columbus, Georgia) – photo attached. Yes, spring will hopefully be in the air in May in the beautiful Southeast. The last few tournaments featured bright blue skies and mid-70 temperatures, some fantastic rounds of golf on a beautiful course, and great networking. We even heard rumors that some fantastic deals were “teed up” on the golf course.

• AUGUST 6, 2019 – Annual Plant Tour – this year at Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) in West Point, Georgia. This tour has always been a sell-out, so we recommend registering as soon as registration opens in mid- to late May. • NOVEMBER 13, 2019 – Annual Economic Update/ Technology Meeting featuring Bill Strauss, Senior Economist and Economic Advisor, from the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank.

This will be the eighth time Mr. Strauss has addressed GAMA members and guests - photo attached of Bill Strauss, as well as the Federal Reserve Chicago Logo. This has also been one of GAMA’s most popular annual meeting topics. Mr. Strauss’ information is always extremely relevant and timely, and includes his views on the economy in general, manufacturing in general, and, of course, the automotive industry in particular.

The meeting is timed to fit well with most companies’ budget planning processes.

GAMA is committed to delivering value-driven events year-round.

For further information, please contact Rick Walker, GAMA President, at rwalker@GAMA-Georgia.org or 770-314-9040.

54 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 55

REGIONAL REPORTS

56 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association

AAMA’S MISSION is to promote growth and continuous improvement of automotive manufacturing in Alabama.

ALAUTOINDUSTRY.ORG

2019 AAMA EVENT CALENDAR MARCH 5 Southern Automotive Quality Summit Hyatt Regency Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama

MARCH 28 Maintenance Symposium Bryant Conference Center Tuscaloosa, Alabama

APRIL 5 Meet & Greet at Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama

MAY 8 – 9 Automotive Advanced Technology Summit Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Birmingham, Alabama

JUNE (Date TBD) East Alabama Workforce Workshop Location TBD

JULY 11 Supplier Diversity Conference

BENEFITS OF AAMA MEMBERSHIP INCLUDE: • Business networking opportunities • Leadership opportunities • Sharing of manufacturing best practices • Information on issues impacting the industry • Information on advances in technology and continuous improvement • Access to internet database of Alabama automotive-related companies • Listing on AAMA website • Members Directory • Promotional opportunities for company news • Factory floor assessments (participating companies are eligible for AAMA Supplier of the Year Award) • Member discounts for training • Membership to AIAG • Membership to BCA • Invitation to annual Appreciation Dinner

Von Braun Center Huntsville, Alabama

NOVEMBER (Date TBD) Appreciation Dinner Hyatt Regency Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama

Full Event Details @ www.alautoindustry.org

Join AAMA today! Start now taking part in Alabama’s dynamic automotive manufacturing association. If you are interested in learning more about AAMA and how you can help advance Alabama’s automotive industry, please visit ALAutoIndustry.org.

Contact: Lynsey Delane | 256.824.6407 Ron Davis | 205.657.5101

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 57

REGIONAL REPORTS TAMA helps Tennessee automotive companies, especially suppliers, react to the challenges of the global automotive marketplace.

TAMA is a membership organization with a mission to strengthen and expand Tennessee’s automotive industry. TAMA’s diverse membership includes OEMs, Tier 1, 2, and 3 suppliers, government agencies, and professional service organizations that have expertise in the automotive industry. Members enjoy access to some of Tennessee’s top automotive executives, strong support from the state’s economic development team, and discounted fees to membership meetings and other TAMA events.

TA M A’ S AN N U A L S P ON S OR S

TAMA is a proud sponsor of the Aluminum USA Aluminum Expo

MUSIC CITY CENTER NASHVILLE, TN USA SEPTEMBER 12-13, 2019

ALUMINUM USA is the leading exhibition and technical conference for aluminum products, technologies and investments in the United States. Bringing the industry together every two years, ALUMINUM USA is the place to be to get a comprehensive overview of the entire aluminum industry.

TAMA 2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President, Rick Youngblood, Nissan North America Vice President, Daniel Davidson, Calsonic Kansei North America, Inc. Treasurer, Jim Leyhew, Kasai North America, Inc. Dex Battista, Magna International Luca Bovalino, Magneti Marelli Ed Carter, C&S Plastics

Andre Gist, Manufacturers Industrial Group Lynda Hill, Frost Brown Todd Victoria Hirschberg, TN Dept. of Economic & Community Development Barry Owens, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. Marius Sipos, YAPP USA Automotive Systems, Inc. Kim Williams, Tenneco

To join TAMA, visit www.tennauto.org.

For questions about membership, contact Ashley Frye 615-525-4533 email: ashley@tennauto.org 58 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 59

KUDOS

Hands On And Real World

Terri Seese with a teacher and students of McEachern High School, where the HOPE Foundation is bringing STEM and industry together

One business leader created a workforce—focused nonprofit to make sure students leave school with more than just head knowledge TEXT BY: NICK PATTERSON // PHOTO BY: HENRI HOLLIS

A

s a mother and a businesswoman, Terri Seese took a good look at education, and saw a gap.

A few years later, she’s working to fill it.

The gap? The one between education and hands-on skill. In 2017, Seese, CEO of Alliance Solutions Group, filed for nonprofit status for a new foundation dedicated to connecting STEM disciplines with work skills.

The nonprofit is called the ASG HOPE

60 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

Foundation and it’s stated mission is to help “students in grades K-12 learn about supply chain and logistics through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) activities.” The acronym in the name stands for Hope, Optimistic, Positive, Effective.

“The purpose is teaching STEM activities specific to supply chain in trade skills and skill sets,” Seese says.

“I dissected it down to certain skill sets and trade skills. I mean, all STEM programs are great, but I wanted it

different. I wanted it focused on trade skills and, of course, in supply chain.

“So, we’re providing and creating…

I call them modules — curriculum modules — focused on those trade skills. And what that does is, it’s blending,” Seese says. “It’s taking today’s corporate reality— and our corporate partners, which are our donors— and taking their purpose as a company and their training of what they do, introducing and blending it into the students and having it roll up full circle to workforce development and the future pipeline.”

The automotive supply chain figures heavily into Seese’s work with the foundation because of what Alliance Solutions does. “We’re a technology company, meaning software

development, which is custom software development, and hardware,” Seese says. Alliance works with, among others, Alien Technology and Zebra Technologies, and provides, among other things, barcode scanners, RFID tags for tracking, and label printers that are used in a wide range of manufacturing distribution settings.

With a background in project management and sales, Seese started Alliance more than a decade ago.

While building relationships with industry, and at the same time, raising a daughter, Seese began to see the need for connections between what businesses need and what students are learning. That led eventually to ASG Hope Foundation.

“I guess I’m an entrepreneur,” she says, with a laugh. “I just come up with ideas which are, you know, I’m passionate about — it’s not just an idea.

It’s just something that I had in my head that I wanted to do, and I felt it was a good idea and I started sharing it.

Everyone else did, too.”

She believes that giving students real world skills that are guaranteed to be applicable in a practical work setting will provide students — and their parents — peace of mind. Students, she’s convinced, need to learn how to actually do something productive, not just learn for learning’s sake.

“I wanted hands on,” she says.

“Because I’m still old school. And I know we live in a technology world, but I’m still adamant and believe we need hands-on experience.”

Currently, the HOPE Foundation is working on a warehouse model project with McEachern High School in Powder Springs. The idea is to teach students how to create a working warehouse, how to label parts, how to create a bar code. Zebra Technologies, which specializes in warehousing, is a partner on that project.

While the warehousing project can apply to many industries, another project is specifically automotive in nature. In that project, Kia is a partner, Seese says.

“Kia just donated an engine and a transmission to the foundation, you know, that we’re providing to the students to teach them technology, engineering, building an engine.… I mean, everything, from A to Z of a car and the engine,” Seese says.

Educational institutions, from two-year colleges to a university are also working with HOPE, she says.

“The purpose of those partnerships is introducing the kids to their options,” she says.

An innovative element of the program includes a leadership module, focused on giving students training in organizational effectiveness and leading teams. The program assigns

I know we live in a technology world, but I’m still adamant and believe we need hands-on experience. some students to lead roles and others to worker assignments.

Seese says that there are basically two phases: first, exactly what is a leader, and then figuring out how to manage a team. She calls that “the next level of leadership.”

She says that, having divided the class into teams with managers, this element of the program mainly works with the student managers.

“We go upstairs to the mezzanine and the classroom, and we are talking to managers, and they are anywhere from sophomore [to] junior in high school students.… And one of them this week was like, ‘Okay, well, I have a question. How do you manage someone who is not listening?’ … It is like a real-world meeting and they are asking real-world questions,” she says.

Student managers learn about deadlines — and about the frustrations associated with team members not meeting deadlines – and about doing employee reviews, for instance. “So, yeah, they’re already getting the realworld experience,” Seese says.

As the program continues, ASG Hope Foundation is expected to take students into corporate environments for site visits. Tours are expected to give the future graduates an early glimpse into the world of work.

ASG Hope Foundation aims to provide a tangible, easy-to-understand benefit to the next generation workforce, Seese says. Despite early progress, and praise from current participants, she hopes to see the program grow and expand. “The value of the program is educating the students, or introducing the students, to options and helping them find their niche and find jobs… I hope we are making a difference. And it does seem that we are. And there’s still so much to do.” n SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 61

EXPERT VIEW

The EV Infrastructure Challenge

How electric cars could make America’s crumbling roads even worse TEXT BY TEXT BY JAY L. ZAGORSKY , THE CONVERSATION

U

.S. roads and bridges are in abysmal shape — and that was before the recent winter storms made things even worse.

In fact, the government rates over one-quarter of all urban interstates as in fair or poor condition and one-third of U.S. bridges need repair.

To fix the potholes and crumbling roads, federal, state and local governments rely on fuel taxes, which raise more than US$80 billion a year and pay for around three-quarters of what the U.S. spends on building new roads and maintaining them.

I recently purchased an electric car, the Tesla Model 3. While swerving down a particularly rutted highway in New York, the economist in me began to wonder, what will happen to

62 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

the roads as fewer and fewer cars run on gasoline? Who will pay to fix the streets?

Fuel taxes 101 Every time you go to the pump, each gallon of fuel you purchase puts money into a variety of pockets.

About half goes to the drillers that extract oil from the earth. Just under a quarter pays the refineries to turn crude into gasoline. And around 6 percent goes to distributors.

The rest, or typically about 20 percent of every gallon of gas, goes to various governments to maintain and enhance the U.S. transportation’s infrastructure.

Currently, the federal government charges 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline, which provides 85 percent to

90 percent of the Highway Trust Fund that finances most federal spending on highways and mass transit.

State and local government charge their own taxes that vary widely.

Combined with the national levy, fuel taxes range from over 70 cents per gallon in high-tax states like California and Pennsylvania to just over 30 cents in states like Alaska and Arizona. The difference is a key reason the price of gasoline changes so dramatically when you cross state lines.

While people often complain when their fuel prices go up, the real burden of gasoline taxes has been falling for decades. The federal government’s 18.4 cent tax, for example, was set way back in 1993. The tax would have to be 73 percent higher, or 32 cents, to have the same purchasing power.

On top of that, today’s vehicles get better mileage, which means fewer gallons of gas and less money collected in taxes.

And electric vehicles, of course,

don’t need gasoline, so their drivers don’t pay a dime in fuel taxes.

A Crisis In The Making At the moment, this doesn’t present a crisis because electric vehicles represent only a small proportion of the U.S. fleet.

Slightly more than 1 million plugin vehicles have been sold since 2012 when the first mass market models hit the roads. While impressive, that figure is just a fraction of the over 250 million vehicles currently registered and legally drivable on U.S. highways.

But sales of electric cars are growing rapidly as how far they can travel before recharging and prices fall. Dealers sold a record 360,000 electric vehicles last year, up 80 percent from 2017.

If sales continue at this breakneck pace, electric cars will become mainstream in no time. In addition, governments in Europe and China are actively steering consumers away from fossil fuels and toward their electric counterparts.

In other words, the time will come very soon when the U.S. and individual states will no longer be able to rely on fuel taxes to mend American roads.

What States Are Doing About It Some states are already anticipating this eventuality and are crafting solutions.

One involves charging owners of electric cars a fixed fee. So far, 17 states have done just that, with annual taxes ranging from $100 to $200 per car.

There are a few of problems with a fixed fee approach. For example, the proceeds only go to state coffers, even though the driver also uses out-of-state roads and national highways.

Another is that it’s regressive. Since a fixed fee hits all owners equally, regardless of income or how much they drive, it hurts poorer consumers most. During debate in Maine over a proposed $250 annual EV fee, opponents noted that the average person currently pays just a third of

that — $82 — in state fuel taxes.

Oregon is testing another solution.

Instead of paying fuel taxes, drivers are able to volunteer for a program that lets them pay based on miles driven rather than how many gallons they consume.

The state installs tracking devices in their cars – whether electric or conventional – and drivers get a refund for the gas tax they pay at the pump.

The program raises privacy and fairness concerns especially for rural residents who have few other transportation options.

Another Way Forward I believe there’s another solution.

Currently, carmakers and others are deploying large networks of charging stations throughout the country.

Examples include Tesla’s Superchargers, Chargepoint, EVgo and Volkswagen’s proposed mobile chargers.

They operate just like gas pumps, only they provide kilowatts of electricity instead of gallons of fuel. While electric vehicle owners are free to use their own power outlets, anyone traveling long distances has to use these stations. And because charging at home is a hassle –

requiring eight to 20 hours – I believe most drivers will increasingly choose the convenience and speed of the charging stations, which can fill up an EV in as little as 30 minutes.

So one option could be for governments to tack on their taxes to the bill, charging a few extra cents per kilowatt “pumped into the tank.”

Furthermore, I would argue that the tax – whether on fuel or power – shouldn’t be a fixed amount but a percentage, which makes it less likely to be eroded by inflation over time.

It is in everyone’s interest to ensure there are funds to maintain the nation’s road. A small percentage tax on EV charging stations will help maintain U.S. roads without hurting electric vehicles’ chances of becoming a mass market product. n

Jay L. Zagorsky is a Senior lecturer, Boston University. He also owns a Tesla Model 3. The Conversation US provides expert content from academics and researchers through a global network of newsrooms. For more information, see the conversation.com

The economist in me began to wonder, what will happen to the roads as fewer and fewer cars run on gasoline? Who will pay to fix the streets?

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 63

I N D U S T R Y I N D I C AT O R S

Automotive taxes Automotive owners pay their states millions or billions — depending on the state — in vehicle use taxes including gas taxes, licenses and fees, according to AutoAlliance.org.

$1.04

BILLION

$1.15 BILLION

$ BI 1.

LL 5 1 I

ON

$6 03

MILLION

6 N $73MILLIO

$5.3 BILLION

L

MI

N

LIO

$740

*Includes Vehicle Use Taxes (Including Gas Taxes), Licenses and Fees

Southeast Auto Stocks Company/Security

Headquarters

Southeast U.S. Ticker Operations

Exchange

Closing Price 2/28/2019

Closing Price Stock Price Growth 2/28/2018

BMW

Munchen, Germany

SC

BMWYY

OTC

28.16

35.1

i -19.84

Ford Motor Co.

Dearborn, Michigan

KY

F

NYSE

8.77

10.61

i -17.34

General Motors Co.

Detroit, Michigan

KY, TN, TX

GM

NYSE

39.48

39.35

h 0.33

Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

Minato, Tokyo, Japan

AL, SC

HMC

NYSE

28.27

36.09

i -21.67

Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd.

Seoul, South Korea

AL

HYMLF

OTC

89

120

i -25.83

Kia Motors Corp.

Seoul, South Korea

GA

KIMTF

OTC

30.3

30.3

0.00

Mazda Motor Corp.

Hiroshima, Japan

AL

MZDAF

OTC

11.53

13.79

i -16.39

Mercedes-Benz (Daimler AG)

Stuttgart, Germany

AL, GA, SC.

DDAIF

OTC

60.05

85.8

i -30.01

Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

Minato, Tokyo, Japan

KY

MMTOF

OTC

5.755

7.9751

i -27.84

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.

Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan

MS, TN

NSANF

OTC

8.81

10.55

i -16.49

Porsche Automobile Pfd.

Stuttgart, Germany

GA.

POAHF

OTC

67.31

84.12

i -19.98

Toyota Motor Corp. Ltd. Ord.

Toyota, Aichi, Japan

AL, KY, MS, TX

TM

NYSE

121.04

134.6

i -10.07

Volkswagen Ag Ord.

Wolfsburg, Germany

TN

VLKAF

OTC

176.5

200

i -11.75

Volvo AB ADR

Gothenburg, Sweden

SC

VLVLY

OTC

14.645

18.76

i -21.93

64 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

BY T H E N U M B E R S

$2

BILLION Investment by GM in its Spring Hill, Tennessee plant since 2010. southernautocorridor.com

$16

700 Number of contract worker jobs being eliminated at Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi plant in response to slowing local demand and rising competition. just-auto.com

$8.7

MILLION BILLION Investment being made by automotive glass manufacturer Fuyao North America to locate a facility in Fountain Inn, South Carolina. southernautocorridor.com

$1.67

Value of investments in Kentucky’s automotive industry between 2010 and 2017. areadevelopment.com

$8

BILLION MILLION Value of new electrified vehicle battery plant planned by South Korea-based DK Innovation Co. in Commerce, Georgia autonews.com

Investment by VTL Precision to locate a new engine and transmission parts plant in Berkeley County, South Carolina. southernautocorridor.com

$388

MILLION Planned investment by Hyundai to upgrade and expand its engine manufacturing operations in Montgomery, Alabama. forbes.com

40 Number of full-time jobs being added at the El Paso, Texas operations of automotive speaker manufacturer Foster Electric. southernautocorridor.com

BRUNSWICK GEORGIA Location which has become one of the busiest U.S. ports for automobiles, with capacity expected to expand from 800,000 units to 1.5 million units. wjcl.com SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 65

CAREER NOTES At the new MazdaToyota plant in Huntsville, Alabama, Mazda has installed new leadership.

Effective April 1, MASASHI OTSUKA, will be promoted to the new position of senior vice president of the Alabama business unit, reporting to JEFFREY GUYTON, president Mazda North American Operations. Otsuka will lead the operation where Mazda will manufacture its brand-new crossover SUV exclusive to the North American market. He will work with suppliers, handling logistics for the plant and managing quality assurance.

Before his move to Alabama, Otsuka served as vice president of R&D and Design for Mazda North American Operations (MNAO), overseeing management of the entire field of research and development, and design.

In 1989, Otsuka joined Mazda Corporation as an engineer for interior and restraint. Since then he has held various positions within the company, including engineering, product planning and program management. As a program manager, Otsuka managed entire programs for Mazda’s CX-5, CX-7, and CX-9. He also has planned all sixth-generation products and established the current product lineup.

Otsuka graduated from Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan.

66 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

Honda Manufacturing Alabama recently named TETSUYA ENDO, regional functional leader at Honda of America Manufacturing in Marysville, Ohio, as president of the Alabama plant. He takes the reins April 1.

He replaces TSUTOMU “MORI” MORIMOTO, who ran the Alabama plant starting in 2018.

After the change, Morimoto will take over as executive vice president of production operations at the Marysville, Ohio plant.

Also at the Alabama plant, MIKE OATRIDGE, who has been serving as vice president at HMA, becomes senior vice president at the Lincoln, Alabama facility. BOB SCHWYN, who has served as business division manager at HMA, will replace Oatridge in the vice president position.

The Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers has made changes recently. DAVID SCHWIETERT has been appointed interim president and CEO as of March 1, 2019. He replaces

MITCH BAINWOL, who left the role of Alliance president and CEO to become chief government relations officer for Ford. Schwietert joined the Alliance in 2015 as executive vice president of Federal Government Relations and Public Policy to coordinate legislative and regulatory efforts regarding automotive safety, fuel economy, and automated vehicle technologies. Before he joined the Auto Alliance, Schwietert worked in the U.S. Senate for more than 15 years. He also held various policy positions, including as the staff director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

More changes at Nissan North America: Effective April 1, DENIS LE VOT, senior vice president, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and chairman, North America, will go to Paris to take the position of Alliance senior vice president, Alliance Light Commercial Vehicle Business Unit.

JOSÉ LUIS VALLS, senior vice president, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and vice chairman, North America, will replace Le Vot as chairman, North America.

As recently as January, Valls, who had only recently moved from Nissan Latin America, was reporting to Le Vot in his role as chairman.

Nissan attributes the moves to a focus on delivery of its “M.O.V.E. to 2022” midterm plan, as well as to strengthen its converged business with its Alliance partner, Renault. Press reports link the changes to a reshuffling related to the arrest and dismissal of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, and a reassignment of executives like Le Vot, who worked closely with him. n

Index AAMA.....................................................31, 40, 57 ACCS.........................................................9, 48, 68 AIAG.................................................................... 2 AIDT.............................................................49, 68 Alabama A&M University............................... 18 Alabama Department of Commerce.......15, 48 Alabama Department of Labor..................... 48 Alien Technology............................................. 61 Amarillo College.............................................. 14 Aristeo.............................................................. 26 Arkal Automotive............................................ 19 Asbury Automotive Group............................. 12 ASG Hope Foundation................................ 60,61 Assembly Tool................................................... 3 Auburn University.....................................46, 47 Audi.................................................................. 46 Autocar............................................................. 48 BCA..................................................................... 6 Blue Bird Corp................................................. 12 Bluegrass State Skills Corporation............... 69 BMW....................................13, 15, 16, 43, 46, 52 Bridgestone Americas...............................53, 70 Calhoun Community College.... 27,28,29,45, 49 Calsonic Kansei............................................... 53 CarFax.............................................................. 17 Caterpillar...................................................43, 44 CAVS...............................................................7, 69 Chattanooga State Community College....... 70 CK Technologies.............................................. 13 Clemson................................................. 33,34,35 CME................................................................... 70 Constellium..................................................... 16 Continental Tire.........................................46, 52 Cooper Standard............................................. 70 Cox Automotive Group................................... 17 Daimler........................................................13, 46 Del Smith................................................................18 Denso................................................................ 53 Derrick Ramsey................................................50,51 Don Stoegbauer...............................................40,41 Donald Trump.......................................................17 Dongwan Autopart Technology.................... 69 East Mississippi Community College............ 69 Electrolux......................................................... 70 Elon Musk........................................................16, 18 FCA.................................................................... 43 Fitzgerald Washington..........................................49 FIXD........................................................ 36,37,38 Focus Fab......................................................... 35 Ford.................................14,16, 17, 18, 19, 43, 51 GAMA................................................................ 54 General Electric..........................................37, 70 General Motors......13, 16, 24, 26, 40, 43, 51, 53 Georgia Institute of Technology.... 36,37,38, 69

Georgia Ports Authority................................. 13 Georgia Quick Start...................................50, 68 Giti Tire............................................................. 13 Goodyear.......................................................... 16 Hankook Tire..............................................13, 53 Hinds Community College............................. 52 Hodges................................................................ 4 Honda........................................12, 14, 18, 43, 48 Hyundai...............................14, 15, 18, 43, 48, 49 IMDS.................................................................. 45 Jaguar............................................................... 46 Jeff Lynn.................................................................30 JMF...................................................................... 5 John Deere..................................................43, 44 John Gattuso............................................... 36,37,38 Johnell Brooks............................................ 33,34,35 JTEKT................................................................. 53 KAIA.................................................................. 59 Kay Ivey..................................................................49 Kentucky Chamber of Commerce................. 51 Kentucky Community and Technical College System.............................................................. 69 Kia.......13,15, 19, 20, 21,22, 23, 24, 43, 49, 61,69 Kumho Tire...................................................... 13 KY Cabinet for Economic Development....... 51 KY Education and Workforce Development Cabinet........................................................50, 51 KYFAME............................................................ 69 Land Rover....................................................... 46 Leadec................................................................ 5 Lewis Nall.................................................... 27,28,29 Lincoln.............................................................. 18 Magnetti Marelli............................................. 53 Mahle................................................................ 53 MAMA.....................................................40,41, 56 Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA....13, 31, 48 McAbee............................................................. 23 Mercedes-Benz..12, 13, 14,15, 31, 43, 48, 68, 70 Minact................................................................ 3 Mississippi Development Authority............. 52 Mississippi Polymer Institute........................ 70 Mississippi State Board of Education Mississippi Works............................................ 52 Motlow State Community College................ 70 M-Tek................................................................ 53 NAFTA..........................................................42, 46 NAOS................................................................. 39 New Flyer......................................................... 48 Nissan............................14, 15, 19, 40, 52, 53, 70 Northwest Mississippi Community College.69 Oak Ridge National Laboratory.................... 24 Onin.................................................................. 72 Owensboro Community and Technical College.............................................................. 27

PACCAR............................................................. 52 Pellissippi State............................................... 70 Porsche............................................................. 46 RAPA............................................................ 46,47 readySC.......................................................52, 70 Reich................................................................. 23 Rivian................................................................ 19 Ron Davis....................................................31, 40 Roy Metal Finishing..............................42,43, 44 SAMA........................................................... 40,41 SCAC.................................................................. 55 Schaeffler Group............................................. 19 SK Innovation......................................................

SL Tennessee................................................... 53 South Carolina Department of Commerce........................................................ 52 South Carolina Technical College System............................................................. 70 Southern Automotive Conference................ 40 Southwest Tennessee Community College.............................................................. 70 Staubli.............................................................. 11 Stuart Countess...............................13,20, 21,22,23 Subaru.............................................................. 13 SWJ Technology............................................... 14 Systems............................................................ 11 TAMA................................................................ 58 Tennessee College of Applied Technology... 70 Terri Seese........................................................60,61 Tesla................................................. 16,18,46, 62 Texas Workforce Commission..................53, 70 The Conversation....................................... 62,63 The Ray............................................................. 21 TNDECD............................................................ 53 Togo North America....................................... 12 Toyo Tire.......................................................... 50 Toyota.....................19, 43, 48, 51, 52, 53, 69, 70 UA Culverhouse College of Business............ 14 University of Southern Mississippi............... 70 US Department of Commerce....................... 27 US Department of Energy.........................24, 26 US Steel............................................................ 16 UTZ.................................................................... 35 Valvoline.......................................................... 18 Volkswagen..............13,16, 19, 24, 43, 46, 53, 70 Volvo............................................................19, 43 Ward’s Automotive Reports........................... 17 West Georgia Technical College.................... 68 Workforce Investment Network................... 70 WorkSource Georgia....................................... 50 Yonsan Automotive USA................................ 49 Yoruzo.............................................................. 53 Zebra Technologies......................................... 61 ZF....................................................................... 47

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 67

WORKF ORC E DEVELOPME NT Students at Harrison County High School in Cynthiana, Ky, work on a CAD program as part of the FAME Career Pathway. PHOTO COURTESY: Toyota Motors Manufacturing Kentucky

States Partner With Schools to Attract Auto Industry Colleges and Tech Schools Provide In-Demand Workforce Development Training TEXT BY: CARLA CALDWELL

T

o meet the need for skilled workers in OEMS and parts manufacturers state workforce development programs turn to universities, community colleges and technical schools to provide handson training. Here’s an edited look at some significant programs. For a much more complete story, see our website, southernautomotivealliance.com.

ALABAMA Community College System: The state’s vast community college system works with state agencies to provide workforce training and works directly with employers to provide skillsspecific education.

For example, Vance-based MercedesBenz U.S. International (MBUSI) is working with Lawson State Community College to train students who will, upon

68 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

completion, become full-time employees with Mercedes, says Alabama Secretary of Labor Fitzgerald Washington.

AIDT: Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT) is a workforce development agency overseen by the Alabama Secretary of Commerce. The program, which encourages economic development through job-specific training, often works with the Alabama Community College System (ACCS) to build hands-on skills.

The Alabama Robotics Technology Park, in Tanner, is a collaboration between the state of Alabama, AIDT, Calhoun Community College and robotics industry leaders.

Ready to Work: Alabama’s Ready to Work program, operated by ACCS and AIDT, provides a career pathway for

individuals with limited education and employment experience.

Ready to Work sites are selected on a priority basis according to economic need. There are 75 sites offered through 22 institutions, including Bevill State, Calhoun State, Gadsden State, Reid State and Wallace State.

Upon successful completion of the program and earning 70 percent or higher on comprehensive assessments, graduates receive the Alabama Certified Worker Certificate, issued

by AIDT and the National Career Readiness Certificate.

GEORGIA Quick Start: Quick Start has numerous times been named the No. 1 workforce training program in the U.S.

by Area Development magazine. The program is a division of the Technical College System of Georgia. It provides customized workforce training for companies creating jobs in Georgia — 50 years with automotive-related advanced manufacturing.

For instance, a small team of Kia Motors Manufacturing executives partnered with Quick Start from the inception of its first North American Assembly plant, initially training workers in temporary offices provided

by West Georgia Technical College.

Today, Quick Start and Kia operate the Kia Georgia Training Center, a 70,000-square-foot training facility hailed by Kia’s leadership as “the new global benchmark” for advanced automotive training.

Georgia Institute of Technology: The Tech-based Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) works with more than 1,000 manufacturers yearly, to implement on-site projects, conduct training, and connect manufacturers to Georgia Tech resources and its partners throughout the state.

Tech’s Quality Core Tools for Automotive Manufacturing training helps operations reduce production defects, meet buyer demands, acquire new business and increase profit margin.

In October 2018, Dongwon Autopart Technology, a Hogansville, Georgiabased Korean maker of door frames, bumpers, and side impact beams and a supplier to Kia Motors’ plant in West Point, worked with Tech to reinforce plant health and safety practices.

KENTUCKY The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) is the state’s primary provider of workforce education, delivering programs and services that address the needs of both businesses and workers. The statewide system of colleges provides customized training and support services.

The KCTCS-TRAINS grant provides employers with resources to offset the cost of training provided at KCTCS locations.

Kentucky Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (KYFAME): Through partnerships with more than 180 manufacturing-related

companies and KTCTS, KYFAME offers students apprentice-style education and training. Through KYFAME, students receive an associate degree in applied sciences, and gain practical skills during their paid work experience. Most begin full-time employment with the sponsor.

Students can also continue toward an engineering degree.

As of March, there were 3,576 apprentices and 261 registered programs in Kentucky.

In 2018, the Bluegrass State Skills Corporation and KCTCS-TRAIN initiatives provided more than $12 million in training resources to more than 5,700 companies and 120,000 Kentucky employees.

Students can learn technical skills in electricity, fluid power, motor controls, maintaining industrial equipment, programmable logic controllers, welding, machining, drawings, system troubleshooting and robotics; safety culture, workplace organization, lean manufacturing and machinery maintenance.

Career Pathway: In October 2018, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK), the Harrison County Schools district, area universities, Project Lead the Way, KYFAME and The Manufacturing Institute announced a manufacturing-focused career pathway that extends from pre-kindergarten to master’s degree level. While many school districts provide STEM education, the fact that the program begins in pre-K makes it unique, TMMK said in a prepared statement.

After high school, students who completed the program may choose to attend the Advanced Manufacturing Technician program (AMT) at Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC).

AMT program students are sponsored by an area manufacturer where they work two days a week and attend classes three days. Students can graduate with little to no student debt.

After earning their associate degree,

Marathon was soon on a genuine roll, even by the exuberant standards of the exploding auto industry. The cars acquired a good reputation for quality and durability, probably helped by the fact that the factory had total control of its parts, engineering and manufacturing. —Wikipedia students are often offered jobs with starting salaries up to $75,000. Almost 90 percent of KYFAME graduates have found jobs with the companies where they interned.

MISSISSIPPI The state’s division of Workforce Training and Economic Development offers numerous training opportunities.

In addition, Mississippi’s 15 community colleges offer 26,403 training classes and serve more than 550 companies with customized training solutions.

For example: Northwest Mississippi Community College’s Advanced Manufacturing Partners program partners with industries to provide highly skilled electronics engineering technicians. NMCC provides paid interns from their Industrial Electronics Engineering Technology program and currently partners with Toyoda Gosei, Schulz, FEUER, Parker Hannifin among others.

East Mississippi Community College offers the Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence. The program provides training in skills needed by manufacturers, including measuring instruments, problem-solving, applied math, critical thinking and more. The program offers manufacturing skills certification classes, M3 Production-level certificates, M3 Advanced Production Skills classes and specialized training for companies.

Research Universities: The Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 69

W O RK F O R C E

D E V ELO PME NT

Technology (TCAT) in Murfreesboro to open a training center in Smyrna for careers in advanced manufacturing.

The programs are part of Tennessee’s strategy to create a pipeline of highly skilled workers in the state.

• Volkswagen joined forces with

Chattanooga State Community College to develop two three-year mechatronics degree programs accredited by the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce.

• Bridgestone partnered with Motlow A Lawson State Community College student looks over a Mercedes during an event in early 2019 to announce a partnership between the school and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. PHOTO COURTESY: Lawson State Community College.

(CAVS) at Mississippi State University helps businesses improve engineering, manufacturing and design technologies.

CAVS has a facility in Starkville and an extension center in Canton, located near the Nissan plant. CAVS locations provide research and development capabilities, and continued education and training for new and current industry employees.

The Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME) at the University of Mississippi offers a degree in engineering, which prepares students for manufacturing careers. The CME is advised by numerous industry executives, including those from GE Aviation and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi.

The CME also has extensive research facilities, numerous existing co-op programs and offers extension programs to interested companies.

The Mississippi Polymer Institute (MPI) at the University of Southern Mississippi is a national leader in the study of composites, advanced materials, polymers and plastics.

MPI provides contract research and development services, rapid prototyping, incubator space and testing services to various industries.

SOUTH CAROLINA Technical college system: The South Carolina Technical College System is comprised of 16 community-based 70 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019

technical colleges throughout the state.

Home to the readySC™ program, the technical college system serves more than 249,000 students and creates programs focused on the needs of area businesses and industries.

At press time, the program was recruiting for automotive sector companies that include: • Cooper Standard, a leading supplier of systems and components for the automotive industry, planned to fill 180-plus positions in Spartanburg.

• Mercedes-Benz Vans, which opened

in South Carolina in September 2018.

The facility is expected to provide up to 1,300 jobs by 2020 and to create at least 600 additional jobs through its regional suppliers.

readySC: For 50 years readySC has recruited, screened, and trained employees, creating a curriculum to fit a company’s specific needs. The program served 88 companies and trained 5,070 people in fiscal 2017-2018, the last period for which numbers were available.

TENNESSEE Many of Tennessee’s training programs involve partnerships with educational institutions.

• In 2017, Nissan partnered with the Tennessee College of Applied

State Community College to develop a mechatronics program based on the Siemens Mechatronics Systems approach to advanced manufacturing.

• Educational institutions in Tennessee are also partnering together to better train Tennessee’s workforce. Credit transfer programs now exist between TCAT-Morristown & Northeast State as well as TCAT-Knoxville & Pellissippi State.

• Electrolux and the Workforce

Investment Network (WIN) partnered to provide training through WIN’s Industrial Readiness Training program. Classes are based on Electrolux’s specifications and training requirements and are offered at the Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis.

TEXAS The Texas Workforce Commission has dedicated $1 million to address skills gaps and ensure a talent pipeline is available for regional industry needs.

Private employers or corporate foundations can collaborate with the state’s Workforce Solutions, program to apply for funding for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) activities that support workforce development for six designated industry clusters. The clusters include advanced technologies and manufacturing.

Training in high-demand skills often is provided through state partnerships with community and technical colleges. n

SPRING 2019 | Southern Automotive Alliance 71

72 | Southern Automotive Alliance | SPRING 2019