Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education SUMMER 2003 VOLUME 5, NUMBER 3 State-of-the-Art Manufacturing Creating custom e-learning tools for training needs Some fields readily come to mind when technology is mentioned, such as medicine and communication systems, while others, like manufacturing, are still thought of as smokestack industries. Nothing could be further from the truth. Today's manufacturers are more high-tech than many other industries, in part because they operate in the global arena, where competition is fierce. Manufacturers use technology to stay lean and profitable. But to remain competitive, their workers must have special skills to operate complex systems. That's where Georgia Quick Start can help. Using high-tech multimedia training, Quick Start prepares workers for 21st century challenges, giving companies QUICK START IS GEORGIA'S PREMIER SOURCE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRAINING the edge to achieve business success. For example, Quick Start recently partnered with Masterfoods USATM, a company whose products include the Snickers Bar, M&M's Brand Chocolate Candies, Pedigree Pet Products and Uncle Ben's Rice. Headquartered in Hackettstown, N.J., and Vernon, Calif., Masterfoods USATM has manufacturing facilities all over the country, including Albany, Ga. "We produced for Masterfoods USATM multimedia training for their Continued on page 5 Quick Notes Jackie Rohosky Technology is rapidly transforming the landscape around us, and we all need to do whatever we can to keep Georgia growing. In today's economy, manufacturers need to take advantage of all the resources they have to remain competitive. One of the most important, of course, is technology. Businesses have to adopt the latest equipment and processes if they want to survive and prosper. We at Quick Start also need to keep on the cutting edge of technology in order to make sure our workforce development efforts are state-of-the-art. In this issue of the Quick Start newsletter, we highlight how our training professionals have instructed workers in high-tech production techniques, and how we have also used cutting-edge technology to help train workers in a wide array of businesses. Our Partner's Perspective this issue is by Mike Adkinson, publisher of TechLINKS magazine. TechLINKS focuses on trends in technology in Georgia and recently devoted an issue to reviewing the use of e-commerce and other Internet functionalities by manufacturers. I appreciate Mike sharing with us his thoughts on this important topic because technology is rapidly transforming the landscape around us, and we all need to do whatever we can to keep Georgia growing. But it's not only technology that builds our future. Georgia's most valuable resources, of course, are its people. Our Certified Economic Developer Trainer (CEDT) program has been preparing people to be a part of Georgia's growth for many years. Recently, another CEDT class completed its training, adding still more skilled staff to our state's economic development team. Congratulations to all of you. Jackie Rohosky Assistant Commissioner Economic Development Programs jrohosky@georgiaquickstart.org Table of Contents 3 Events Around the State 6 6 Generating Support: High-tech center opens in record time with aid in training CEDT Class IX Graduation, 2003 Front row, from left: Kathy Fowler, Dana Gainer, Bonnie Kelly, Connie Smith, Ann Sechrist; middle row, from left: Brent Rosencrantz, Hank Hobbs, Jim Powell, Mary Fornoff, Danny McConnell, Len Moore, Andy Brannen; back row, from left: Ronnie Wallace, Rick Thomas, Mike Patrick, Grayson Upton, Burt Bethea, Harold Craig 7 7 Partner's Perspective: Your Best Job Might be Waiting on You By Mike Adkinson 8 Quick Start Project Announcements Summer 2003 Volume 5, Number 3 Published quarterly by Georgia Quick Start www.georgiaquickstart.org Quick Start is a registered service mark of the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education Kenneth H. Breeden, Commissioner. Address comments and questions to: Director of Communications GA Quick Start 1800 Century Place, Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30345 404.679.2915 2 QUICK START SUMMER 2003 Events Mahindra USA Drives Jobs Into Calhoun Tomball, Texas-based Mahindra USA opened a second assembly and distribution center in Calhoun, Ga., doubling its production capacity and adding 40 new jobs to Gordon County and surrounding areas. One of the largest tractor manufacturers in the world, Mahindra USA decided to settle in Calhoun to better serve an From left: Rajan Chugh, Mahindra product support and service manager; Paul Helton, Quick Start training coordinator; Jeff Lynn, Quick Start director of northern operations; Anand Mahindra, Mahindra India vice chairman and managing director; explosion of new dealers in the Northeast and Southeast. According to Derek Johannes, president Pete McDonald, Coosa Valley Tech VP of economic development; Derek Johannes, Mahindra USA president; and Ravi Shahane, Mahindra marketing manager of Mahindra USA, the company is experiencing a "dramatic increase in consumer sales," and the Calhoun location will facilitate handling the volume. The Calhoun facility will perform the same production activities, including final assembly and pre-delivery inspections, as the company's Tomball headquarters. Quick Start and Coosa Valley Technical College have partnered with Mahindra USA to train the new employees. MedSource Renovations to Benefit Northwest Georgia MedSource Technologies is renovating its facilities in Trenton and will be creating 38 new jobs for Dade County and surrounding areas. MedSource has partnered with Northwestern Technical College and Quick Start to train the new employees, whose work will support the company's new clean room and manufacturing projects. "Of all the states in which we do business, Georgia ranks with the best for providing support to industry via the Quick Start program through Northwestern Technical College," said Tom Parker, VP and general manager of operations for Minneapolisbased MedSource Technologies. The company provides research and development, design and manufacturing solutions for its clients in the medical device industry. Northwestern Technical College President Dr. Ray Brooks said, "We are pleased to be working with MedSource Technologies. Dade County is extremely important to us at Northwestern Technical College." From left, standing: Jay Brown, MedSource director of manufacturing; Kevin Casey, MedSource controller; and Al Hutchinson, Northwestern Tech VP of economic development. Seated, from left: Jeff Lynn, Quick Start director of northern operations; Tom Parker, Medsource VP and general manager; and Ray Brooks, Northwestern Tech president Mestek Jobs Fly to Wrens With Quick Start's help, manufac- turer Mestek Inc. will produce a new line of ventilation products at its Wrens plant. Quick Start will be pro- viding job training for approximately 45 new employees in collaboration with Sandersville Technical College. "We feel very fortunate to be located in Georgia, where we have Quick Start," said Mestek Plant Manager Emerson W. Hobgood at the recent training agree- ment signing in Wrens. "Quick Start is a big part of why we moved the product here." Marla Lowe, Quick Start executive director, economic development programs and Leigh Evans, Sandersville Technical College's VP of Economic Development, praised the three-way partnership. "We're very excited to be a part of creating new jobs." said Lowe. Evans shared her enthusiasm, saying, "I look forward to seeing this pro- Marla Lowe, Quick Start executive director, economic development programs, speaks with Emerson W. Hobgood, plant manager of Mestek's Wrens facility. ject as it grows," she said. "This is just the beginning." 3 Events New Jobs at BOA American BOA of Cumming is adding 38 new jobs for Forsyth County and surrounding areas. The expanding workforce will accommodate the company's new assembly and laser welding projects. BOA has partnered with Lanier Technical College and Quick Start to train the new workers. Frederick Berg, president of American BOA, said, "Ten to 15 years ago, we competed with companies from other states. Now we compete with companies all over the world. Lanier Technical College and Quick Start are important to our success, because they help us prepare our employees to compete with other well-prepared, welltrained people worldwide." A subsidiary of IWKA of Germany, American BOA specializes in engineering and producing hightech, thin-walled, flexible metal components and systems for automotive and industrial applications. "We are pleased to be working with American BOA again," said Dr. Mike Moye, president of Lanier Technical College. "Forsyth County is extremely important to Lanier Tech and our economic development efforts in Northeast Georgia." Training for Turner's in Tifton From left: Richard Fountain, Quick Start project operations manager; Fortson Turner, Turner's Fine Furniture Tifton store owner and manager; and Robert Craft, Moultrie Tech interim president A well-known Moultrie business is adding 30 new jobs to Tift County and the surrounding area. Turner's Fine Furniture signed a training agreement with Quick Start for its warehousing and distribution facility in Tifton. Quick Start will design, develop and deliver job-specific training, in addition to core skills and distribution center operations training for the company to enhance the produc- tivity and efficiency of Turner's employees. Moultrie Technical College will provide follow-up training and classroom space. Although it began as a hardware business in Pelham in 1915, Turner's Fine Furniture soon incorporated quality furniture, which is manufactured in Tifton and sold in South Georgia and North Florida. Introsul Trains for New Product Line Specialty bath product manufacturer Introsul has signed an agreement with Quick Start to train approximately 160 new employees at its Perry plant. The employees will be trained to work with a new line of advanced cast polymer bath products developed by Introsul and marketed by DuPont Surfaces. "We are confident that our partnership Don Svoboda, Introsul president and CEO with DuPont will allow us to dramatically increase sales and production of our product," said Don Svoboda, president and CEO of Introsul. "This, in turn, can only have a pos- itive economic impact on this community, which is so important to me." Billy G. Edenfield, president of Middle Georgia Technical College, is confident the job training will help. "A trained workforce is absolutely essential," he said. Enforcer Adds Positions in Bartow County Frederick Berg, American BOA president, demonstrates one of the flexible metal components his Cumming plant produces 4 QUICK START SUMMER 2003 Enforcer, a division of Acuity Specialty Products Group, Inc., has partnered with North Metro Technical College and Quick Start to develop an extensive training program for its Emerson facility. The company is adding 50 new jobs for the Bartow County area. Training will include manufacturing and logistic process training, job aids, industrial safety, employee involvement, productivity enhancement, leadership, From left: Jim McKenzie, Enforcer VP of supply chain; Steve Dougherty, North Metro Tech president; Connie Smith, North Metro Tech VP of economic development; Mark Bachmann, Enforcer president; and Jeff Lynn, Quick Start director of northern operations and instructor training. North Metro Tech will provide follow-up training. Enforcer is one of the nation's largest producers of pest control, lawn and garden products and specialty cleaners. In the last 20 years, Enforcer increased its product base to more than 500 different products. Cover Story Continued from page 1 Albany facility," says Sun Clinton, M.Ed., CEDT, Quick Start's senior multimedia-based training developer. "We worked with Masterfoods to develop paperless training via the company's intranet." The Quick Start and Masterfoods USATM partnership led to an effective e-learning program designed to train the company's associates how to make the new Snickers Marathon energy bar. Quick Start's multimedia "Quick Start was instru- mental in helping us get more than 60 new employees onboard and trained." Mark Lambeth, APAC training is computer-based technology that mixes text, audio, video, animation and high-resolution graphics. This type of training engages on many levels. When a person sees, hears and interacts with what he or she is learning, the experience is memorable. And actual training time can be reduced, in part because employees set their own pace. Quick Start's training also included instruction in Microsoft Project, which benefited Masterfoods in numerous ways. "Our partnership with Quick Start has been a positive experience," says Oscar Harrell, Masterfoods USATM personnel manager. "It's encouraged our associates who had previously used computers on a limited basis to use them more. It also has made the way we store [information] more efficient and easier, cutting down on time spent entering data. It's an effective way of communicating and helps us trace line performance problems." Once the company's multimediabased training needs are assessed, Quick Start training experts create storyboards depicting how individual steps will be taught for specific skills. After the storyboards are approved, Quick Start's Creative Services team swings into action, creat- ing state-of-the-art animations and graphics. These are then married to text that teaches employees step by step how to accomplish specific tasks, from mixing the ingredients for food products, such as the Snickers Marathon bar produced by Masterfoods USATM, to creat- ing custom soft skills training, as Quick Start did for APAC. APAC is a diversified group of companies that provide quality construction services and products. The corporation operates in 14 Midwestern and Southeastern states, providing paving and bridge construction services and construction materials. For APAC's new Alpharetta service facility, the Quick Start team designed and executed multimedia, instructor and Web-based soft skills train- ing, in areas such as customer service, business writing and stress management. "Quick Start was instrumen- tal in helping us get more than 60 new employees onboard and trained when we opened our shared service center in Rockwell Automation needed training for its employees that was accessible anytime and anyplace. Quick Start designed an on-line system that puts critical information Alpharetta," says Mark on the manufacturing floor. Lambeth, an APAC training manager. "They've helped us together and puts it on the manufac- tremendously. All the evaluations turing floor via computer terminals. have been very good and Quick Because employees have access Start has been easy to work with in to training information continu- terms of customizing materials and ously, the production line is more being responsive to our needs." efficient. "This way, learning can For Rockwell Automation, man- continue and is not limited to the ufacturers of printed circuit board classroom," says Joe Thomas, one assemblies, Quick Start provided an of the company's manufacturing on-line training system for their unit leaders. "It's out on the floor facility in Dublin. The system ties all in an integrated environment and of the company's information systems accessible at all times." 5 Service Industry Generating Support High-tech center opens in record time with aid in training New York-based Computer Generated Solutions (CGS) recently celebrated the grand opening of a technical support center that exemplifies a fast-track project with state-of-the-art technology, adding 200 jobs to DeKalb County. Quick Start reinforced its reputation for fast action by training the center's newly hired agents in only one month. By the time the center began taking calls, workers were well-versed in both the technical and soft skills needed to assure CGS's client -- a major computer equipment supplier -- that customers would be treated correctly right from the start. With county dignitaries, company executives and employees on hand, the June 14 gathering featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony and barbeque. Displaying a large American flag, David Brandt, senior VP of Outsourcing Services, said, "This is a symbol of our great country, and it's a symbol of all of you and your hard work." "The reason we came to Georgia is the tremendous pool of employees," said CGS President Phil Friedman. "Atlanta is a thriving metropolis, and the real estate market is affordable. But the most important element is human resources, people who are talented, well-educated and eager to work." David Brandt, senior VP of Outsourcing Services Friedman also praised the many individuals who worked intensely to get the center up and running. "This facility was planned and built in 60 days. We were able to hire 200 new employees in record time, and also train and orient them to make sure they have the skills to do their jobs." Each technical support representative received 64 hours of Quick Start training. Topics included a profile of the company, customer Phil Friedman, CGS president, and Mary Tucker, technical support center manager, officially open the new CGS technical support center service overview, telephone service skills and managing difficult customer situations. Most importantly, employees learned about the processes and procedures of technical support systems. In addition, each supervisor received 20 hours of Quick Start training in behavioral and job interviewing, as well as call center coaching. The new CGS facility uses the latest call center, network, voice and data technologies. It also features such employee amenities as a recreation area, dining space and classrooms for ongoing training. Mary Tucker, manager of the technical support center, said that Quick Start "worked tirelessly to ensure that all the agents were properly trained." Tucker praised the Quick Start staff who implemented the training and presented training coordinator Deborah Hall with a special partnership award. "We are grateful for all your work," Tucker said. "I'm looking forward to a long-term relationship with Quick Start." 6 QUICK START SUMMER 2003 Partner's Perspective Your Best Job Might be Waiting on You By Mike Adkinson Many people are concerned about current economic trends that are causing some jobs to be lost from Georgia and I will not make light of that concern. There are tremendous pressures to keep costs low, and this is being felt most acutely in areas of unskilled labor where wages are very low. However, retention of low wage jobs is not really a goal of Georgia's future. What is a part of Georgia's future is the development of ideas that will energize its economy, and cultivate and maintain a skilled, highly educated labor force. I believe I have one of the best jobs in the state of Georgia. I attend meetings, briefings, conferences and even celebrations where new ideas are being discussed and explained. I get to see the enthusiasm of people who are excited about being part of something that is intended to make life, work, community, government or school better, easier or more effective. I have watched as a science teacher in Savannah explained new techniques she used to get elementary students (and their parents) excited about math and physics. I sat among local citizens in LaGrange as they committed time, energy and resources to the creation of projects that would result in economic development successes in their hometown. I sat on a can in a factory in Gainesville and watched as managers recognized (and rewarded) an invention made by one of the employees to improve their product. I was present when community leaders in Fitzgerald discussed ways to support innovative ideas that would result in the creation of new companies within their communities. I saw the sparkle in the eyes of a fellow from Americus who is building a device that solves a big problem for corn farmers. Just last week, I reviewed the results of a fellow who had the idea of devoting himself to becoming an expert in a new Microsoft product and within 18 months he had developed a very profitable business for himself and others. And there are many, many more examples available. None of this is new. Georgia's history is rich with examples of brilliant new ideas for products and solutions. Experiencing a shortage of labor to process cotton from the fields of coastal Georgia inspired Eli Whitney to invent the cotton gin. In the same region, Henry Ford actualized his thinking about mass production of the automobile. Let us also remember that Georgians' ideas led to the first personal computer (Ed Roberts, Cochran), the creation of the modem device that enabled personal computers to communicate over phone lines (Dennis Hayes, Norcross) and the world-altering impact of 24-hour news service (Ted Turner, Atlanta). And Quick Start has pioneered a program for workforce training that is a model for the nation. Each month, TechLINKS magazine publishes a list of new patents that have been registered and approved for Georgians, and each month that list gets better. The ideas become richer, more applicable, more relevant to problems that need solutions. Within your community right now, there are people creating and developing new ideas that have great potential. Investors and venture capitalists will not likely acknowledge most of those ideas, like those of Eli Whitney and Ed Roberts, but these ideas could create new fields and new jobs. There are so many new ideas coming from the citizens of our great state that maybe it's time we examine our communities and ask ourselves if we are finding more ways to acknowledge new ideas. If not, now is a good time to inspire others to take action. By the way, this job I enjoy so much? I created it. I envisioned TechLINKS and made it a reality, first on the Internet, and now also in a glossy, bimonthly magazine. Look around, identify a real need, develop a plan and make it happen! Mike Adkinson is editor and founder of TechLINKS, a magazine and information resource service dedicated to covering Georgia technology. For more information, visit their web site, www.techlinks.net. 7 DELIVERY SYSTEM 34 Technical Colleges With Multiple Campuses 4 University System Colleges With Technical Divisions Kenneth H. Breeden, Commissioner Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education www.georgiaquickstart.org Quick Start Project Announcements ... Serving communities throughout Georgia Adairsville: Daiki, maker of sub assemblies for the tractor industry, is expanding and adding approximately 25 new employees. Augusta: Monsanto, makers of bovine somatotropin, a natural product that increases milk production in dairy cows, is expanding operations and adding 16 new jobs. Carrollton: Wal-Mart.com is adding 40 new jobs to its Carrollton distribution center. Cartersville: Samuel/Sekisui Jushi Strapping LLC is expanding its plastic strapping products operation and hiring 18 employees. Cedartown: HON Industries, makers of metal and wood office furniture, is installing new equipment and receiving Quick Start training. Cordele: MBM Corporation will be training approximately 80 new employees for a new food and restaurant supply distribution center that will serve 27 different restaurant chains. Covington: Nisshinbo Automotive Corp., which makes brake parts, is adding 15 jobs. Doraville: General Motors is changing technologies and gearing up for a new model launch. Quick Start will develop and deliver training programs for its Doraville workforce. Jefferson: Caterpillar, makers of earth-moving equipment and engines, is adding a production line and creating approximately 20 new jobs. Lavonia: Kautex Textron is creating 55 new jobs at its automotive reservoir plant. Marietta/Kennesaw: Stewart & Stevenson TUG is adding 30 new jobs and expanding its manufacturing of airport ground support equipment. Oakwood: Kubota Distribution is re-engineering its tractor and equipment assembly line and Quick Start will train its employees to work the new line. Thomaston: DUNI, the leader in the plastic travel utensil business, is adding 50 new jobs. Toccoa: Coats and Clark, makers of cotton and synthetic sewing thread, zippers and sewing aids, is expanding operations and adding 75 jobs. Valdosta: American Drill Bushings Co. is hiring 60 employees for its new plant, where drill bushings, safety hoist rings, safety lifting devices, tooling components, and lifting rings and lugs for lifting equipment will be produced. Georgia Quick Start 1800 Century Place Suite 300 Atlanta, GA 30345 404.679.2915 8