Southern Automotive Alliance April/May 2018

APRIL / MAY 2018

The Georgia Ports Authority Power that brings cars to America

VISION

Jack Sisk says the industry’s future is about improving manufacturing processes

Industry Outlook

As the president imposes tariffs, is the automotive sector bracing for impact?

CAROLYN VOISIN

OF ROYLCO:

Car components for major OEMs are just the beginning for this South Carolina company

A PUBLICATION FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY BusinessAlabama.com | 11 APRIL/MAYApril 2018 / 2012 Southern Automotive Alliance

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april.may

2018

Supplier Profiles 48 Mann+Hummel

At this Dunlap, Tennessee company its all about the team

volume 3 number 2

50 Creative License Roylco proves that a company can do more than one thing well with an imaginative approach

Faces of the Industry 52 Macy and Molly Williams

A tale of two sisters, two automotive career paths and two NASA rovers

54 Angela Crain

This workforce development coordinator at Ridgeland Mississippi’s Holmes Community College can’t say enough about how she loves her work Working out of a reclaimed textile industry cut and sew plant, Carolyn Voisin’s S.C. company Roylco makes insulation for various automakers, and more.

Features Bob Rolfe of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development shows how automotive puts his state on the map

26 INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

All this talk of tariffs and trade war makes some automotive experts concerned about the road ahead

30 SUSTAINABILITY

Suppliers Partnership for the Environment building focus on being ecofriendly and sustainable

Born into American car culture, skilled at math, music and the law, he revs up the Southern automotive sector

58 Frank Chestnut 34 BUILT BY DESIGN

20 EXECUTIVE Q&A

56 Rick Walker

Universities in Kentucky, Alabama, Texas and Arizona with the NSF to make future vehicles even smarter

38 SPOTLIGHT

The Georgia Ports Authority handles arrivals and departures for thousands of cars annually, coming to or leaving the U.S.

46 INDUSTRY NEWS

Amid the rush toward autonomous vehicles, federal regulators urged to keep hands on the wheel

60 VISION

Jack Sisk sees a need to streamline technological innovation in the automotive industry

Listening, training, leading while he travels Alabama promoting apprenticeship

Departments 10 From the Editor 12 Benchmarks/News Hub 62 Expert View 64 Regional Reports 70 Kudos 71 Career Notes 72 Industry Indicators 74 By the Numbers 75 Index 76 Vintage

ON THE COVER: Canadian transplant Carolyn Voisin brought her family and family business to South Carolina where her company helps make riding in a car a lot quieter.

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From the Editor

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he automotive industry is always good for a few surprises. Aside from interesting design choices, innovative manufacturing processes, or even sales figures, this sector of the economy can be the source of any number of facts that you might categorize as “the unexpected.”

For example, would it surprise you to know that a major automotive OEM is also behind a grueling contest of wills and endurance played out every few years between professionals — not grinding out miles on rugged test tracks or twisting asphalt — but on the sea?

It’s called the Volvo Ocean Race, and what began in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race has been sponsored since 2001 by the well-known maker of Swedish luxury vehicles. I called it grueling, but that may be an understatement.

“The Volvo race is known for being absolutely terrible for the human body.

There are a lot of physiological consequences to living this race,” said Neil Maclean-Martin, the “Human Performance Manager” for the VOR team fielded this year by Dongfeng, a Chinese state-owned motor vehicle company, being quoted in a Forbes article. “Altered sleep patterns, physical demands, mental stress. That’s why it’s such a powerful event, because not everyone can do it. It is very extreme.”

My other car is a vintage 2001 Djuice Dragons racing yacht – or maybe they just let me drive The race, which happens to be going on even as you read these words, pits one briefly teams of professional sailors, men and women against not only rival teams, but against the elements. They spend eight months at sea, racing 24 hours a day, stopping at ports in cities around the world, pushing racing durable 73-foot long yachts designed – under Volvo’s direction - to slice through the water like a sports car might through the streets of Monte Carlo. Those who make it will have traveled 45,000 nautical miles.

I covered the race in 2001-2002 for the most unexpected venue – Southern Living magazine, which sent me to Gothenburg, Sweden, Volvo’s headquarters, to write about it. That brush with the unexpected side of the automotive industry was a surprising one to say the least. But it was hardly the last.

In this issue of Southern Automotive Alliance, for instance, we bring you a few more surprises from automotive, the first also involving the ocean: The Georgia Ports Authority, which operates entry ports along the East Coast, brings more than a million cars into the country from across the sea each year. We take a nice long look at it in this issue.

Here’s another surprise: The same equipment that creates insulation for the doors of Toyotas, Teslas, BMWs and Chryslers can also make cool educational supplies for people who may be too young to drive. We profile the womanowned supplier in South Carolina that makes it happen.

How about this for a surprise: automakers and suppliers care about the environment! Maybe that’s not surprising to you, but in case you need to prove it, look no further than the efforts of Suppliers Partnership for the Environment which is championing sustainability and saving ecosystems sharing the land with factory sites. We give you a report out of the meeting SP held recently at the GM plant in Spring Hill, TN. And if those surprises aren’t enough to get your heartrate up, there’s always our Industry Outlook – it’s about trade and tariffs – or our slightly shocking story of how one company’s dreams of an electric car led them to build the very first automobile in Louisville, KY. Considering that the last development happened about 100 years ago, it’s obvious that surprises are nothing new in the automotive industry, which we believe – and we expect you agree – always bears watching.

Nicholas Patterson, Editor Southern Automotive Alliance To subscribe at no cost and receive future issues via mail, visit southernautomotivealliance.com

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PUBLISHER Walker Sorrell EDITOR Nicholas Patterson npatterson@pmtpublishing.com ART DIRECTOR Rebecca Reeves DESIGN EDITOR Cathy Still McGowin WEB PRODUCER Abby Parrott EDITORIAL STAFF Dave Helms, Stephen Potts, Erica West, Chris McFadyen ADMINISTRATION Molly Lipski Powell CIRCULATION Anita Miller ACCOUNTING Keith Crabtree ADVERTISING SALES Staci Moseley 205-802-6363 Ext. 103 smoseley@pmtpublishing.com Mark Singletary 205-807-3574 msingletary@pmtpublishing.com INTEGRATED MEDIA & EVENTS Sheila Wardy, 205-802-6363 Ext. 108 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 bimonthly by PMT Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright 2018 by PMT Publishing Co., 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.

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TEXT BY: DAVE HELMS

Industry Benchmarks

German Supplier With 300 Years’ Experience Opens In Alabama

South Carolina BMW Plant Now U.S. Leading Automotive Exporter

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MW Manufacturing Co. in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, is now the leading automotive exporter in the United States, with 272,346 BMW X models exported last year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The operation, which moved into Spartanburg County in 1994 with a 600-worker profile, has made the area a vital hub of the automotive industry. “BMW has an enormous multiplier effect on South Carolina in terms of its ability to scale up employment because of the well-developed automotive supply chain that’s cropped up around (the plant,)” Joey Von Nessen, research economist with the University of South Carolina, told Gatehouse Media. “That allows it to have access to these global markets and tap into that global demand that leads to additional economic activity within the state.”

The Spartanburg facility exported 272,346 BMW X models in 2017, with nearly 87 percent flowing through the Port of Charleston. The vehicles represented an export value of approximately $8.76 billion, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

BMW said in June that it would add another 1,000 jobs and invest $600 million in the plant as part of a plan to boost annual production to as many 450,000 vehicles. n

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GLOBAL FIRMS SWEAT TARIFFS President Donald Trump in early March announced a plan to make good on campaign promises by imposing a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum. The Association of Global Automakers — representing international automakers and suppliers doing business in the U.S. that includes Toyota, Honda

and others — has urged against tariffs and quotas saying they could force up auto prices.

TEXAS WEIGHS IN ON TARIFFS An editorial appearing the day after tariffs were announced by the Trump administration in The Monitor of McAllen, Texas cited a report by Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar noting that Texas manufacturing contributed $218 billion to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016,

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uto supplier MöllerTech moved in March 13 at the Scott G. Davis Industrial Park in Bibb County, unveiling a 150,000-square-foot, $46.3 million manufacturing facility expected to create 222 jobs. The German company has promised it will serve as a flagship facility, the model for similar MöllerTech operations around the world.

Right next door, Mercedes-Benz is constructing a Global Logistics Center and an after-sales North American hub in the park. Just down the road in Tuscaloosa County, of course, is the Mercedes-Benz plant where a $1.3 billion expansion announced in 2015 will increase capacity and efficiency with another $1 billion investment is set for electric vehicles.

MöllerTech, now in its third century, has been doing business with Mercedes-Benz since the 1950s and currently has a contract with the luxury automaker for $270 billion. The Woodstock plant will be building interior parts for Mercedes SUVs but the company also supplies Audi, BMW, Daimler, GM, Honda, Porsche, Rolls-Royce and Toyota.

“This new state-of-the-art plant has been a tremendous effort for everyone involved,” Dr. Gunther Schmidt, CEO of parent company MöllerGroup, told AL.com.

MöllerTech North American Division President Steve Jordan says about 50 jobs have been filled so far but the plant looks to be at its 222-employee target by the end of 2019. n

“an amount larger than the entire economy of Portugal.”

The editorial called for careful negotiation in revisiting the NAFTA accords.

HONDA’S 25 MILLIONTH It’s something Southerners can celebrate, even if it did happen in Marysville, Ohio.

Honda in February assembled its 25 millionth vehicle built in the U.S., a 2018 Accord, at the company’s Marysville plant. Ohio

may have been their first U.S. footprint, but Honda now has five plants in the U.S., including Alabama.

NISSAN TRUCK SALES UP Nissan Motor Co. sales fell 4 percent in February to 129,930 units, according to Autodata.

Demand for Nissan cars fell 17 percent but truck and SUV sales were up 9 percent, led by the Rogue small SUV. Nissan’s luxury Infiniti brand saw sales fall 7

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CleanTechnica Takes Automakers To Task On Pace Of Electrics

leanTechnica, the well regarded clean technologyfocused website, weighed in recently on efforts by automakers to market the new generation of electric vehicles. Compiling a vast array of sales figures from recent months, writer Zachary Shahan made this overarching conclusion: “Large automakers aren’t even trying.”

Shahan sifted through the data to find, as you might expect, that Tesla seems to be covering the most ground, despite production snags on its Model 3 efforts. Tesla Model 3 deliveries in January were thought to be around 1,500, a good bit short of the 3,000 cars it had hoped to deliver.

Still, the upstart Elon Musk company remains well ahead of the veterans. The article noted that GM, which led Big Auto for electric vehicles in 2017, only convinced 1,177 people to buy a Volt in the first month of the year.

“Really?” Shahan asks. “That’s the extent of their ability to generate consumer demand or grow production capacity for January 2018?”

Closely following Tesla in January was the Toyota Prius PHEV, with 1,496 sales. At the bottom of the CleanTechnica chart was the Ford Focus Electric, which saw sales of 73 vehicles in January.

Some companies, like Volkswagen with its e-Golf or Audi with the A3 e-tron, are showing such miniscule sales that they can’t be taken seriously outside of California. Consumers aren’t aware these cars exist or there’s no availability in most markets.

“Big Auto is trying so little to market electric vehicles and get production capacity up to scale that I have to say I’m feeling more frustrated with them now than 4 years ago,” he writes.

Shahan has high hopes for greater electrification from BMW in the next three to five years, finding hope in the company’s BMW 5 Series, which recently saw sales of 2,456 vehicles, nearly 10 percent of which were BMW 530e iPerformance plugin hybrid electric variants. Thus far the car is only available in limited markets, leaving the question of how many more could be sold on a bigger stage.

percent. Nissan assembles its full-size Titan trucks in Canton, Mississippi.

TOP FORD EXEC OUT Ford Motor Co. North American President Raj Nair was forced out of his job in February after accusations of “inappropriate behavior” arose, though few details were offered. The anonymous accusations against Nair, 53, were made to the company’s 24-hour hotline,

which launched an investigation by the company.

TOYOTA SALES UP IN FEBRUARY Toyota Motor Corp. sales rose 4.5 percent in February to 182,195 vehicles, according to Autodata information. Sales of the company’s top-seller, the Camry sedan, jumped 12 percent as an updated version went on sale. Lexus sales also rose 5 percent.

BMW currently offers six electrified models in the U.S., including the BMW i3 and BMW i8, as well as the BMW i Performance models: BMW 330e, BMW 530e, BMW 740e and the BMW X5 xDrive 40e.

Shahan concludes that while Tesla may be the electric darling, he and other electric car proponents would like to see Big Auto get moving.

Big Auto will get more inspired to make electric vehicles, of course, when car buyers show more inclination to buy them.

Speaking at the 10th annual Southern Automotive Conference in Birmingham, Alabama last fall, automotive expert Bharat Balasubramanian of the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies said consumer demand and the worldwide tightening of air quality regulations would make electric cars a reality.

Balasubramanian predicted a shift to 48 volt systems over the next 10 years with emphasis on plug-in hybrid vehicles. n

MERCEDES TO SKIP DETROIT Mercedes-Benz decided recently to sit out the iconic Detroit auto show for 2019. The top-selling luxury car maker noted in a statement that it continuously reviews the platforms it uses to reach out to customers.

TENNESSEE SCHOOLED ALABAMA Alabama may be celebrating its recent win to acquire a $1.6 billion Toyota-Mazda facility in

Limestone County, but as the dust settled several lawmakers and city officials noted that the victory came in part because of changes made after Volkswagen picked Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2008 for its $1 billion plant to assemble Passats. Alabama just wasn’t ready when VW came around but the experience taught those involved a number of lessons, particularly about infrastructure, job training and incentives.

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BE N C HM A R K S

Mississippi State Crafting Self-Driving Electric Supercar

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t’s an ambitious concept: a self-driving, all-electric sport utility vehicle, but that’s what a team of Mississippi State University students is now working on at the school’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems.

Known as the “Halo Project,” the supercar is the newest example of MSU’s expertise in creating automotive ingenuity.

The vehicle will be armed with an on-board NVIDIA supercomputer that will guide it along roads and even off-road environments without human intervention.

MSU is pursuing the project to sharpen the skills of its young engineering students and create vehicles that operate more safely and give new options to the disabled.

The term “Halo” has solid stock in the automotive world, the project lead told James Carskadon of the MSU news agency.

“When a car company produces a high-end vehicle that showcases all of its greatest technology, built to celebrate a brand’s engineering prowess, that vehicle is called a halo car.

This new project is MSU’s halo car,” says Matthew Doude, CAVS associate director and Halo Project lead. “The halo car highlights MSU’s advanced engineering capabilities and demonstrates how research partnerships are helping us drive new technologies to the forefront.”

CAVS Executive Director Clay Walden says the project keeps MSU at the global level of automotive research being done on electric and self-driving cars.

Students “are not just learning the theory underlying new technologies, but are actually experiencing the challenges of implementation and integration.”

According to Doude, features of the car will include: Navigation over a wide variety of terrain autonomously using a sensor array with LiDAR, radar and cameras. Four LiDAR sensors will create detailed 3D maps of the vehicle’s

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TEXAS NOT FLAT ENOUGH? An amazing 22 states chased the Toyota-Mazda plant pitching 100 different sites, and no doubt many fell just short of the one eventually picked near Huntsville, Alabama. A Toyota North America official told the Dallas Morning News that the company had to consider logistical factors, like how close the site was to rail, highways, and whether it was flat enough.

VW SALES UP 6 PERCENT Volkswagen brand sales rose 6 percent in February to 26,660 units, according to Autodata.

Volkswagen is experimenting with more SUVs as consumers move away from sedans; sales of its Touareg midsize SUV were up 14 percent in February.

TRUCK LOVERS OF THE SOUTH Many automakers in recent years have lived by the highticket pickup truck, and several

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surroundings, while stereo cameras will serve as the car’s eyes and help it recognize and classify objects.

Radar will allow the vehicle to see better through rain and snow, as well as identify types of terrain in front of the vehicle. All of the sensor data goes into an onboard supercomputer, provided by NVIDIA. David Zhu, a senior mechanical A next-generation lithium ion engineering major from Clinton, is one of the Mississippi State battery produced by MichiganUniversity students working on based A123, an international leader the ‘Halo Project’ supercar, an in battery technology, enabling all-electric and self-driving sport utility vehicle. (Photo by Megan the vehicle to travel an estimated Bean/Mississippi State University) 230 miles on a single charge. The battery has more than 50 percent more energy capacity than the previous generation.

Four electric motors powering each wheel individually and providing over 10,000 newton meters of torque. Built by YASA, the engines are meshed with high-power inverters made by Rinehart Motion Systems.

Hewland Engineering of Berkshire, United Kingdom is providing torque transmissions and Clinton Body shop will deck out the vehicle with appropriate supercar paint.

The Halo Project has been under way for about a year and Doude says the goal is for the SUV to be finished as early as this year, so it can be put on display at automotive conferences and meetings. n

Southern states are doing more than their part to help, according to Kelly Blue Book. In 2017, according to KBB data, General Motors sold 260,000 pickup trucks in Texas, 20.7 percent of the state’s total vehicle sales. GM sells a third of its trucks in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas.

HYUNDAI RECALLS SUVS Hyundai in late February announced a recall affecting nearly 44,000 SUVs for a steering problem that involves Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport SUVs manufactured between July and October 2017 at the company’s Alabama-based manufacturing plant. The steering-wheel assembly in certain instances may break, possibly resulting in the steering wheel separating from the steering column while driving.

Honda Still Values The Human Element

DENSO Plans 320 New Jobs, $190M Investment In Athens Facility

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orldwide automotive supplier DENSO announced in late February it would greatly expand its operations in Athens, Tennessee, creating 320 additional jobs and investing $190 million at its McMinn County operation.

The DENSO expansion will bring four new production lines to the Athens plant, supplementing the company’s ability to produce and deliver auto parts across North America.

Fuel injectors, fuel pumps, oxygen sensors, ignition coils, monolithic carriers and spark plugs are among the products made at DENSO Athens.

Japan-based DENSO has three locations in Tennessee—Maryville, Athens and Jackson, employing about 4,500 overall. It has repeatedly upgraded its facilities, most recently announcing a $1 billion investment at Maryville, creating 1,000 jobs linked to electrification and safety systems.

“Increasing our capacity to manufacture products closer to customers in North America will continue to power DENSO’s growth in the region,” Hugh Cantrell, director of Administrative Services for DENSO Manufacturing Athens Tennessee, told news organizations. “This investment strengthens one of our key production centers. Athens has played a major role producing and supplying our customers with key components in fuel delivery, ignition, and exhaust gas systems.”

DENSO’s investment in Tennessee was about $3 billion before the February announcement. n

TENNESSEE LOOKING SOLID Tennessee manufacturing employment has increased for the sixth year in a row, according to fresh data from Manufacturers’ News Inc., which says the Volunteer State added 3,251 jobs in the last 12 months, a 1 percent increase. Auto suppliers also had a good year in Tennessee, with the opening of Korea-based Hankook Tire’s first U.S. plant in Clarksville.

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ure, he just launched a car into space using the most powerful rocket ship ever created on Earth, but there are less appealing aspects to Tesla CEO Elon Reeve Musk. His plan to build cars using no humans, for instance.

Musk, quoted in many places, makes it clear people don’t fit in his vision of automotive architecture. They would be on the sidelines, paying attention to what the robots are doing, but not on the line. ‘’We are pushing robots to the limit in terms of the speed that they can operate at, and asking our suppliers to make robots go way faster, and they are shocked because nobody has ever asked them that question. It’s like if you can see the robot move, it’s too slow.”

Nearly all auto manufacturers use robots for welding and painting.

Honda Motor Co., which won the North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show recently with its 2018 Honda Accord, has chosen to keep things human on the final assembly line, where constantly changing accessory installations and tight spaces rule the day.

“We can’t find anything to take the place of the human touch and of human senses like sight, hearing and smell,” Tom Shoupe, the COO of Honda’s Ohio manufacturing unit, told Automotive News. n

NEW CHIEF AT HONDA Honda Manufacturing of Alabama on April 1 is welcoming Tsutomu “Morty” Morimoto, formerly president of Honda of Canada Mfg., as the new HMA president in Lincoln, Alabama.

Morimoto replaces Jeff Tomko, who will now serve as senior vice president and regional division manager of the North America New Model Engineering Division in Marysville, Ohio.

TOPRE AMERICA TO EXPAND Automotive OEM supplier Topre America Corp. will do an $80 million expansion of its Cullman, Alabama operations, creating 98 jobs, the company recently announced. The added capacity will accommodate a new production line to supply parts for the 2018 Altima, being built at the Smyrna, Tenn.

Nissan plant. Topre will install a new press line and machining equipment on an extra press pit,

according to news reports, with construction commencing in mid-2018.

HYUNDAI SIMPLIFIES SHOPPING Hyundai recently rolled out its Shopper Assurance program, which offers new buying options and a three-day money-back guarantee. Hyundai began the program last year in four markets, and the initial data suggested that 94 percent of

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BE N C HM A R K S

Volkswagen Commits $25 Billion To EV Push

Tennessee Shows Its Strength At Industry Show

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his spring has seen a wave of promised investment from automakers looking to up their EV game. Volkswagen jumped on that wave in mid-March with the announcement that it would commit $25 billion for battery supplies and plans to outfit 16 electronic vehicle factories by the end of 2022.

That puts the German automaker fully in the race, especially since it had only three plants of the sort at the time of the announcement.

According to website TechCrunch, Volkswagen has sought out battery suppliers from its two largest markets, Europe and China, suggesting that its EV push will center on those regions.

Brand CEO Herbert Diess has been quoted by industry sources as saying that the company’s Chattanooga, Tennessee assembly plant is the company’s first choice to build EVs in North America.

Bloomberg reported at about the same time that Volkswagen is looking to buy $60 billion in EV batteries in total and produce as many as 3 million electric cars per year by the middle of the next decade.

The company’s EV plan is based on VW’s MEB platform, the platform of all its I.D. electric cars and other models in the larger VW family.

The MEB platform was designed to be affordably modified from light compacts to sedans and SUVs. n

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customers either loved or liked the changed-up car-buying process.

JOBS IN THE FERTILE CRESCENT A vast number of automotive jobs are contained in the intersection of south Tennessee, north Alabama and north Mississippi. In particular, new plants from Toyota-Mazda and Bocar recently had labor officials in those areas talking about

how the supply of qualified autoworkers would hold. But labor experts are optimistic.

“High-wage, high-skill jobs usually recruit well, despite low unemployment rates,” Alabama Labor Department Secretary Fitzgerald Washington recently told the Associated Press.

TOYOTA SHIFTS PROFIT FORECAST Toyota Motor Corp. foresees a near doubling of profit for

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he 30th annual Knox News Auto Show welcomed thousands of automotive fans in late February to displays from 20 different manufacturers over three days in Knoxville.

The Volunteer State is home to GM, Nissan and Volkswagen assembly lines that give work to nearly 20,000 people. The show let visitors admire more than 200 cars and a wealth of newtech displays in a “no pressure” environment, according to organizers. As part of that vibe, Toyota and Chevrolet offered no-cost, noobligation test drives of certain models, including Toyota’s brand-new C-HR. The show offered connectivity and driver safety features of the Atlas and Passat models, made at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga factory. Now standard on all Atlas and Passat models is the MIB II touch-screen infotainment system, the new basis for Volkswagen’s Car-Net connected vehicle service. MIB includes a rear-view camera, Bluetooth compatibility and navigation. For higher-end Passats and the Atlas, a feature called Car-Net will run your smartphone apps, provide security and service, and offer navigation and travel advice.

About 12,000 visitors were expected to pass through the displays by the end of the show’s run. n

the fiscal third quarter and has elevated its annual profit projection through March to $22 billion, a record high for the Japanese automaker. Toyota reported October-December profit of $8.6 billion.

FORD LEANS AWAY FROM SEDANS According to Bloomberg, Ford Motor Co. plans to pivot away from sedans, shrinking its passenger-car lineup in favor

of low-volume, high-margin models. In recent years car buyers have shown preference across the board for SUVS and crossovers that offer more space and horsepower.

VW BEEFS UP INITIATIVE Eight more Tennessee schools in Hamilton County have been selected by Volkswagen to receive digital fabrication equipment as part of the German automaker’s eLabs

Spring Revs Up At Barber Motorsports

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pring officially arrived Tuesday, bringing with it the smell of gasoline and the sounds of revving race engines at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham.

Barber Motorsports Park geared up for the 2018 racing season with a test session on Tuesday for the IndyCar teams that will compete in the annual Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 20-22. And while that is undoubtedly the biggest event of the year for BMP — attracting an international television audience and more than 80,000 fans over three days — officials invited members of the media to the track to remind them that the race is far from the only thing taking place at the facility.

In fact, BMP is used between 270 and 280 days each

year, according to Don Erwin, vice president of corporate development for The Barber Companies. That includes car conventions, vehicle debuts (where manufacturers roll out a new model for the media) and the filming of commercials (Hyundai has used the track to film Super Bowl ads).

BMP also is the site of the Porsche Sport Driving School of North America, the largest Porsche school in the world. More than 23,000 people have attended the school since it opened in 2003, with 92 percent of participants coming from outside Alabama, Erwin says.

Media visitors were allowed to climb behind the wheel of these sleek machines on Tuesday and take them for a spin through a curvy course (the precision handling is amazing), as well as enjoy the souped-up acceleration of a Porsche that can go from 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. Trust me, the car is a rocket and the experience is a blast.

Also, BMP officials Tuesday announced that the British auction house Bonhams will present a classic motorcycle auction at BMP on Oct. 6, in conjunction with the annual Barber Vintage Festival. The festival itself attracts approximately 70,000 people over three days for an event that Erwin says is “a combination of motorcycle racing and a big carnival.” –Cary Norton n

Watchdog Calls Out Robot Cars Over Disengagement Reports

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obot cars must be monitored by a carbon-based bipedal life form behind the steering wheel who can take control, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

The California data was analyzed in a February report by the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog. The report cited Waymo, the former Google autonomous vehicle unit, which logged 352,544 autonomous miles in the state with 75 robot cars.

During that testing a driver took control 63 times, or once every 5,506 miles.

That disengagement rate changed from 2016 when Waymo’s robot cars drove 635,868 miles on California’s roads and reported

initiative. The program offers youngsters access to digital fabrication tools including automated manufacturing equipment, programmable microcomputers, renewable energy kits, 3D printers, laser cutters and other technologies.

The eLabs program is the result of a $1 million donation by Volkswagen Chattanooga and the state of Tennessee.

UPDATES IN N.Y. Two companies with ties to Southern automaking will make go big March 28 at the New York auto show. Toyota plans to unveil its tantalizingly updated RAV4 sport-utility vehicle, a model that was the best-selling non-pickup in the U.S. in 2017, according to Autodata. Nissan plans to introduce its redesigned Altima sedan, the fifth-bestselling passenger car.

124 disengagements, or one every 5,127 miles.

GM’s Cruise division plans to put robot cars in operation next year. Its testing has involved 86 cars, a total of 131,675 miles and had 105 disengagements or one every 1,254 miles.

“Despite the self-serving hype of the manufacturers, robot technology simply isn’t ready for our roads without hands-on, behind-the-wheel engagement and supervision by a human driver,” said John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy and Technology Project Director.

There’s also the crash factor. Google/Waymo autonomous vehicles had three crashes in 2017; GM Cruise logged 22 last year. n

BMW SPENDING ON TECH Automaker BMW looks to sink an amount equivalent to this year’s profits, said to be roughly in line with last year’s $13.1 billion, into developing more and better electronic and autonomous car technology.

Chief Financial Officer Nicolas Peter told journalists in early March at an annual news conference that the luxury automaker saw profits increase 10 percent last year.

GOLF BALL-SIZED TEARS Mitch Smith Chevrolet and Tony Serra Nissan in Cullman, Alabama experienced heavy hail damage during a spring storm last month. Broken windshields, pocked hoods and cracked mirror at the Chevy dealership could easily translate to a $4 million loss, officials said.

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B E N C HM A R K S

Truck & Wheel USA Gets Rolling In Vance, Creating 70 Jobs

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pain-based auto supplier Truck & Wheel Group revealed its 127,000-square-foot manufacturing site March 9 in Vance, drawing Gov. Kay Ivey and Mercedes-Benz Alabama operations chief Jason Hoff, among others, to the festivities.

Truck & Wheel USA Plant Manager Antonio Montoro thanked the town of Vance and the Tuscaloosa County

Industrial Development Authority for their support in the $30 million project, expected to create more than 70 jobs.

It’s the first U.S. operation for Truck & Wheel, which wants to expand its market as a Tier 1 supplier. The highly automated Vance factory will assemble, sequence and balance wheels for delivery to automotive assemblers.

Truck & Wheel got its start in 1998 in Europe and opened a plant in Mexico in 2015. It also has operations in Spain, Portugal, France and Germany.

Ivey put rare philosophical distance between herself and President Donald Trump at the event, throwing shade on his aluminum and steel tariffs.

“Alabama’s economy is driven in large measure by advanced manufacturing in automotive and aerospace firms, and both of those utilize a great deal of steel and alumnium,” Ivey told reporters. “These tariffs could likely be a disruptive factor between Alabama and other countries, when you break up that two-way trading partnership.” n

Kentucky’s Auto Success Cited As Proof Of NAFTA Value

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resident Donald Trump’s threats to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the decadesold partnership between the United State, Canada, and Mexico, generated some pushback in February from Kentucky’s auto industry.

Kentucky’s powerhouse of automotive activity could be threatened if the agreement, which automakers say helps keep the automaking process competitive, is abandoned, observers say.

Trump said in his State of the Union address that the administration will “work to fix bad trade deals and renegotiate new ones.” U.S. Secretary of State Steve Mnuchin has said Trump’s objective is to renegotiate the deal.

N E W S

H U B

SUBSCRIBE TO STAY ALIVE Always trying to stay ahead of auto buying trends, MercedesBenz recently announced it would offer a subscription program in the United States by the end of 2018. In an interview with Automotive News at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, a Mercedes official said customers would have the option of trading their Mercedes ride several times a year for a flat-rate subscription service.

BIG REVEAL IN NEW YORK Toyota introduced a redesigned RAV4 sport-utility vehicle and Nissan showed off its freshly styled Altima sedan in late March at the New York auto show. According to Autodata, the RAV4 was the best-selling non-pickup truck in the U.S. in 2017, and the Altima was the fifth-best-selling passenger car.

18 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, said recently that America is succeeding under NAFTA. Changes to the treaty “would clearly jeopardize those over 200,000 jobs that exist in the automotive industry in Kentucky today,” he told several news outlets.

The president and CEO of the Association of Global Automakers, John Bozzella, predicted that if the United States leaves NAFTA it will push car prices up to the detriment of auto workers. AGA represents the U.S. divisions of 12 international automakers.

Nearly three dozen Republican senators recently signed a letter urging Trump to respect NAFTA’s benefits, while noting that the deal could perhaps be modernized. n

ROLL ON, ROLL OFF The Alabama State Docks in Mobile plans to make use of a $12.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to add a feature it thinks automotive manufacturers from all over the South could employ.

It’s a vehicle-friendly loading site that will be converted from an abandoned bulk handling facility.

The feature will offer improved roll-on/roll-off accessibility at the Port of Mobile.

SURGERE TO SPONSOR ALABAMA RACES Surgere, an industry leader in visibility and control for automotive supply chains, has been named the official sponsor of the 2018 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama’s Fan Zone during the race weekend of April 20-22 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham. The Green, Ohio-based company’s sponsorship reflects the importance of Alabama to

Former Baywatch Star Questions Ride-Share Safety

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ctress Pamela Anderson is lending her celebrity to the National Limousine Association’s campaign challenging the safety reputation of ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft. The limousine group’s “Ride Responsibly” initiative features the former Baywatch star in its third public service announcement which is produced in connection with a group called PAVE – Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment.

“Terms & Conditions” is the name of the PSA, which, according to the groups, “highlights the often-horrifying lack of accountability maintained by ride-hail services and urges passengers to make themselves aware of the safety standards for these apps and their drivers.”

Anderson stars as a passenger who hails a ride, and gets

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in, only to be confronted by a driver who leans back to tell her all the “fine print” style conditions she’s agreeing to when she uses the service. She acts shocked by the revelation that the ride service is not responsible of liable for her well-being. “The terms used for this PSA were taken, in reality, directly from a popular ride-hailing app,” Ride Responsibly notes.

“Ride-hail apps have become such an integral part of daily life that we don’t often stop to consider the safety that we deserve,” Anderson is quoted as saying. “People trust these companies to provide them with a safe, convenient service and yet, the terms and conditions that we all accept absolve the companies of any responsibility. The number of attacks reported by passengers nationwide speaks for itself, and it’s time that we ask our lawmakers to take action before continuing to allow these services to operate in their jurisdictions.”

An earlier Ride Responsibly PSA focuses on “the vast number of sexual assaults reported against drivers.”

PAVE founder Angela Rose, a sexual assault survivor, said “Understanding the terms and conditions of ride-hailing apps, as well as their implications, can empower customers and the public to better protect themselves, as well as to demand better protections and safer conditions… While survivors are never responsible for the assaults against them, the drivers and their employers should absolutely be held accountable, and should be constantly working to improve.” n

Paint, Body And Equipment Supply Chain Experts To Converge In Texas

he 2018 Paint, Body and Equipment Specialists (PBES) Conference is set for May 16-18 in Austin, Texas at the Fairmont Austin hotel, connected to the Austin Convention Center.

This year’s conference theme is “Leverage Disruption,” the idea of using revolutionary concepts to help automotive parts companies thrive in the new supply chain reality. Speakers and

Surgere’s client base and to the growing impact of Alabama’s automotive industry overall.

SELF-DRIVING? NOT SO FAST In the aftermath of a fatality caused by a self-driving car, a company focused on helping drivers said the accident could have been avoided. “This appears to be a clear case of driver complacency,” said Dr. Richard Harkness, CEO of ADEPT Driver.

“In this heartbreaking case, a

driver was behind the wheel, but did not override the technology that missed seeing the pedestrian who was killed.” ADEPT Driver is the research and development company that created teenSMART and other crash avoidance training programs. “This terrible tragedy is a sad reminder of the dangers of overreliance on autonomous and semiautonomous vehicle technology,” Harkness said. According to news reports, a woman in Tempe,

breakout sessions will allow for networking and education, and panels will be offered with industry-leading executives to discuss the industry’s latest issues.

“This event is a terrific opportunity to network and share ideas with the best in the indus try while enjoying the rich culture of Austin, Texas,” according to Joe Mattos, PBES Committee chairman. For more information visit autocare.org. n

Arizona was struck and killed by a self-driving car while a vehicle operator was reportedly behind the wheel. The car was in autonomous mode. A video released by the Tempe police department shows the driver looking down, eyes off the road, for five seconds before the crash.

“This incident is a wake-up call for drivers to acquire advanced crash avoidance skills when operating cars with emerging technologies,” Harkness said.

PNC BANK TO BECOME OFFICIAL BANK OF NASCAR NASCAR and PNC Bank today announced a five-year agreement that introduces the bank as the “Official Bank of NASCAR” and “Official Wealth Management Partner of NASCAR.” The agreement provides PNC exclusive status and promotional rights around retail, corporate and private banking across the country and U.S. military bases abroad.

APRIL/MAY 2018 / Southern Automotive Alliance 19

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

all roads lead to automotive in tennessee Bob Rolfe says a central location and great transportation help make Tennessee a landmark on the automotive manufacturing map

Commissioner Bob Rolfe says the automotive sector is critical to the Volunteer State’s economic fortunes

20 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

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he Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development is unabashed in its enthusiasm for its mission: “to develop strategies that help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.” You won’t find a bigger promoter of that mission than TNECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe.

For this issue’s executive Q&A, the commissioner explains why auto-making is such an important element in the state’s economic development package.

Q: How exactly does the TNECD work with the automotive sector in Tennessee?

A: TNECD has contacts throughout the automotive sector. We step in to assist automotive companies that are exploring new or expanded facilities by providing reimbursable grants for job training, construction of public

APRIL/MAY 2018 / Southern Automotive Alliance 21

E X E C U TI V E

Q& A

Cutlines xxxxxxxxx

Hankook Tire Tennessee Plant grand opening ceremony in Clarksville, on October 17, 2017

infrastructure and other needs. Since 2011, TNECD has secured more than $7.8 billion in capital investment from automotive companies in Tennessee.

This accounts for more than 35,600 job commitments, or roughly one-infour job commitments during the past seven years.

Q: How important is automotive manufacturing to the state’s economy?

A: The automotive sector is an integral

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part of Tennessee’s economy. Three major OEMs operate assembly facilities in Tennessee: General Motors in Spring Hill, Nissan North America in Smyrna and Volkswagen in Chattanooga.

Roughly 832,800 vehicles were manufactured in Tennessee in 2016.

These major assembly plants have a ripple effect on industry throughout Tennessee, supporting more than 930 automotive supplier operations throughout the state. Approximately 134,000 Tennesseans, or one-in-three manufacturing jobs, work in the

automotive sector.

Nearly every corner of Tennessee’s economy has some tie to the automotive industry – whether it’s the large-scale operations of Tier-1 suppliers like DENSO North America,

B O B RO L F E EX E C UT I V E B I O

ob Rolfe was sworn in on March 1, 2017 by Gov. Bill Haslam to serve as the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. The department is responsible for recruiting business and industry to the state as well as Tennessee’s overall economic growth.

Rolfe has more than three decades of experience in business and investment banking in Tennessee.

Before joining TNECD, Rolfe held the position of CEO and chairman of Medical Reimbursements of America, Inc., a company that provides specialty reimbursement solutions to improve financial performance for hospitals and health systems nationwide. In addition to his CEO role, he also served as the company’s CFO, overseeing accounting and finance matters.

Prior to his time at MRA, Rolfe co-founded West End Holdings in 2011, a Nashville-based private equity partnership. From 2005 22 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

to 2011, he was chairman and CEO of MyOfficeProducts, Inc., a $125 million office supplies distributor that he grew and sold to HiTouch, Inc. He spent the first 18 years of his career as an investment banker at J.C. Bradford and Co. Alongside his work in the Nashville business community, Rolfe has been an active board member of several education, healthcare and community organizations.

He currently serves on the advisory board of Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Rolfe was previously chairman of the Oak Hill School Board. He has also served on the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens executive committee, University of Alabama College of Commerce Board of Visitors, Harpeth Hall School Board and Currey Ingram Academy School Board.

Rolfe received his E.M.B.A. from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University and his B.S. from the University of Alabama’s School of Commerce and Business Administration. He and his wife, Kathy, have been married for 33 years and have three children. He is a member of First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, where he has served as an elder for two decades.

APRIL/MAY 2018 / Southern Automotive Alliance 23

E X E C U TI V E

Q& A

Nokian Tyres announcing it would create at least 400 new jobs and invest $360 million in a Rhea County, TN facility, the largest foreign direct investment in the county’s history.

Global automotive supplier DENSO announcing it would expand its Maryville facility, creating approximately 1,000 jobs, investing $1 billion to make its Blount County facility a primary manufacturing center in North America for electrification and safety systems.

Calsonic Kansei or Magneti Marelli; the corporate headquarters of Nissan, Hankook Tire or Bridgestone Americas; or the countless familyowned automotive suppliers throughout the state.

Q: What makes Tennessee so attractive to automotive manufacturers and suppliers?

A: A combination of factors is responsible for Tennessee’s appeal to automotive manufacturers and suppliers. For starters, as more and more automotive manufacturing 24 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

has shifted to the Southern United States, Tennessee finds itself right in the center of this vibrant activity.

Tennessee’s central location and robust transportation network allows automotive suppliers to source their products to facilities within Tennessee and neighboring states. For

automakers, Tennessee’s place on the map provides them with quick access to markets all over the country. Sixty percent of the U.S. population is within a one-day drive of Tennessee.

In addition to geography, Tennessee boasts a skilled automotive workforce.

Tens of thousands of Tennesseans have been able to meet the needs of automotive companies and suppliers over the years. This track record gives automotive businesses confidence when considering a new operation in Tennessee.

The state has also introduced tuition-free, two-year technical and community college for all Tennesseans through the Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect. This is a valuable investment in our future and a commitment to maintaining and expanding our highly skilled workforce in the decades to come.

These major assembly plants have a ripple effect on industry throughout Tennessee, supporting more than 930 automotive supplier operations throughout the state. Approximately 134,000 Tennesseans, or one-in-three manufacturing jobs, work in the automotive sector.”

Q: What have you learned that makes working with the automotive sector different than other manufacturing sectors? To put it another way – how do you tailor your approach to cultivate growth and vitality in this sector?

A: Working with the automotive sector has been incredibly rewarding for our team at TNECD. The more than 900 automotive-related companies who currently call Tennessee home are laser focused on their customers and continue to invest and reinvest in R&D for the future. No other industry in Tennessee is changing as rapidly as the automotive sector due to electrification and autonomous driving vehicles.

Q: What does the future look like for car making in Tennessee?

A: The automotive industry is primed for dramatic changes over the next ten to 20 years. Industry-wide, you’ll likely see major breakthroughs with driverless vehicles and other technology. Overall, TNECD’s pipeline for new automotive projects is robust and Tennessee is well positioned to play an active role in the tech transformation of the automotive industry.

Our state has already been involved with new innovation in auto manufacturing. Nissan has manufactured its electric Leaf in Smyrna for several years. We’re beginning to see Tier-1 suppliers in Tennessee like DENSO aligning to meet the new technology demands of the automakers. DENSO is in the midst of investing $1 billion to make its Blount County facility its primary manufacturing center in North America for electrification and safety products in hybrid and electric vehicles. DENSO also recently announced a $190 million investment at its Athens, Tennessee manufacturing plant.

For more information about the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, visit their website: tecd.org n APRIL/MAY 2018 / Southern Automotive Alliance 25

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

America First?

With tariffs looming and talk of trade war, some experts see a bumpy ride ahead in the automotive industry TEXT BY: BILL GERDES

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here are, says one auto industry analyst, “some pot holes ahead” this year for the nation’s auto manufacturers.

One of the deepest is President Trump’s announcement of tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum which the president said will level the playing field for American companies and help them expand after plant closings in recent years. The president said he decided on tariffs of 25 percent for steel and 10 percent for aluminum, and that he will exempt Canada and Mexico, the United States’ partners in the

26 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The American Automotive Policy Council voiced concerns about the “unintended consequences” of these tariffs, saying they will lead to higher auto prices in the U.S. compared to competitors in other countries.

“This would place the U.S. automotive industry, which supports more than seven million American jobs, at a competitive disadvantage,” the AAPC said in statement.

The tariffs could impact Brazil, South Korea, and Russia as well, the top

The Qingdao port in China, an export facility for theAsian nation which some fear could become embroiled in open trade war with the U.S.

exporters of steel to the U.S., according to government trade data.

Mexico and Canada were granted exemptions from the tariffs because of the ongoing NAFTA renegotiation talks, which were supposed to be wrapped up last year but were extended into the first quarter of 2018.

Additional issues that may bring angst for the auto industry include slightly lower production levels for 2018, lower used car prices, a credit slow down, higher interest rates and increasing gasoline prices.

Kirstin Dziczek, director of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Industry, Labor, and Economics Group, a Michigan-based non-profit research organization, says, “Most forecasters have us reaching a plateau and motor vehicle output decline.”

Dziczek referred to an analysis on the CAR web site which says the tariffs called for by the president “are based on an investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce into the effects of steel and aluminum imports on U.S. national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended. The announced tariffs exceed the 24.7 percent and 7.7 percent tariffs recommended by the Commerce Department as an outcome of its investigation. The president’s decision to impose these

tariffs will have broad ramifications for the U.S. automotive industry.”

The CAR analysis goes on to note that “the new steel and aluminum tariffs will likely have a chilling effect on the ongoing NAFTA renegotiation. Canada and Mexico are both among the top five exporters of steel to the U.S. market, and Canada also ranks as the top exporter of unwrought, bar, and sheet aluminum to the U.S. market. The tariff actions apply to all countries, and therefore Canadian and Mexican industries will be affected.”

Dziczek notes that the NAFTA talks were supposed to wrap up last year but the parties agreed to extend them into the first quarter of 2018 and she says, “There are a couple of things coming up that could put pressure on” the NAFTA negotiations in addition to the tariff issue.

“We know that sometime in April Congress has to renew the legislation that allows the president to lead trade negotiations. Treaty negotiations are the purview of the Congress and not the president and the only way the president can do these negotiations is something called trade promotion authority that is granted to the White House to negotiate on the part of the United States, and then that treaty has to come back and be voted on by the Congress. This is commonly

Manufacturers are not prepared to absorb a sharp increase in the cost to build cars and trucks in America. The burden of these tariffs, as always, will be passed on to the American consumer. Car shoppers looking for a deal will instead find that they are paying a new tax to transport themselves and their families.”

—Cody Lusk called fast track.

“The administration goes and negotiates a treaty which goes back to Congress and Congress cannot amend or change it in any way. They can only vote up or down.”

APRIL/MAY 2018 / Southern Automotive Alliance 27

I N D US T R Y

O U TLO O K

Enacting tarriffs would place the U.S. automotive industry, which supports more than seven million American jobs, at a competitive disadvantage,” —according to the

American Automotive Policy Council

Dziczek says enabling legislation has to be enacted to allow Congress to approve a treaty and there are congressional committees that meet along the way to speed up the process.

The trade promotion authority has to be approved in April and some members of Congress who are pro free trade don’t like the protectionist bent in U.S. trade relationships and may seek to revoke the president’s trade promotion authority.

“The next thing is,” Dziczek says, “it is an election year here. This Congress is going to be running for re-election in the time period, so if they even reached a NAFTA agreement today in Mexico City they have a short period of time to ratify in the Congress and they are already running for re-election, so this is going to be very close to the election.”

Add to all that the fact that the president of Mexico is not running for re-election and the leading candidate to replace him is anti-American and a member of a far left party. “So if we pass something today, the new president in Mexico would not take office until December and we would be dealing

with a lame duck administration. So that could make things challenging,” Dziczek says.

Things are equally problematic north of the border. “And then in Canada, this summer the entire parliaments in Quebec and Ontario are up for re-election and Ontario is 75 percent of the Canadian parliament and almost 100 percent of the Canadian auto industry. Would they ratify a new NAFTA that would come back from these negotiations?”

While the stumbling NAFTA discussions and tariff boost have generated a lot of intrigue and speculation, there are practical aspects to both.

The new tariffs will no doubt increase the price of a new car, now at an average of $32,000, according to CAR, prompting some customers to instead choose used cars now at a 10-year low in average price.

The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) in a news release expressing opposition to Trump’s tariff plans, said, “Both metals are crucial to the production of cars and trucks sold in America today and would raise the sale prices of those vehicles substantially.

In addition to paying more for their vehicles, American consumers and workers can also expect to bear the brunt of the retaliatory tariffs other

countries will almost certainly place on goods manufactured and exported from the United States.

“These proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports couldn’t come at a worse time,” said AIADA President and CEO Cody Lusk in the news release.

“Auto sales have flattened in recent months, and manufacturers are not prepared to absorb a sharp increase in the cost to build cars and trucks in America. The burden of these tariffs, as always, will be passed on to the American consumer. Car shoppers looking for a deal will instead find that they are paying a new tax to transport themselves and their families.”

Dziczek says the forecast for U.S. auto production for 2018 has come down a little from last year, from 11.8 million produced in 2017 to 11.5 million in 2018 and new car sales are expected to drop from 17.2 million last year to 16.8 million in 2018.

The Federal Reserve forecasts three rate hikes in 2018, crimping the freeflowing credit that helped fuel a record streak of demand growth now coming to an end, and gasoline prices have increased about 20 cents a gallon over the past year.

The good news, according to Dziczek, is that “overall, companies are much more robust and are able to weather little downturns a lot better than they were.” n

The announced tariffs exceed the 24.7 percent and 7.7 percent tariffs recommended by the Commerce Department as an outcome of its investigation. The president’s decision to impose these tariffs will have broad ramifications for the U.S. automotive industry.” —Kirstin Dziczek 28 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

Who covers them all and more?

magazine

Bimonthly. Free. southernautomotivealliance.com APRIL/MAY 2018 / Southern Automotive Alliance 29

SUSTAINABILITY

Responsibly Relating To The Ecosystem

Suppliers Partnership working teams build manufacturing with an eye on environmental impact TEXT BY: CARA CLARK / PHOTO COURTESY: SUPPLIERS PARTNERSHIP FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

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visit to the GM plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., sharpens into focus the sights, sounds and aromas of a production line steadily cranking out Cadillac XT5s and GMC Acadias. Scents of paint and polymer combine with the hum of machinery and reverberation of metallic noises amid a setting of constant activity to move vehicles through the 6.9 million-square-foot facility.

Adjust the zoom, and the bigger picture appears. The 2,100-acre property is much more than home to an automotive manufacturing giant. It’s also protected habitat for countless wildlife, thanks to its work with the Wildlife

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Habitat Council and its Corporate Lands for Learning and Wildlife at Work projects. During the first quarter meeting of Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) in January, teams of like-minded manufacturers saw firsthand the work that can be done in protecting the environment.

“At GM, it has been one of our commitments around corporate sustainability goals to be particularly dedicated to wildlife habitat conversation,” explained Patrick J. Van Ryckeghem, responsible for environment and sustainability for GM’s Spring Hill operation. “GM has been adding sites

to develop a certified wildlife habitat for their locations, and at Spring Hill, we have a few hundred acres of our property dedicated to wildlife habitat.

We would like to see supply chains make this a focus area for their companies – to spread biodiversity.”

The GM plants that are involved in such conservation efforts put together wildlife calendars from photos employees make at their sites around the globe. From redtail hawks to groundhogs and opossums to great herons, the sites provide a haven for wildlife to thrive alongside auto manufacturing, an unexpected

A coalition of automotive concerns are working to make sure manufacturing doesn’t destroy the habitat for the animals who live in close proximity to their operations.

juxtaposition, but one that works.

“Our site sparked a lot of discussion in the meeting and afterward,” said Van Ryckeghem. “Several company’s representatives want to be part of (Wildlife Habitat Council), and I’m excited to see where it grows.”

With that said, GM, one of the founding members of SP, and its Tennessee venue made an ideal location for a meeting of SP, an innovative partnership between automakers, their suppliers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which works to improve environmental sustainability and business value for the global automotive supply chain. It’s a win-win in making best use of materials, while also being mindful of the carbon footprint manufacturers leave on the environment.

Going hand-in-hand with the site

At GM, it has been one of our commitments around corporate sustainability goals to be particularly dedicated to wildlife habitat conversation... We would like to see supply chains make this a focus area for their companies – to spread biodiversity.”

—Patrick J. Van Ryckeghem

TEXT BY: CARA CLARK

of the meeting was the announcement of SP’s formation of a new biodiversity work group. In collaboration with the Wildlife Habitat Council, SP work group members will demonstrate leadership as an industry by strategically working together across property lines, cities, states, regions, and countries, to collectively achieve greater impact and success while protecting natural resources and improving communities.

Kellen Mahoney, program director for Suppliers Partnership, has been involved with the organization for

eight years. Headed by a Who’s Who list of leaders from top automakers, the organization realized the importance of the fast-growing auto manufacturing in the South.

“As a group, we made it a strategic goal to focus on the southeastern regions,” Mahoney said. “We hold at least one of our quarterly meetings in the Southeast – it’s an important region for our members. We have a strong network of automakers and suppliers in the South.”

As a forum for environmental best APRIL/MAY 2018 / Southern Automotive Alliance 31

SU S T AI N AB I LI T Y

The meeting at the GM plant in Spring Hill Tennessee took on topics of biodiversity, sustainability and renewable energy

practices, environmental sustainability and competitiveness, Mahoney said one of the key topics for the January meeting was biodiversity.

“The group launched a new biodiversity working group, bringing members across the industry together,” Mahoney said. “We work across states collectively to have a stronger impact and success in biodiversity and preserving natural resources.”

The meeting also touched on the recurring theme of responsible management of materials until they have reached the end of their useful life.

Specifically, in Tennessee, the state has launched a new partnership so that if one manufacturer has no use for byproduct 32 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

materials, they should be made available to others in the region for input into their manufacturing process.

SP’s new Responsible Battery work group, co-chaired by Alessandra Carreon of Ford and Adam Muellerweiss of Johnson Controls, will work collaboratively to advance responsible management.

“We look at end-of-life management of lithium batteries in electric vehicles and how to be responsible,” Mahoney said. “The goal for all of the automakers is zero waste to landfill.

Lead acid batteries are one of the most recycled in the world at close to 99 percent in the U.S. It’s important for us to look to the future. Lithium

ion batteries have not reached end of life yet, but when they do, we need to have a landscape assessment of infrastructure in the U.S. on recycling and technologies that make them economical and practical.”

Members also took part in an SP Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) Forum meeting focused on Culture and Emerging Technologies. The EHS Forum is designed to provide a platform for deeper discussion, networking and exchange of ideas on key EHS challenges and opportunities facing multinational automakers and their suppliers.

This meeting focused on topics such as adapting to a changing workforce, getting buy-in for EHS projects and emerging technologies.

The meeting included updates and discussions regarding key topics such as biodiversity, EHS management, materials efficiency, renewable energy and supply chain sustainability with speakers from Edison Energy, EnSafe, FCA, General Motors, Honda, Hytch, Responsible Battery Coalition, SP, Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, Toyota and the U.S. EPA.

Founder Tribute

At the same meeting, SP recognized John Bradburn of GM, who is retiring after 39 years in the industry, as one of the founding members of SP. “He has played a huge part in developing and implementing many projects, including valuable opportunities to reduce and reuse waste products in the industry,” Mahoney said. “He deserves credit for driving materials efficiency in the automotive industry.”

Dedicated members like Bradburn and others in the volunteer-driven organization stay abreast of changes in automotive and potential impact of the environment, bringing a cohesive front to the problem of carbon footprint reduction.

“They really work together to achieve a greater impact across the industry,” Mahoney said.

Ryckeghem says hosting the meeting in the South was important to GM. The plant has a long history in the area, having opened in 1990 to produce Saturn vehicles until March 2007. It then switched operations to production of the Chevrolet Traverse until November 2009 and the Chevrolet Equinox from September 2012 until October 2015.

“I feel strongly about Suppliers Partnership,” he said. “We want to see continued growth in in the Southern automotive supply chain, and sustainability is part of that. It’s not something any company can accomplish by itself. The nature of what we do requires us to collaborate and work together in materials efficiency and biodiversity, and GM wants to help highlight corporate conservation. It’s important that we build the right infrastructure so that companies working together can solve the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

The next meeting of SP will be held May 9-10 at Chrysler North American in Auburn Hills, Mich. n

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APRIL/MAY 2018 / Southern Automotive Alliance 33

B U I LT B Y D E S I G N

Making Leaner, Greener Cars Universities in Kentucky, Texas, Arizona and Alabama are working with government scientists to make future vehicles work smarter and more eco-friendly TEXT BY: GAIL ALLYN SHORT

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ith traditional car and truck models offering greater fuel economy and with the emergence of hybrid and electric vehicles (EV) into the market, drivers today have more options than ever for minimizing their impact on the environment.

But in university laboratories around the country, engineers are hard at work to make vehicles of the future even more efficient, cheaper and “greener.”

Engineering researchers at the University of Alabama (UA) in Tuscaloosa, University of Louisville, University of Texas at Austin and Arizona State University are searching for answers as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) for Efficient Vehicles and Sustainable Transportation Systems (EV-STS).

The NSF tapped the four universities

In the rush for environmentally friendly power sources, scientists are seeking ways to make better batteries and reduce environmental impact

34 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

to work together to come up with new technologies to make cars and other vehicles more energy efficient and kinder to the environment. UA became the latest member to join the Center last year and will focus much of their research on EVs. “While the public thinks of EVs as intrinsically clean,” says engineering Professor and UA’s IUCRC Site Director Yang-Ki Hong, Ph.D., “the electricity that drives them comes largely from stationary power plants, or, in the case of most hybrids, internal combustion engines. In this sense, EVs are only as environmentally sustainable as their electricity source.”

Hong says researchers can reduce this “upstream” environmental impact by improving the sustainability of the primary power sources, and designing and deploying EV powertrains that are more efficient both at the component and system levels.

One example is energy conversion efficiencies of power electronic components and electric motors, which he says can still be improved in wider

operating conditions.

“Also, at the system level, performance of various components integrated in a vehicle can be optimized to improve the overall energy efficiency,” Hong says.

Hong plans to research new kinds of magnets for use in electric motors.

The traction motor in EVs typically contain rare-earth permanent magnets due to their high magnetization compared to traditional ferrite, or, ironbased magnets.

“Despite the high performance,” Hong says, “the rare-earth permanent magnet with rare-earth materials such as neodymium and dysprosium are expensive and suffer from unstable supply. Thus, developing rare-earth ‘free’ permanent magnets that perform similarly to rare-earth permanent magnets is essential for the continued growth of the electrified vehicle market.

“To research new magnetic materials,” says Hong, “we first will conduct theoretical studies based on quantum theory. Then, the theoretically validated magnetic materials will be developed using various state-of-the-art fabrication processes, such as sintering, bonded, arc-melting, milling, etc. The resulting magnets will be characterized and assessed using standardized

performance tests and through use in actual motors.”

Vehicle manufacturers’ access to a stable supply of low-cost, high performance magnetic materials for use in traction motors is critical to the continued expansion of the EV segment of the automotive industry, Hong says.

“Replacing rare-earth permanent magnets in these motors with rare-earth free permanent magnets will eliminate the possibility of large-scale disruptions in cost and supply that’s intrinsic to dependence on a critical commodity available in small quantities from a single supplier.”

With that research, Tim Haskew, Ph.D., a UA professor of electrical and computer engineering specializing in power systems and electromechanical systems, says he hopes to design and build a rare-earth free PM motor.

The research calls for developing motor prototypes in the laboratory and conducting tests for performance analyses, he says.

“Then the proof is in the eating,” says Haskew. “That’s the point when you know for sure. We expect to be able to do some hardware testing in the very near future.”

If the project is successful, Haskew says, it could result in the price of the

motors in electric-powered vehicles dropping by as much as 30 to 40 percent.

“The cost factor would go down significantly on the motors,” says Haskew. “I think we may also be able to see, when you couple this with some controls, work that we’re doing on the electric machines.”

Another research focus at UA will involve improving high-performance electric motor controls.

“Current motor controls suffer from low efficiency and stability due to difficulty in finding and maintaining optimal control gain,” says Hong. “Thus, developing algorithms that can find optimal control gains promptly and precisely is essential to promote high efficiency and stability.”

Hong says the team will design the motor drive system, then experimentally validate it using a laboratory-scale digital controller board and motor.

Afterwards, they will test the optimized motor control system in a close-to reallife motor drive condition.

“Through improving these highperformance controls,” says Hong, “we hope to achieve more efficient and reliable electric vehicle operation.”

Additionally, UA mechanical engineering Assistant Professor Hwan-Sik Yoon, Ph.D., will study

The National Science Foundation puts government funds behind Efficient Vehicles and Sustainable Transportation Systems, an effort underway at universities in four states.

APRIL/MAY 2018 / Southern Automotive Alliance 35

B U I LT

BY

D E S I GN

While the public thinks of EVs as intrinsically clean… [and] the electricity that drives them comes largely from stationary power plants, or, in the case of most hybrids, internal combustion engines. In this sense, EVs are only as environmentally sustainable as their electricity source.” — UA’s IUCRC Site Director Yang-Ki Hong, Ph.D.

telematics-based predictive diagnostics of engines. Other researchers will investigate the feasibility and efficacy of using machine learning algorithms on telematically-delivered big data to predictively diagnose diesel engine abnormalities. Another project involves developing an advanced AC motor control solution based on approximate dynamic programming and artificial neural network to offer higher performing, efficient, precision motor control solutions in EVs. Hong says the engineers at UA have filed a patent on a dual-band stacked patch antenna for advanced telematics by combining 5G millimeter wave and designated short-range communication (DSRC) antennas. This prototype allows concurrent use of DSRC and 5G, leading to safer and more entertaining vehicles.

“To test the antenna’s performance, we’ve used an in-lab anechoic chamber and vector network analyzer to observe its radiation pattern,” Hong says.

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Louisville are investigating numerous issues, including solar cell, fuel cell, and lithium-ion battery integration for automotive applications; advance control and estimation schemes 36 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

for electric drives for powertrain; composite materials for lightweight vehicles; and conventional powertrains and alternative fuels, to name a few.

For the IUCRC research, says Hong, various industry partners are able to offer their input.

“We are currently partnering with a few notable vehicle manufacturers and components and suppliers,” says Hong. “They not only provide financial support for the projects conducted through our site, but will also evaluate the products from our research for commercialization.”

Haskew adds that the industrial partners’ input on IUCRC research helps ensure that it meets the needs of the automotive industry.

“It gets researchers at various universities collaborating together and with industry so that their work is relevant and the work can be transferred into the market and directed toward what the industry has identified as the critical needs. It all helps to make sure these products are relevant to society’s needs. “ And Hong says that while some enhancements will result in incremental sustainability improvements in cars and vehicles,

others will be more transformative.

“Given the importance of this problem, and the current trajectory of global technological advancements, it is not unreasonable to expect that EVs used by the next generation of vehicle consumers to be near-carbon neutral with a footprint of perhaps 10 percent as large as current vehicles, with a commensurate reduction in other exhaust gas emissions.

“Ranges of between 300 and 1,000 miles will be the norm for passenger cars and light trucks,” says Hong, “with charging times of less than two hours. Charging equipment will be as common as fuel pumps at automobile service stations, which instead of being called ‘gas stations’ will be called ‘energy stations.’”

Hong says that ultimately, the research will help establish an infrastructure for R&D of the key components and subsystems for future EVs and hybrid EVs in Alabama.

“R&D infrastructure for electric vehicles will help the automotive industry in Alabama advance their technologies,” says Hong, “and produce high-quality engineers and engineering resources.” n

APRIL/MAY 2018 / Southern Automotive Alliance 37

THE GEORGIA PORTS AUTHORITY

A DAY AT THE BRUNSWICK PORT

38 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

The gigantic operation of the Colonel’s Island Terminal autoport is a major entry and exit point for cars shipped on the Atlantic TEXT BY: STEVEN COLE SMITH PHOTOS: GEORGIA PORTS AUTHORITY/BOBBY HAVEN

The Colonel’s Island Terminal in Brunswick is a major port for vehicles entering and leaving the U.S. via the Atlantic Ocean.

APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 39

G E O R GI A

P O R T S

Major OEMs and other auto processors use the ro-ro services at the Colonel’s Island Terminal, part of a massive Georgia Ports operation.

BRUNSWICK, GEORGIA

– Bill Jakubsen is sitting in his company car, a Kia Sorrento – built in West Point, Georgia, and that’s important – watching one Mercedes GLA after another being loaded onto a cargo ship at the Port of Brunswick, located about 15 miles inland from the coast of the Atlantic Ocean at the end of a 400-foot-wide channel.

The Mercedes-Benz GLAs, built 383 miles west of here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama – which may not be Georgia, but it’s close enough – are driven by stevedores, which Webster helpfully defines as “one who is responsible for loading and unloading ships in port.” It’s a word you don’t hear much

anymore since the ever-increasing use of containers for shipping trimmed the number of stevedores employed in the U.S. by 90 percent since the 1950s.

These particular stevedores drive the GLAs up the ramp of the Glorious Leader, a multi-story, 11-year-old car carrier built in Poland that, at 656 feet long, is neither the largest nor smallest in the industry. The Bahamas-registered Glorious Leader is one of 111 car carriers operated by the Tokyo-based NYK Line, which combined have the ability to move 642,000 cars. After departing Brunswick, the Glorious Leader worked its way north along the U.S. coast before heading for Europe. At this very moment, it is just

40 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

south of the British Isles, on a return trip to North America, bound first for Halifax, Nova Scotia.

As with the other two car carriers at the Port of Brunswick during our visit, most of the rear of the ship folds down to make a massive ramp – there’s a smaller one on the side, too – and the stevedores drive up the ramp, park their cars deep inside the Glorious Leader, and run back down to the shore where ancient, chalky yellow Chevrolet Astro vans or Caprice station wagons shuttle them back to the car lots. There are hundreds more cars to load. Thousands.

And time is money. There are 90,000 parking spots at the Brunswick port, and

OCEAN TERMINAL A DVA NTAGE S: • Georgia Ports is owner and operator which allows for operational flexibility • Rail line-haul services available via Norfolk Southern and CSX • Georgia Ports labor force that is trained and qualified to handle vehicles and Ro-Ro cargos.

• Superior stevedoring operations offering better quality control while discharging the vehicles and moving them to the first point of rest.

• Five berths • Warehouses available for fumigation of vehicles and Ro-Ro cargo. 1.4 million sq. ft. (132,596 sq.m) of covered storage within the terminal.

• 92 acres (37.23 hectares) of open storage/76 acres (30.8 hectares) of paved storage with additional laydown area • U.S. Customs and Border Protection located on-terminal

Although, said Jakubsen, some vehicles are valuable enough to require the use of containers. After all, the 21 brands of vehicles the Georgia Ports Authority handles includes Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

And no, they don’t occasionally “misplace” one, be it Rolls, Bentley, Kia, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, BMW or any of the other products provided by the OEMs, or Original Equipment Manufacturers, which is industry shorthand for car companies.

But Jakubsen pointed out that Ro-Ro just doesn’t means passenger vehicles – it means anything that will roll on, roll off. That includes a lot of construction equipment from manufacturers such as Caterpillar and John Deere. This is especially important to Jakubsen, because if you include all the cargo that rolls on and rolls off, Brunswick is the largest Ro-Ro port in the U.S. If you only include passenger vehicles, that title goes to Jacksonville, Florida, 65 miles south of Brunswick.

Either way, the two main ports in Georgia – this one, near Brunswick, formally called Colonel’s Island, and the Port of Savannah, located about 75 miles north, referred to by the Ports Authority as the Ocean Terminal – handle a stunning amount of rolling cargo. Besides those 21 OEMs, there are more than 40 other shippers that move cargo through Colonel’s Island, including construction and agricultural machinery and all kinds of boats.

The Georgia Ports Authority’s next fiscal year will run from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019. During that year, they are projecting that 613,251 vehicles will move through Colonel’s Island in Brunswick, and 34,222 vehicles through Ocean Terminal in Savannah. That’s a total of 647,473 vehicles.

And by “move through,” obviously that means both import and export.

That’s a major lure for the Georgia ports when it comes to Ro-Ro: The Port of Tacoma in Washington, for example, imported 183,000 vehicles in 2015 (the

• Gate 2: 6:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.

• Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) • Easy access to I-16, just 1.2 miles from Ocean Terminal • Secured Facilities with gates manned

by Georgia Ports police officers • Superior Year-Round Climate most are filled with cars waiting to move in or move out. Eventually there will be 150,000 parking spaces. The sheer number of vehicles here, row after row after row, is simply numbing.

As the global manager for Ro-Ro, Bulk and General Cargo for the Georgia Ports Authority, Jakubsen, after 41 years on the job, admits there is one question he can’t answer: “How we keep up with all the vehicles we load and unload here,” he said, “I have no idea.”

“Ro-Ro” stands for “roll on, roll off,” which makes sense: Cars, trucks and SUVs roll on and off the ships, as opposed to being closed up in those steel cargo containers and hoisted aboard, usually by cranes.

The Georgia Ports Authority brings nearly 35,000 cars a year through Savannah’s Ocean Terminal.

The deepwater ports of Savannah and Brunswick are strong drivers of economic and employment opportunity across the state. Bringing jobs and investment to Georgia is a central part of the GPA’s mission.” ­— Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 41

G E OR GI A

P O R T S

most recent figures available), which – at $6.6 billion – was the third most valuable category of cargo the port handled. But auto exports were negligible, not even in the top 10, because there are awfully few auto manufacturers in the Northwest.

Since Ro-Ro means roll on, roll off, it is helpful if a port has something to roll on, and the Ports of Georgia do. With multiple auto manufacturers in Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky, the ports in Brunswick and Savannah are particularly well-positioned for the future.

At the Ocean Terminal in Savannah (Garden City, actually), where the Georgia Ports Authority is located, don’t be put off by the relatively small number of vehicles coming through there –

around 35,000. The port is astoundingly busy with other freight: Roads into and out of the port are packed with 18-wheelers delivering and picking up containers and other material.

It’s dizzying, almost claustrophobic, compared to the perceived orderliness of Brunswick. Savannah alone has 30 enormous ship-to-shore Panamax cranes, helpful since the port has handled ships as massive as the CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt, which last year became the largest ship ever to traverse the Panama Canal. The Roosevelt can carry 14,414 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs, the standard measurement of container ship size).

There is one very interesting service Savannah offers that Brunswick doesn’t,

though, and that’s fumigation of exported cargo, which includes cars, and trucks, and bulldozers, and huge tires – everything goes in a massive warehouse, where the cargo is covered with clear plastic that resembles what your drycleaned clothes wear home.

Once everything is under the plastic, gas is pumped under the edge of the plastic. What are they worried about?

“Stinkbugs,” Jakubsen said, of which Georgia has about 60 species. And “they” are mostly Australia and New Zealand – Australia for part of the year, New Zealand year-round.

For the majority of nautical ports around the county, Ro-Ro is an addendum, not the focus. The Georgia Ports Authority has made certain that

HISTORY OF THE GEORGIA PORTS AUTHORITY 1945 – Georgia Legislature creates the Georgia Ports Authority 1948 – The GPA acquires land on the Savannah River in Garden City, creating Garden City Terminal to handle bulk and general cargoes and, later, containerized cargo.

1956 – Gov. Marvin Griffin signs a bill to make Brunswick

and Bainbridge state ports.

1958 – Ocean Terminal is purchased from the Central of Georgia Railway. It will later become a roll-on, roll-off terminal, handling primarily automobiles and wheeled heavy equipment.

1960 – State docks at Brunswick dedicated.

1962 – GPA purchased

42 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

Colonel’s Island in Brunswick for $1.1 million.

1986 – The Port of Brunswick begins handling Ro-Ro cargo at Colonel’s Island

Terminal. First 4,000 TEU vessel calls the Port of Savannah.

1993 – Saturn begins exports through Port of Brunswick’s Colonel’s Island Facility.

2003 – BMW begins shipping the Z4 roadster and the S5 sports activity vehicles through Colonel’s Island terminal.

1994 – Land Rover begins imports through Port of Brunswick’s Colonel’s Island

Feb. 4, 2012 – The MSC Roma, a post-Panamax-class container ship capable of

in Brunswick, that’s not the case. “We’re dedicated to the Ro-Ro customer,” Jakubsen said, “and we’re putting our money where our mouth is.”

It is, after all, an enormous opportunity for growth. Most all deepwater ports handle containerized freight, but few can offer what Brunswick can to Ro-Ro customers.

Already, the ports are profoundly important to Georgia and even the surrounding states, so the fact that they require, and arguably deserve, major investment is not surprising. On March 26, a study was released by the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business that said Georgia’s ports support 439,220 full- and part-time jobs across the state.

Georgia ports now account for 9 percent

of total state employment, or one out of 11 jobs. Personal income derived from port-supported jobs totaled $25 billion statewide in fiscal year 2017.

“The deepwater ports of Savannah and Brunswick are strong drivers of economic and employment opportunity across the state,” said Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch.

“Bringing jobs and investment to Georgia is a central part of the GPA’s mission.”

According to the report, written by Dr. Jeffrey Humphreys, port activity accounted for 11 percent of Georgia’s total sales in FY 2017, adding up to $106 billion. “Deepwater ports are one of Georgia’s strongest economic engines, fostering the development of virtually every industry,” Humphreys wrote.

“The ports are especially supportive of other forms of transportation, manufacturing, wholesale and distribution centers, and agriculture.”

The Port of Savannah alone handled 8.5 percent of U.S. containerized cargo volume and 10 percent of all U.S. containerized exports in fiscal year 2017.

So now, the focus is on Brunswick, and on increasing its Ro-Ro share, and it’s working: In February, the most recent month with data available, the Brunswick port saw a rise of 13.2 percent in the of auto and machinery units the port handled.

In FY 2017, Honda alone nearly tripled its business through the 1,700-acre Port of Brunswick, adding 34,700 vehicles over the previous year.

The port’s proximity to open ocean, its expansive and expandable capacity, the connections to our inland supply chain, award-winning auto processors and, perhaps most importantly, the complete alignment between state and local government on finding business-friendly solutions for shippers makes the Port of Brunswick an easy choice.” —Charles Kendig, assistant vice-president for automobile operations at American Honda

carrying 9,200 TEUs – or 20foot container equivalents – called on Savannah. It is the largest ship to call on the Port of Savannah to date.

July 13, 2016 - The MOL Benefactor is the first vessel to call on Savannah through the new locks of the expanded Panama Canal. At a capacity of 10,100 twenty-

foot equivalent container units, the Benefactor is also the largest ship ever to call the Port of Savannah.

December 5, 2016 – Four new Super Post Panamax ship-to-shore cranes arrived at Garden City Terminal Monday, bringing the Port of Savannah’s total to 26

Sept. 1, 2017 – The CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt, the largest container ship ever to serve the U.S. East Coast at 14,414 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), calls the Port of Savannah.

Nov. 22, 2017 – Four additional Neo-Panamax cranes arrive at the Port

of Savannah, bringing Savannah’s fleet to 30.

TODAY – Georgia’s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 370,000 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $20.4 billion in income, $84.1 billion in revenue and $2.3 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s economy.

APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 43

G E O R GI A

P O R T S William “Bill” Dawson is Georgia Ports Authority’s general manager for Operations at Brunswick and Barge Facilities.

“Honda’s partnership with the Port of Brunswick is one of many bright spots in our finished vehicle supply chain,” said Charles Kendig, assistant vicepresident for automobile operations at American Honda.

“The port’s proximity to open ocean, its expansive and expandable capacity, the connections to our inland supply chain, award-winning auto processors and, perhaps most importantly, the complete alignment between state and local government on finding businessfriendly solutions for shippers makes the Port of Brunswick an easy choice,” Kendig said.

Brunswick and the Georgia Ports

Authority have a history that dates back to 1962, when the Authority bought Colonel’s Island, so named for the fact that after the Revolutionary War, multiple colonels – both real ones, and men who bore the title as a courtesy – built plantations on the island. Ro-Ro cargo handling began in 1986 and got a boost in 1993 when Saturn began using the port for export, and in 1994, when Land Rover started importing through Colonel’s Island. In 2003 BMW began shipping its X5 SUV and Z4 roadster through the terminal.

Since then, growth has been dynamic and linear, as more manufacturers discover what the

44 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

Georgia Ports Authority is doing with Colonel’s Island. Paramount is the need to stay ahead of demand – “Brunswick has an unmatched ability to scale up its operation so that we can grow along with our customers’ needs,” said Port Authority Director Lynch. Some 657 acres have been developed and leased or sold to auto processors and OEMs. Another 511 acres are available and already permitted by the Corps of Engineers for development. Another 60 acres are being converted to for Ro-Ro cargo.

Over the past two years, the Georgia Ports Authority has invested more than $35 million to develop 188 acres of vehicle storage at Colonel’s Island, and over the next 18 months, the authority plans on spending nearly $16 million for another 65 acres for Ro-Ro storage.

The location of the terminal is also a plus. There’s a four-lane highway to Interstate 95, and there are two railroad lines that serve Colonel’s Island, Norfolk Southern and CSX, both leading to a dedicated railroad that goes directly into and out of the terminal.

The authority has also taken pains to remain as “green” as possible, and even embraces the historic value of the area. Colonel’s Island was once home to the Guale Indians, part of the Creek Nation, as early as the year 1150, and archeological digs have taken place on land that the authority plans to develop, to make sure anything with scientific and historic value was excavated.

Bottom line: The importance of the two Georgia Ports Authority terminals to Georgia’s economy in general, the auto manufacturers in particular, should only increase, largely due to savvy planning for the future.

Said Georgia Ports Authority chairman Jimmy Allgood: “The philosophy is to maintain capacity above current demand. Investing for the future has enabled the GPA to take on new customers and handle greater than expected container growth without congestion or capacity worries. We anticipate the same benefits for the auto trade here in Brunswick.” n

APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 45

INDUSTRY NEWS

Do People Want Cars To Drive Themselves?

Amid Rush to Deploy Driverless Cars, Federal Regulators Urged to Keep Hands on the Wheel.

TEXT BY: PAUL FELDMAN, FAIRWARNING

T

he era of driverless vehicles appears to be rapidly approaching, raising a bevy of urgent questions about how to prevent the emergence of new hazards on the nation’s roads.

So, how much preparation have federal transportation authorities carried out to meet the challenge of the advent of self-driving cars and trucks? Not nearly enough, according to a new 44-page report by the Government Accountability Office, a Congressional watchdog agency.

Citing numerous scenarios in which autonomous vehicles could cause tragedies, the GAO said a lack of comprehensive planning makes it unclear whether federal transportation officials “are well-positioned to fully address the challenges posed by automation.”

The report’s most vivid sections zero in on practical driving concerns.

For example, what happens when an automated vehicle recognizes a hazard, such as a boulder, in the road – but can’t get around it because it’s programmed not to cross a double-yellow line?

Also, how would a driverless car judge what a pedestrian or a bicyclist will do at an intersection?

And what would happen when an autonomous vehicle programmed to

drive within the speed limit frustrates drivers in conventional cars who want to speed ahead? After all, it could be years or decades that autonomous vehicles share the roads with cars with people behind the steering wheel.

Most troubling of all, how should an autonomous vehicle be programmed for situations where there is no good outcome – for instance, if a child suddenly decides to cross a road, and the options are striking the youngster, careening off an embankment or barreling into a tree?

Developers and promoters of robot cars say that by eliminating driver errors they could greatly reduce the toll of nearly 40,000 U.S. traffic deaths per year.

Driverless vehicles, they say, also will reduce traffic congestion and give the blind and other disabled people a means to motor around their communities.

But the cautionary report comes at a time when, safety advocates argue, auto manufacturers and federal officials seem to be rushing head-long into putting tens of thousands of driverless vehicles on public roadways without resolving safety concerns. Just last week, the president of General Motors, Daniel Amman, told journalists in San Francisco that selfdriving cars would be ready for consumer

46 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

applications in “quarters, not years.”

The debate over regulating driverless vehicles heated up in September, when the Transportation Department issued largely voluntary guidelines for testing automated cars. The guidelines were criticized by consumer groups, including the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, which called it “a hands-off approach to hands-free driving.”

As FairWarning has reported, a series of surveys this year by institutions ranging from MIT to the AAA show that most motorists don’t want to drive, ride in or be on the road anywhere near an autonomous vehicle. What’s more, as development efforts pick up steam, the level of public skepticism seems to be mounting.

Even so, the U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill allowing self-driving vehicles to operate on public roadways with minimal government supervision. Similar legislation has been OK’d by a Senate committee but is currently stalled by a handful of senators concerned about safety provisions.

The GAO report, issued last week to leaders of Congressional transportation and technology committees, generally has gotten a muted response from

lawmakers. A spokesman for Sen. John Thune, the South Dakota Republican who chairs the Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, told FairWarning that the GAO report underscores the need for regulators “to take a systematic approach to safety and cybersecurity” and “for legislation setting a dedicated framework and new authorities to help the federal government keep pace with rapidly advancing technology.”

The Transportation Department, for its part, said it concurs that a comprehensive plan will eventually be needed. But in a prepared statement published alongside the GAO report, a department official said such a plan is “premature,” because of “the nature of these technologies and the stage of development of the regulatory structure.”

The GAO report was based on interviews with 27 manufacturers, industry groups, academics, and government and safety organizations.

Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies Inc., one of four safety organizations interviewed by the GAO, praised the agency’s recommendations but downplayed the likelihood they would have much impact. Kane said federal regulators have already ceded so much control over automated automotive technology to manufacturers that, by and large, “the train has left the station.”

“Basically, we’re leaving it to the marketplace to make important decisions on functional safety,” he said in a telephone interview. He said the consequences of that approach already are apparent, citing the highly publicized cases in recent years of defective General Motors ignition switches and ruptured Takata airbags.

Things will only get more deadly, Kane said, with insufficient regulation of driverless vehicles.

“It’s a rush to make everything look cool and it’s modeled after software in computers that’s beta tested on the consumer and fixed when there are complaints. But it’s tougher when 4,000 pounds are moving down the road,” Kane said. “But that’s what’s happening – it’s a race to the bottom.”

Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, another one of the safety groups interviewed by the GAO, urged federal regulators to require on-board data collection to evaluate how driverless vehicles are working.

“Anyone who uses a computer knows that computers often fail in tasks far simpler than driving a car,” Rader said. “And we need to be equipped to monitor how these systems are working and whether the technology is living up to its safety promise.”

Rader said in an e-mail that while driverless vehicles offer the promise of improved traffic safety, “the aggressive timelines bandied about for consumer use of fully autonomous vehicles are likely overly optimistic.”

He pointed out that automakers have pledged to make a simpler existing technology – automatic emergency braking – standard on all new vehicles, but even that isn’t supposed to happen until 2022.

A key issue the GAO report did not address was cybersecurity, including the possibility that the computers in automated vehicles could be hacked to turn them into killing machines that could be steered into crowds or buildings.

“That’s a whole other issue,” Kane said. “I hate to make predictions but we’re building a substantial structure on top of a very weak foundation.

Ultimately, there’s a lot of places where there’s going to be structural failure.”

This story was reported by FairWarning (www.fairwarning.org), a nonprofit news organization based in Pasadena, California, that focuses on Public Health, Consumer and Environmental issues. n APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 47

Supplier Profile

Building a stronger more connected team is important at Mann+Hummel,a GM Supplier of the Year located in a farming community in Dunlap, Tennessee

All About the Team At Mann + Hummel in Dunlap, Tennessee, employees drive innovation.

TEXT BY: NANCY HENDERSON / PHOTOS COURTESEY OF: MANN +HUMMEL

A

t various workstations throughout the Mann + Hummel plant in Dunlap, Tennessee, virtual fireworks explode on digital, flat screens, visible reminders that employees have hit optimal production rates.

The innovative IT process, which also shows a green light if a press is running well, red if it’s not, and can notify a supervisor or maintenance worker if there’s a problem or even automatically shut down the line if necessary, is a prime example of how Mann + Hummel employees go above and beyond what is expected of them, says director of operations Joshua Speller.

Just before he started working here in 2016, Speller, 42, called the plant’s

software programmer, Kurt Sharbaugh.

“I asked Kurt if he had ever seen the movie Moneyball,” Speller recalls. “Kurt said, ‘No, but I like movies.’ I said, ‘Well, if you don’t mind, can you watch it tonight and I’ll call you back tomorrow so we can talk?’”

Sharbaugh watched the film, which chronicles how a baseball franchise analyzed statistics to scout new players, and instantly “got it.” With input from other staff members, he digitalized the manual data collection system and developed a computerized method to gauge how the plant was running at any given time.

“They also made it really cool to look at, so it’s awesome,” says Speller. “This is

I hire people that can take my job at any given moment because I don’t have to worry about them… I don’t have 300 people who work for me. I work for 300 people. They really, really respond to a challenge. You never hear anyone say, ‘That’s not my job’ or ‘Ask someone else.’ ” —Joshua Speller 48 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

what has really put our plant on the map with Mann + Hummel, and other plants.

It took a lot of time and effort to come up with it, but we’re going to be able to package something similar and put it in the other plants.”

One of three Mann + Hummel manufacturing sites in the U.S. (the other two are in Michigan), the nearspotless Dunlap facility opened in this small farming community in 2011 and is now the largest employer in Sequatchie County with more than 300 workers who make manifolds, air boxes and engine ductwork for the automotive industry. The factory is part of a global, 27,000-employee company that has won 23 General Motors Supplier of the Year awards—more than any other GM supplier—in the program’s 26year history. The Dunlap plant also does plastic injection molding, blow molding and filter assembly for Ford, Nissan and BMW. Production at the 180,000-square-foot

facility began slowly at first, with just a few cells, says Speller, who grew up near Detroit and has also worked in the aluminum and aerospace industries. In 2013, Ford contracted with the plant for a major project, prompting the addition of blow molding services for the Mustang, F-150 and Transit. “And the plant just took off,” says Speller. “There was a time, prior to that, where we were considering leasing areas within the plant to other companies that maybe wanted some manufacturing space. Now it’s full. Well, we actually have some capacity because we’ve done a lot of work and organization to get more business in.”

Although the Ford contract was a godsend, says Speller, the transition wasn’t easy. “They never expected to sell as many [Transits] as they’re selling. It’s good for them and good for us, but it brought its share of struggles too, when you launch that much at one time. Ford is a great customer to work with and we’ve gone through some tough times, but we’re finally running really good.”

The plant now operates 27 cells in various stages of production. Speller attributes the rapid growth to the fact that “our customers really trust us and they are very willing to do business with us because we take care of them from a quality and delivery standpoint. So we won new business from GM. We’ve won

new business from BMW. It was a big addition for us, and we get the repeat business too from the F-150, Mustang and Transit, in addition to Nissan, which is a huge customer for us, and they’re our neighbors. We supply the one plant in Decherd.”

Speller joined the company toward the end of the ramp-up. “I was able to come in with kind of a fresh perspective,” he says. “And I feel like I add a different kind of approach to leadership than what they were using at the time. I’m able to build really effective teams that just really want to win. They’re committed to one another more than themselves.”

Adds Speller, who played football in college, “I hire people that can take my job at any given moment because I don’t have to worry about them. … I don’t have 300 people who work for me. I work for 300 people. They really, really respond to a challenge. You never hear anyone say, ‘That’s not my job’ or ‘Ask someone else.’ You throw down a challenge to this team and they respond over and above. I get the chills thinking about it because of how well they have done.”

The Dunlap factory is dedicated to FILTER values—Focus, Integrity, Leadership, Teamwork, Excellence and Respect—in all aspects of the business.

“We treat our customers a certain way.

We treat our employees a certain way, Joshua Speller is the director of operations at the Southern U.S. plant of Mann+Hummel

and the community also,” says Speller.

“And we take the time every day to point out somebody who’s demonstrated one of those FILTER values. Maybe somebody went the extra mile, worked four hours over to help a team member, things like that.”

These days, such recognition comes in the form of an app that can be accessed by Mann + Hummel employees worldwide. Recently, for example, first shift employee Eric Crawley responded to a crisis at the plant in the middle of the night when a machine ran out of distilled water. Rather than wait for his shift to start, Crawley drove to the nearest open Walmart to buy some. He received an atta-boy on the company app.

The BISS (Bright Ideas, Suggestions and Solutions) program also allows staff members to share their continuous improvement ideas, no matter how big or small. When MRO buyer Connie Miller asked for submissions during the program launch in 2017, she got 667. “That’s more than two per person, basically,” Speller notes. “It’s incredible, and we had over 50 percent implementation.”

In addition to participating in regular team-building activities, 30 professional staff members recently completed a 13-week, off-site Dale Carnegie series through a grant from the state of Tennessee. “I went 15 years ago, and a couple of my managers were kind of having trouble expressing their thoughts. I think they felt like they were the bad guys sometimes if they had to deliver bad news to some of their employees,” says Speller. “I asked them if they would be interested and willing to take the class.” The positive impact was immediate, so when the grant became available, Speller recruited more employees to take the classes.

The company’s move to Tennessee, in a manufacturing corridor near many of its automotive customers, has paid off for Mann + Hummel. “We wanted to put up a strong footprint in the South,” Speller says. “It’s extremely important and strategic for us to be here, and we’re not leaving. It definitely makes sense.” n APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 49

Supplier Profile

Creative License Carolyn Voisin

Roylco’s imaginative approach to tool-and-die projects works as well for automotive jobs as it does for teaching toys TEXT BY: LINDA H. LAMB / PHOTOS BY: MATTHEW FRANKLIN CARTER

I

t’s hard to believe the same plant that makes pretty butterfly wings for kids’ craft projects also makes the insulation that goes into car doors – so you have a quieter trip as you fly down the road.

But it’s happening in upstate South Carolina. Roylco President Carolyn Voisin proves the value of a creative, problem-solving approach to business – whether for cute toys that teach, or custom components that meet the needs

50 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

of auto manufacturers.

By happy coincidence, tools such as die-cutting presses work equally well for both, says Voisin, a Canadian transplant whose father started the original Roylco business in Waterloo, Ontario.

The creative approach translates, too.

“When we’re developing products for education, we don’t want to see what other people are doing, for the most part,” Voisin says. “We are known for our creativity and originality.”

Automakers including Toyota, Tesla, BMW and Chrysler have benefited from Roylco Inc. ingenuity that produces luminous crafting papers and colorful teaching toys. Roylco Industrial works on solutions for door and dashboard insulation in the same Anderson, S.C. plant.

“Roylco’s ability to creatively solve commercial and industrial problems is a direct result of their original emphasis on childhood creativity and learning,” says Chris Wayne, vice president of Growth Services for the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

“I also think much of Roylco’s success simply hinged on their willingness to take difficult projects that others could have taken, but chose not to because of their lack of flexibility and responsiveness,” Wayne says.

A Journey South Voisin was 10 when her father, John Nosalik, set up a tool and die shop in Waterloo, about 70 miles west of Toronto in 1969.

“My dad started in my grandparents’ garage,” she says. “It was just a little job shop, really.”

Eventually, Nosalik built a factory and also expanded into educational products, starting with the acquisition of a company that made chalkboard

erasers. When Voisin joined his company, Roylco Limited, she worked on the developing line of educational products – always keeping her hand in on the tool and die operations she also felt at home with.

As Roylco expanded into international markets, “I started to think about moving to the States in 1990. That was a big deal for us,” said Voisin, who remembered discussing the decision with her husband, Perry.

“He asked what took me so long,” she said with a laugh.

So she branched out across the border, outside Buffalo, N.Y. Her companies, Roylco Inc. and Roylco Industrial, work cooperatively with Roylco Limited. But the challenging business and political climate drove some manufacturers south. Voisin focused eventually on South Carolina.

“We liked the Greenville area and kept coming back to it,” she said. “We liked the size, the progressiveness, the climate and the attitude – it was a place where they wanted to roll up their sleeves and get to work.”

In 1996, the Voisins settled their family – now including three children – in a home on Lake Hartwell. Roylco rented factory space nearby in Anderson. A former textile industry cut-and-sew plant became home to both Roylco companies.

Roylco’s educational business was chugging along and its industrial side expanding, and BMW had come recently to upstate South Carolina as well. Voisin dreamed of having one of those stylish Z3s. And eventually, she would.

Getting Up To Speed It’s not always easy for a new supplier to make connections. Voisin credits Draxlmaier, an international automotive supplier with U.S. headquarters in Duncan, S.C., as “the first automotive people who took us seriously.” Draxlmaier needed customized sound insulation panels for vehicle doors and dashboards.

Roylco’s conference room shelves, loaded with products and prototypes,

attest to its trial-and-error approach.

As the economic slowdown loomed in 2008, Voisin pushed into custom manufacturing. The Draxlmaier job led to others, not just providing door insulation but other components such as wheel liners and insulation for instrument panels.

Roylco’s competitive edge was enhanced by being a womanowned company – earning Women’s Business Enterprise National Council certification in 2016— a recognition promoted to help industries enhance diversity and competition.

“Being a woman-owned business only helps open the door; it doesn’t get them in,” Wayne said. Roylco also offered “a cohesive team of designers, problem-solvers and inventors who find feasible solutions for customers. Most of Carolyn’s success has been not because she is a woman, but because she is smart and aggressive,”he says.

“Roylco’s focus on innovation clearly aligns with the dynamic changes occurring in automotive manufacturing,” says Amy Tinsley, executive director of the South Carolina Automotive Council.

Moving Forward Voisin, 58, is at a point in life when everything’s moving forward pretty nicely. Her 40 or so colleagues include her husband, who handles administrative duties. Their labradoodle, Ralph, trots in and out of the Roylco conference room where their kids used to do their homework. Those kids, now all in their 20s, have earned degrees at the University of South Carolina and Clemson University.

On a recent morning, things also were humming on the Roylco production floor. At one end, large bins of brightly colored macaroni awaited packaging for children’s craft projects.

A huge offset press rolled out paper and packaging. At the other end, a machine turned out circles of Neoprene, to cushion military weapons for shipping.

In the middle, workers handled die-cut dashboard insulation for BMWs and

R OYL C O ’S B R I G H T SI DE Roylco Industrial’s automotive products usually go unseen – but Roylco Inc.’s educational products have dazzle to spare. They include bright trinkets for counting and crafting, toys that teach about nature and the human body, and construction sets for budding architects.

Biggest seller in Anderson: “antique” paper, perfect for a fake-historic document or pirate’s map. Educational: www.roylcostore.com, Industrial: www. roylcoindustrial.com. wheel liners for Toyotas.

Ronnie Rousey, 71, a facilities manager of sorts, marvels at it all. The one holdover from the plant’s textileindustry past, Rousey can’t believe what’s being shipped out of a building once dedicated to sweatshirts and T-shirts. “It’s amazing,” he says.

But Voisin sees potential for more.

An elegant, graceful woman, she’ll sometimes go out on the floor and start up one of the machines … and think about the future.

Roylco has the ability to die-cut vehicle carpeting, headliners, leather components and trunk space fabric.

Also, there’s no reason the injection molding machines that make plastic bodies for those butterflies couldn’t be repurposed to produce knobs and buttons for vehicle dashboards.

“At my age, I feel like I should be winding down a little bit,” Voisin says.

“But we’re always starting something new.” n APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 51

Faces of the Industry

Behind the Wheel W

hen competitors in a certain highprofile sport hear they’re up against “the Williams sisters” they usually know they need to bring their A game.

Well, there’s another set of Williams sisters in Tennessee, and while they may not strike terror into the hearts of their opponents, folks who encounter them know they mean business - mostly, the automotive kind.

Macy and Molly Williams have both set their sights on careers in the automotive industry, with big-sister Macy strongly focused on engineering (like their mother), and with younger sister Molly aiming at human resources. Both will graduate this year from Tennessee Technological University, but are already working in the automaking business, with several internships between them and already under their belts.

And, as busy as they are, they have been setting aside some time for some friendly competition. Not with each other - they’re on the same team - but in an arena related to the automotive business in ways that are both a little surprising, and apparently, a lot of fun.

Macy and Molly are both involved in Tennessee Tech’s entry into NASA’s Human Powered Rover Team project, which pits teams of students from across the globe in a competition to build the best human-powered version of a Mars rover type vehicle from scratch. The teams face off against each other in head-to-head competition in April 2018 (this month) in Huntsville, Alabama. Both sisters are driving one of the two rovers their teams are fielding, but it’s three-year veteran Macy who’s driving the team.

Molly and Macy Williams: It’s a tale of two sisters, two automotive career tracks and two NASA rovers TEXT BY: NICK PATTERSON / PHOTOS COURTESY: MACY AND MOLLY WILLIAMS/TENNESSEE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY 52 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

Alternative Power Source “I got involved in it my sophomore year of college,” Macy says. “We build a rover from the ground up. Every part has to be made inhouse. But it’s a worldwide, international thing.

There’s about 90 teams that come every year and we compete with a human powered rover, a male and a female driver. This will be my third

I just kind of grew up in automotive…

It’s always been a family dynamic of being into cars and working on things and just being in that kind of environment.”

—Macy Williams year driving and Molly’s first year driving.

And we compete on basically a Mars map; they put out 14 obstacles to go through.

Used to be the fastest time won. This year we have tasks that we have to complete on the course for points.”

Building two rovers in 8 months is a lot of work. But Macy sees the project as something more.

“It’s really fun,” she says. “We get to be in the shop for 4,5,6,8 hours a week learning to weld, machine, use components that you don’t usually use for tire tread or wheels or things like that. We can order tire tread but it cannot be actual tires. Ours are conveyor belt material.

“So we can order differentials and bearings and shocks and bike chains and things like that because its pedaled. But as far as all the other components, the frame, everything like that, suspension, it’s all got to be made in-house.”

But that’s not all, she says, suddenly recalling to mention a crucial detail. “The rover has to fold up and fit inside a five by five by five box and then unfold and be able to drive,” she says.

Macy is also the president of the 32-member organization that’s building the rovers, and that puts her in charge of paperwork, coordination, ordering parts, and making sure the vehicles are built and the team gets to Huntsville on time and with places to stay.

She’s determined to keep the trains running on time; in the past, they’ve gotten to the competition with their rover unfinished, she says. “We’ve had to work on it in the parking lot of our hotel. We’re definitely not doing that this time.”

Molly, who is not a gearhead, exactly, is nevertheless psyched about the rover competition. “I was so excited for [Macy] when she started that,” Molly says. “I

watched it live on the internet to see what it was all about and to see what she was doing and the work that she’s put into it.

I just thought that was neat. I’ve always played sports growing up and been competitive…. It seems like it’s a little bit of a sport to me.”

Just as the Williams sisters approach the rover challenge from different perspectives, they also are taking on the automotive industry with different focuses. But their common background makes the industry a natural fit for both.

In The Blood “I just kind of grew up in automotive,” Macy says. “My grandpa was a millwright and had his own motorcycle shop. My dad was a maintenance technician and then my mom has always been an engineer my entire life. So, its always been a family dynamic of being into cars and working on things and just being in that kind of environment.”

Their grandfather owned a motorcycle business, Newberry Motor Works and worked as well inside Nissan’s Smyrna plant, where her father also worked for a time. “And then my mom worked for General Motors as an engineer for 14 years and then went to Calsonic and now she is the ...global director of operations at Tenneco,” Macy says. “Makes all sorts of performance exhausts and clean air systems for the automotive industry and they’re right in our back yard in Smithville.”

Macy has interned at Nissan in stamping and assembly at the GM plant in Tennessee, both of which left lasting impressions. “I actually got to work every single position on the [GM] assembly line in powertrain on a V8 engine which is something that was really cool to me.

I’m really into engines and things like

that,” she said.

Now, she works at Cookeville,TNbased G&L Manufacturing, a Tier 3 supplier which makes titanium and stainless steel tubes that end up as fuel lines on cars by Dodge, Ford and GM. There she’s working on the organizational, procedural side of the business.

Like Macy, Molly was also drawn to the automotive business. But she sees it as a way to help people.

“These people are the types of people that I’ve grown up around I think I can relate to them well even though I’m not an engineer or something like that,” Molly says.

Her internship at Nissan was in human resources, which brought her into close contact with plant workers. “Ninety percent of our job is to be out on the floor and be communicating and be seen and a presence to the people on the floor. …

You have to understand the process of the work,” she says.

What appeals to Molly the most is helping people succeed in their work. “I really like the idea of training and development. I think that’s really important for the success of employees. I did a lot of diversity training … stressing the importance of working together as a team and being able to use your diverse backgrounds because of all these generational differences now,” she says.

“It’s really important for the success of the company and I really think it’s important as a person to be able to grow and develop yourself.”

Molly expects to graduate in December, about 7 months after her sister, so they’ll both be taking on the automotive industry full time before long.

Before that, however, they’ve got their sights set on vehicles of a different type and winning that rover competition. n APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 53

Faces of the Industry

Angela Crain Loves Her Job As a workforce development coordinator at Holmes Community College, she helps meet needs of Mississippi’s growing auto industry TEXT BY: TAMMY LEYTHAM / PHOTOS COURTESY: HOLMES COMMUNITY COLLEGE

W

hen Angela Crain started work at Holmes Community College in Ridgeland, Miss., in June 2003, the state’s relationship with auto manufacturers was young.

Holmes had been awarded a twoyear, $5 million Department of Labor grant to help train employees for the auto industry, and Crain was hired in a parttime administrative support position in Workforce Development to help manage the grant.

That same year, the Nissan Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant opened about 20 miles from Ridgeland, bringing automotive production to Mississippi for the first time.

After the grant ended, Crain took a full-time job at Holmes, where she now serves as Workforce Development

coordinator, supervising a program that helps provide a skilled workforce for auto industry jobs.

“Workforce development not only has had a great impact on the local community but across the state as we have seen with the growth of the automotive industry in Mississippi, including all the suppliers that are ancillary to this industry,” she says.

Today, Nissan’s Canton Plant has 6,400 employees who have assembled 3.9 million vehicles. Across the state, more than 200 auto manufacturers now employ 20,000 workers, and the need for a skilled workforce keeps growing.

In addition to supervising Workforce Development at Holmes, Crain is the facility manager for the McGowan Workforce Training Center and takes on

54 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

other duties as needed.

“I love my job,” she said. “I’m not sure I expected to be doing this in my life, but I love seeing the positive impact in the lives of people who need jobs and the companies who need skilled employees.”

Workforce Development, a noncollege credit training program, is a “great place to gain specific skills needed in a short-time frame to begin a new career,” Crain says.

Last year, approximately 8,500 individuals throughout the nine counties included in Holmes’ district received some form of training through Workforce Development at a cost of $144 per person.

“As you can see, Workforce Development is the most cost effective and efficient training program available

to you in Mississippi,” Crain said. “I see people come in for training and learn valuable skills in a short period of time, thus, allowing them to gain good employment. So, it’s almost an immediate return on our investment as a community college.”

Besides providing training, Holmes provides “a great service to the manufacturers in our district,” she says.

Crain’s roots are planted deep in central Mississippi. She grew up in the “tiny community of Harrisville … out in the country.”

She lived for more than 20 years in Madison County, where the Nissan plant is located. “Before that, most of my adult life has been right across the river bridge in Rankin County,” she says.

After graduating from Florence High School and Hinds Junior [now Community] College, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in business management from Mississippi College.

At her previous job with the Rankin County School District, Crain was responsible for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance reporting and fixed asset inventory at one of the district’s high schools. That job prepared her for her eventual career at Holmes, she says.

Holmes offers an array of classes related to the automotive industry, including pre-employment classes for production technicians, welders and material handlers, as well as industrial maintenance, safety, supervisory/ leadership, quality management, automation, etc. for those already in the workforce.

“We also offer classes in the Microsoft Office suite to help any potential employee/current employee in any sector within our area,” she says.

As part of an ongoing effort to train for a changing job landscape, Holmes works with local manufacturers to develop programs specifically tailored for their needs. Training can be delivered on campus or onsite at the plant.

“It’s very rewarding to receive emails from those (students) I do get to work with thanking me for giving them the

opportunity to train,” she says.

She shared an email from one young man she had helped enroll in the college’s Manufacturing Skills Basic Certification class – now employed with Nissan. “Mrs. Angela, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your guidance in the manufacturing class. I got hired! I started January 3. Sometimes we meet people and we never know the impact they are going to have on our lives. The simple fact of your encouragement has gotten me started on my path to where I want to be. Thank you so much for believing in me.”

Crain kept checking on the student during the eight-week class, and he scored well. “This means so much to me

status to applicants who have received certification in these specific areas,” Love-Carter says.

At Holmes Community College, students can gain skills needed to get a job, then can focus on earning their degree, Crain says. “We have classes online, face-to-face and even hybrid classes allowing students the opportunity to work and get an education at their own pace.”

There are plenty of jobs for those who meet company requirements. At the Nissan Canton plant, employment has increased by 30 percent since 2013.

In addition, for every job at the plant, an average of 2.9 additional jobs is created at suppliers and other businesses.

It’s very rewarding to receive emails from those (students) I do get to work with thanking me for giving them the opportunity to train.” —Angela Crain and gives me the greatest joy,” she says of the email. “Even though I don’t get to interact often, when I do, I give it my all.”

The Manufacturing Skills Basic Certification class is key for anyone who wants to work in the auto industry, she says. Successful completion of the program could replace work experience requirements.

The Certification is 128 hours of training with courses like basic computer; CPR/First Aid; introduction to power tools; blueprint reading; precision measurement; interview skills; manufacturing and an OSHA 10-hour safety certification course.

“The most important thing for potential students to know now is that the decisions they make today will affect them the rest of their lives, so make wise choices,” Crain says.

Lloryn Love-Carter of the Nissan Group of North America said auto technology and manufacturing certificate programs play a vital role in ensuring its workforce is equipped to build vehicles that are more technologically advanced than ever before.

“As a part of our recruitment practices, we now are giving preferred

Crain and her husband, Gary, married for 37 years, have two children and soon-to-be five grandsons – her own basketball team.

With four grandsons and a fifth on the way, she recognizes that one of those may one day be employed in the auto industry.

“My grandsons can name every type of car/truck as it is driving on the road,” she says. “All of them love cars and are aware that Nissan is located in close proximity to where they all live, so I expect they will have a future in the automotive industry one day.”

Holmes is one of 15 community colleges that are key partners in continued growth in the automotive sector, says Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Glenn McCullough Jr. “By providing a direct pipeline of skilled and productive graduates, the state’s original equipment manufacturers and parts suppliers are thriving in Mississippi,” McCullough says. “Without the customized training offered by community colleges around the state, manufacturers would be challenged to maintain the dedicated workforce found in Mississippi.” n APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 55

Faces of the Industry

Rick Walker’s Automotive Journey Born into American car culture, the math whiz, musician, attorney and GAMA founder now revs up the Southern auto sector.

TEXT BY: KATHY HAGOOD / PHOTOS BY: HENRI HOLLIS

R

ick Walker, a patent attorney and founder and president of the Georgia Automotive Manufacturers Association (GAMA), couldn’t help but start learning about the car making industry from an early age.

He was born and raised in Detroit.

While being involved in the Detroit’s automotive culture was a choice influenced by his car-loving father, Walker says, everyone in the city who kept up with the daily news was abreast of industry happenings. “You didn’t see The Detroit News without seeing some

56 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

article about the automotive industry above the fold,” he says.

It’s no wonder Walker started his career working with one of the Big Three and now helps the automotive industry prosper in both of his current roles. His high-profile GAMA project this year is spearheading the hosting of Southern Automotive Conference (SAC) in Atlanta October 3-5. “We are so honored to be hosting the conference in Georgia for the first time this year,” he says.

Rated as one of state’s top lawyers in various publications for the past six years, Walker set his mind on becoming a patent attorney early. “You are going to laugh but I got the idea from a practicing patent attorney at Ford Motor Company who came to speak at my high school’s career day,” Walker says. “It’s sounded like the perfect thing for my dual interests in technology and business.”

Walker excelled in science and math, often winning math tournaments at his high school. “I’m one of those people who builds my own computer,” Walker says laughing. “I’m basically a geek.”

But he also had a strong interest in music. With the encouragement of his mother Walker began playing the violin at six years old. As an adult he played with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and continues to pursue his passion for music, playing violin, rock violin, and keyboard, even professionally. “Interest and ability in music tends to goes hand in hand with mathematics,” Walker says. “I believe my early exposure to musical training had a great influence on developing my mental abilities.”

THE LAW His track to becoming a patent attorney included laying a foundation in engineering both with bachelor and master’s degrees and a stint as engineer with Ford Motor Co. “To be a patent attorney, you have to be knowledgeable about science and technology,” Walker says.

He graduated from the University of Detroit magna cum laude and

was first in his class with a degree in process, manufacturing and materials engineering. He also completed his masters in engineering design and computer control there. Highly focused, Walker earned both degrees in four years by taking graduate level courses as electives.

A law degree from University of Detroit followed as did his completion of the University of Michigan’s business school executive program in Ann Arbor. “I have diverse interests, but they are all tied together with what I’m doing now,” Walker says.

With the resonant voice of a radio announcer, Walker hasn’t just been an avid student. He’s also an enthusiastic teacher, often coaching start-up entrepreneurs as well as serving as a guest lecturer across the Southeast and beyond, including Emory Law School and Auburn University. He’s authored numerous published articles on innovation, quality and profitability.

“I enjoy sharing knowledge and helping others reach their dreams,” Walker says.

After earning his law degree, Walker became a partner at a major Detroitarea intellectual property law firm creating a successful practice in national and international litigation, as well as additional patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and unfair competition matters. One of his clients, Kuhlman Corp., a Tier I automotive supplier then based in Detroit, then hired him as counsel and executive vice president.

He moved to Savannah, Ga., in 1993, after Kuhlman reestablished its headquarters there. Soon enamored with the state, he stayed after Kuhlman sold its 30 factories located across the world to BorgWarner. Walker moved to Atlanta in 2006, forming his own private intellectual property law practice.

During his 14-year tenure at Kuhlman, Walker served on the company’s three-person executive management team. He helped lead the growth of annual sales from $100 million to almost $1 billion in six years, he says.

Before the company sold, it provided compounded, annualized returns of

I have diverse interests, but they are all tied together with what I’m doing now... I enjoy sharing knowledge and helping others reach their dreams.” — Rick Walker about 30 percent to shareholders.

With all his business acumen, it’s no wonder Walker received the International Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Society of International Business Fellows and has been named one of the “Latest Generation of Atlanta CEOs and Power Brokers” by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Currently Walker is a partner at Clements Bernard Walker PLLC, which specializes in intellectual property, trade association, and business law. He counsels clients with various automotive technologies including autonomous and sensor technologies, among other related areas. “Patents and other intellectual property are important to automotive OEMs and various tier suppliers to show their technological leadership,” Walker says. “Litigation is very expensive.”

In addition to specializing in automotive issues, he also works with clients in other areas including medical devices, industrial products, technology systems, and trade associations. “In helping our law firm clients, we try to build a picket fence around their protectable ideas using patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and various agreements,” says Walker.

Among his many credentials and accolades, Walker is AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated – the highest ranking - by the Martindale-Hubbell legal directory. He is recent past president and member of the board of directors of the North Fulton Bar Association.

MOVING FORWARD IN AUTOMOTIVE Walker sees positive changes in the Southern automotive sector. One of the major changes in the global automotive industry Walker has noticed over the years, which is certainly evident in the South, is how manufacturers are tending toward building highly specialized

factories in a select number of locations.

He believes that practice will help bring additional specialized factories to our region because of the technical expertise available here, assuming we keep developing our workforce.

“The new trend for OEMs is to have key factories around the world that specialize in just certain vehicles and then ship internationally,” he says. “I was told that BMW exports about 70 percent of its vehicles made in Spartanburg, SC.” Walker is bullish on the South’s potential to continue to build its automotive industry strength. “We believe that the steady growth of automotive manufacturing in the Southeast will continue among all the states,” Walker says. “A concern that may affect such growth is the availability of a skilled workforce (as growth continues).

That is why workforce development is a key issue among all the southern states, and will be a major theme at the Southern Automotive Conference.”

The region continues to work to develop its workers with some standout programs offering inspiration to other communities across the South. “Some workforce development programs now even cover elementary, middle school, and high school,” Walker says. “Technical colleges and community colleges have developed special apprenticeship programs.”

Laying the groundwork for SAC 2018 Walker notes that leadership from all the Southern states is involved. Based on the success and popularity of the Japan exhibitor pavilion at SAC last year in Alabama, this year’s conference will have additional international pavilions for foreign exhibitors.

“We are planning on at least 12 International Pavilions,” Walker says.

“The concept has been well received by exhibitors and will offer great networking opportunities for our membership.” n APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 57

Faces of the Industry

Frank Chestnut (third from right) and staff of Apprenticeship Alabama

Frank Chesnut: Listening, Training Leading Crossing the state for the commerce department and spreading the word about apprenticeships TEXT BY: GAIL ALLYN SHORT / PHOTOS COURTESY: AIDT

I

t is half past 5 p.m., and Frank Chestnut is on his cellphone, talking about an old practice that is making a comeback: the apprenticeship.

Chestnut manages Apprenticeship Alabama, a state Department of Commerce program in the Workforce Development division, and he is a member of the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association (AAMA) Board of Directors. Most days, his job takes him on the road across Alabama to talk with manufacturers and other industries about registered apprenticeship programs as a strategy for cultivating the skilled workers they need.

“The mission of Apprenticeship Alabama is to ensure that businesses have the tools needed to develop industry-driven, registered apprenticeship programs for the workforce,” he says. “We’re actively engaged with many stakeholders to

increase high-skilled, high-demand careers by expanding registered apprenticeships and administering the apprenticeship tax credit to participating employers.”

Chestnut started down his own career path in high school, as the oldest of three sons growing up in Selma. His father owned a small business selling ethnic hair care products. His mother operated a daycare.

After he turned 16, Chestnut says that on Saturdays, he often drove his family’s company van to Montgomery to sell the products to salons and beauty supply stores.

A 1987 graduate of Selma High School, for a time he worked in cell phone sales, before enrolling at Faulkner University to study business. He focused on human resources as the best way to use the skills he acquired as a salesman.

“You had to listen to people to

58 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

find out what they truly needed,” says Chestnut, “and I was able to see things from the perspective of a company and what fell under human resources.

That led me down the path to human resources and then training.”

Chestnut earned his bachelor’s degree from Faulkner University in 1995 and landed a job as a utility worker at International Paper’s Riverdale Mill near Selma. He rose through the ranks to become a systems trainer, juggling several duties, from directing work schedules to making sure workers followed company safety practices.

He later earned a master’s degree in human resource management from Troy University in 2002. The following year, Chestnut accepted a position writing training materials and curriculum for AIDT, the Alabama Department of Commerce Workforce Development division that develops recruitment and

training opportunities for workers.

At AIDT, he eventually worked his way up to management, overseeing efforts by various AIDT divisions and client companies like Mercedes, Hyundai, Honda, GE and Airbus to improve their workplace processes.

During that time, Chestnut began wrestling with an idea to do more with his life.

“I kept asking myself how I could help my community,” says Chestnut. “What have I learned at AIDT that I could give back to my community?”

So Chestnut ran for and won a seat on the Selma City Schools Board of Education, serving from 2009 to 2016.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” says Chestnut, “and it made me realize that education was in a silo. … Many businesses would share with me that they felt the curriculum was outdated and 10 years behind what they were doing in business and industry.”

Consequently, he says while on the school board, he says he saw the need for high school students to take part in activities like job shadowing and company tours to expose them early on to different careers.

Since becoming manager of Apprenticeship Alabama, Chestnut has set his focus on apprenticeships. He says more employers in the trades are turning to on-the-job training to replace skilled laborers of the baby boom generation who are retiring.

Apprenticeship programs, he says, can help fill the skills gap in highdemand careers in areas like automotive technology and industrial maintenance.

“The knowledge transfer for the company is immediate and so is the return on their investment,” he says.

“If an employer wishes to reduce turnover, increase productivity, develop highly trained employees and create a pipeline for skilled workers, then an apprenticeship is a great solution.”

In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor states that the average retention for apprentices who complete their programs is 91 percent.

Chestnut says that while there are

many apprenticeship programs in existence, Apprenticeship Alabama promotes and supports programs registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, which Chestnut calls the “gold standard.” For instance, registered programs require that employers provide apprentices with a structured on-the-job training regimen in which they designate experienced mentor employees to teach the apprentices the skills needed to become competent workers.

“This form of training results in an industry-recognized credential that certifies occupational proficiency,” Chestnut says. “A registered apprenticeship allows your business to grow its own talent while the apprentice has the opportunity to earn while they learn. It’s a win-win.”

Moreover, employers must place apprentices on progressive wage schedules that increase as their skill levels rise. They also have to collaborate with an education partner so that apprentices can gain relevant classroom instruction and the degrees or certifications they will need to succeed in their career.

“One of the most important components has to be the classroom training,” says Chestnut.

“We reach out mainly to the Alabama Community College System to discover the employer’s options.”

Chestnut says that traveling the state, the Apprenticeship Alabama team does presentations that allow “us to help employers realize a solution to closing their skills gap. For some employers, it’s a matter of informing them and talking with them about the benefits, while on the other hand, many have approached us because they want to be more proactive about the future of their workforce.”

Through Apprenticeship Alabama, Department of Labor-registered programs can earn a state tax credit of $1,000 for each qualified apprentice for up to four years, and employers may hire up to five apprentices annually.

The Labor Department reports

You had to listen to people to find out what they truly needed, and I was able to see things from the perspective of a company and what fell under human resources.

That led me down the path to human resources and then training.” — Frank Chesnut rising numbers of apprentices, with more than 533,000 apprentices in the United States in 2017. That year, Alabama had 114 active, registered apprenticeship programs and 4,905 apprentices, up from 96 registered programs and 4,225 active apprentices in 2016.

Automotive suppliers in particular have contacted his office to set up apprenticeship programs, Chestnut says.

“The suppliers are realizing that, ‘If I’m going to be competitive and keep some talent, I’d better have a registered apprenticeship program,’” he says.

Chestnut has representing AIDT on AAMA’s board of directors for the past 11 years.

“Frank is a strong player on the AAMA board,” says AAMA President Ron Davis. “He’s well connected to the industry and is always looking at ways to meet the needs of the industry.”

Chestnut is married, and he and his wife, Kesha, are raising three children in Selma. When he is not on the road for his job, he says he enjoys traveling around the country and abroad and to see NFL and college football games.

But on this workday, at half past 5 p.m., Chestnut is in full travel mode, spreading the word about apprenticeships; in Mobile one day, Tuskegee another day, or somewhere in north Alabama, he says.

“I’m proud that we’re playing a role in educating employers on the benefits of registered apprenticeship programs,” he says. “In my opinion, increasing awareness of these programs results in individuals being able to support their families.” n APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 59

VISION

Accelerating To The Future

A virtual reality concept won the Innovation Test Track competition at Southern Automotive Conference 2017.

To find the cutting edge of the car making industry, Jack Sisk is investigating innovative ideas to make the processes better TEXT BY: CARA CLARK / PHOTOS BY: ALAINA ELGIN

J

ack Sisk, CEO of Technology Acceleration and Innovation Services, is driven. He’s been in the automotive industry for long enough to know the next big thing when he sees it, and he’s keeping a vigilant eye out. Sisk knows the key to identifying what works in the South is not looking for a body style, an overhaul or pinpointing a whole new take on a braking system. Instead, it’s finding a way to streamline what matters most in automotive below the Mason-Dixon line.

And that’s manufacturing processes.

“We see so much change in automotive now that technology is moving faster than we can develop it into cars,” Sisk explained. “A full vehicle makeover takes three years, and the technology turn is 18 months.

Technology is outpacing itself.”

That’s the crux of the problem for

automakers who want vehicles to be cutting edge in a world of “here today, gone later today.”

Sisk worked with Saturn Company, known for its entrepreneurial spirit, back in the ’80s when the cars launched in North America. He’s cognizant of what it takes to introduce a new concept to the industry.

“We have a resurgence of entrepreneurs and accelerators bringing new products to market faster,” said Sisk. “One lane we went down was how do we help automotive find technology faster. If you don’t innovate, you won’t be competitive. How do we do it quicker?”

Sisk said the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association introduced an Innovative Test Track during the annual Southern Automotive Conference last October, and “Last year the automotive association challenged

60 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

us to create an innovation zone. What’s new and exciting that’s coming to industry? It did not have to be a new company, but something in start-up or early revenue.”

The three-day SAC in Alabama came on the heels of announcements from Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Autocar that an infusion of more than $1 billion in investments was on its way to the state.

And the Innovation Test Track, a Shark-Tank style pitch competition, brought big news of its own. The goal was to pinpoint ideas with the potential to make real change in bridging the gap between developing technologies and access those technologies have to industry.

“We call that technology pull rather than technology push,” Sisk said.

“Research companies develop products that don’t have a destiny, and we are trying to pull those together.”

Sisk cites the winner of the Innovation Test Track competition at SAC as a prime example of the sort of high-impact change the manufacturing world needs to have an opportunity to embrace.

“We want to develop that into a process to churn this innovation and get it in front of industry,” Sisk said.

Tennessee-based IVRTrain presented its technology and business strategy in the Innovation Test Track competition with other new technology companies and took first place with a unanimous vote by the panel of four judges made up of industry professionals.

Virtual reality has the unique ability to create an environment real enough to detach the individual from their surroundings and make them feel they are in another environment, such as aircraft simulators, which come with a price tag of a million dollars or more. The training proposed in the Test Track is affordable, and statistics on virtual reality immersion shows 75 percent retention rate in training, far

outstripping traditional methods.

IVRTrain COO Jeff Brown presented his virtual reality training, by explaining, “This all started from the generation of gamers. If a 15-year-old can teach himself to be excellent at killing zombies, why can’t we take a 20-year old and make him excellent at building cars or excellent at driving forklifts.”

The same virtual concepts that train recreational gamers to excel can easily be adapted in training for manufacturing.

Brown highlighted the need for technology in workforce development in the Southeast to keep pace with the accelerated production of autos.

Employees are the key to success in much of automotive, and not only recruiting, but retraining and cross-training.

“Trying to get a new product integrated into a vehicle is more difficult in the South,” Sisk said. “We don’t design cars, we manufacture them.

Designs are by the parent company, and in North America, that’s Detroit just like German car designs go through Germany and Japanese design work goes through Japan.”

Knowing autos won’t get a whole new navigation system or powertrain remodel if an idea of that nature is floated, manufacturers in the South look to how they can greatly impact the assembly.

“If a company has a new idea for an airbag deployment mechanism, we can’t take that to the manufacturer – that’s for the R&D team,” Sisk explained. “What we find is that we improve the processes, the metrics of how you build a car, and that affects factors like the product cost and speed to market. Those are things

Finding ways to speed up the connection between innovators and industry is a key to moving automotive forward faster, Jack Sisk says.

we are measured by every day.”

Sisk uses an example from the Shark-Tank style competition that offers a valuable breakthrough for the manufacturing side. It’s a virtual reality training process that could revolutionize equipment training methods.

“You move a lot of material around when you build 60 cars an hour,” he said. “Training workers about the manufacturing process on virtual reality machines provides ways to improve cycle times, process improvements, and logistics of how to deliver.”

With the importance of traceability in the automotive industry, finding improved ways to track parts and components of vehicles is another way the manufacturing process can be improved.

The objective, Sisk says, is trying to innovate within and pull interests from outside the automotive industry that continue to streamline and expedite processes. He anticipates continued emphasis on innovation initiatives as the annual SAC brings together multiple states to address the ever-growing needs of automotive

manufacturing in the South.

When manufacturers look at key metrics, they need measurable results from innovations to justify investments in implementing those processes.

“When assembling vehicles, we’re always looking for how to load the seat better, ways to build better or how to solve problems in the plants,” Sisk said.

“Any leader in the industry is always thinking of ways to do things better, safer and more cost effective. And they’re asking about interim steps to a permanent fix. It’s all about innovating to benefit operations.”

Sisk says looking at the growth in the Southern automotive industry in his 30-year career “is just phenomenal.”

“It’s incredible to see how much growth has accelerated,” he said. “If there’s a way we can work together to help improve and make the industry and region stronger, we have a bunch of dedicated men and women out there trying to help. Automotive is 25 percent of the economy. It generates that much.

That’s why we all are looking at how to bring innovation to the industry faster.” n

We see so much change in automotive now that technology is moving faster than we can develop it into cars. A full vehicle makeover takes three years, and the technology turn is 18 months.

Technology is outpacing itself.” — Jack Sisk APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 61

EXPERT VIEW

Looking Good in the Deep South Mercedes: This MercedesBenz GLE was the 300,000th car created at Mercedes-Benz U.S. International’s Vance plant. Courtesy MBUSI.

How incentives, workforce development and supply chain keep the Southeastern automotive industry driving forward TEXT BY: WARREN MATTHEWS AND TRENT SCOFIELD

A

central theme in President Trump’s State of the Union Address focused on increased economic development in manufacturing, particularly in the automotive sector. The president referenced the recent Toyota-Mazda joint venture announced for Alabama as a prime example that, “Exciting progress is happening every day.” We welcome Toyota and Mazda as the latest in a long list of world-class Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that have chosen to locate major manufacturing operations in the Southeast region of the United States. Indeed, this is a time of great opportunity for those of us who call this part of the country our home.

Some may be surprised to learn that the Southeast has enjoyed many years of success in establishing, cultivating and expanding highly-sophisticated auto manufacturing operations within our region. Several Southeastern states rank among the country’s highest vehicle producers, and this impressive

output would not be possible without collaborative relationships formed at each stage of the process. Whether it’s receiving, delivery or assembly, our corporate partners can count on complete support designed to facilitate efficient manufacturing operations.

Some additional thoughts to consider are as follows. Southeastern state and local governments are tireless promoters of economic development – most have enacted tax incentive laws that are focused on reducing a company’s costs related to the development, construction, equipping and start-up of a new project, as well as expansions of existing facilities.

Examples of these types of tax incentives include sales and use tax abatements and exemptions on construction materials and equipment, reduced ad valorem taxes during the early years of the project, and relief from other state and local taxes.

Tax incentives combined with a relatively low state and local tax burden fosters a pro-business climate intended

62 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

to accelerate the timeline to profitability.

For certain extraordinary projects, discretionary cash incentives might also be available. Additionally, reduced labor costs often provide a head start in establishing a solid operational base.

Many states have formalized workforce development programs capable of providing skilled and motivated employees to get the job done. Example programs include Alabama’s Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT), Georgia’s Quick Start and Mississippi’s Workforce Investment Network (WIN).

Another advantage is the mature supply chain network that has developed to support Southeastern OEMs. Alabama alone has more than 150 Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers located within the state. Rapid delivery methods enable just-in-time production to flow as scheduled and in accordance with projections. Many suppliers enjoy their own collective groups designed to share information and resources to promote best practices in addressing any challenges which

Cooperation is a critical component of economic advancement and our corporate partners are great examples of this ideal.” may arise at the local level. Cooperation is a critical component of economic advancement and our corporate partners are great examples of this ideal.

From a geographic perspective, the Southeast offers ready opportunities for site development and easy connections to highway, rail and water. This proximity enables suppliers reliable access to OEM’s without unnecessary logistic hurdles. The Southeast is comprised of right-to-work states whose workforce is reliable and capable of performing the job. Continued education, training and professional development are areas of emphasis in order to deliver these positive results.

There may not be a perfect place to do business – however, our experience shows that the Southeastern states are poised to continue the trend of positive growth and development for those OEM’s and suppliers that choose to invest in our region. n Warren C. Matthews is a partner and Co-Chair of Burr & Forman LLP’s Manufacturing Industry group where he specializes in economic development and state and local taxation. He has vast experience representing foreign and domestic companies locating and/or expanding their business operations in the United States.

J. Trent Scofield is a partner in Burr & Forman LLP’s Labor & Employment group where his practice focuses on traditional labor matters, as well as defending employment discrimination claims. He has experience providing compliance advice and strategic counsel to Human Resources and corporate legal teams throughout the Southeast.

APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 63

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.

EVENT CALENDAR

TAMA 27TH ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT Join TAMA for its annual golf tournament and member meeting on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, at the Old Fort Golf Club in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Enjoy a catered lunch, hear Tennessee automotive industry updates, enjoy laidback networking with fellow automotive professionals and play a round of golf with peers.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Schedule: 7:30 a.m. - Check-In Opens 8:30 a.m. - Shotgun Start 12:30 p.m. - Luncheon & Keynote 1:30 p.m. - Awards

Registration: Member Meeting and Lunch Only Member - $30 Non-Member - $50 Member Meeting and Golf Member - $150/person; $600/ foursome Non-Member - $200/person; $800/foursome

Thursday, May 10 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. CT Embassy Suites Hotel Murfreesboro, TN n Tennessee Department of Economic and TAMA, the Community Development (ECD), and the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services (UTCIS) will host the second annual “Meet Your Match TN,” the state’s premier matchmaking event for OEMs, Tier 1, 2 and 3 suppliers, on May 10 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The 2017 inaugural matchmaking event put 44 Tier 2 and 3 automotive parts suppliers from across the region face-to-face with procurement officers from Nissan, Volkswagen and several Tier 1 manufacturers, generating more than 175 meetings.

New connections were also made outside matchmaking meeting rooms. Fifteen companies exhibited at Meet Your Match TN, which gave them the opportunity to interact with decision makers from OEMs and Tier 1, 2 and 3 suppliers about the services they offer the industry.

We aim to make this experience extremely high-value for you and your company. Should you choose to participate, experts on the event planning committee will schedule six mutually beneficial, 15-minute matchmaking meetings.

For more information or to register, visit www. meetyourmatchtn.com.

Sponsorship: Hole sponsorships are available for $450. Your company logo will be placed at the hole of your choice (first come, first serve) and you will have the opportunity to set up a table at the hole.

To join TAMA, visit www.tennauto.org.

For questions about membership, contact Logan Moore – logan@tennauto.org.

64 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 65

REGIONAL REPORT: GEORGIA 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 HAS HAD VERY SUCCESSFUL START FOR 2018: February 7, 2018 – Quarterly Meeting - “Critical Issues in Quality and OSHA” – was very well attended. It was held at West Georgia Technical College in LaGrange, Georgia (near the Kia assembly plant in West Point, Georgia).

March 6-8, 2018 - SOAR Conference – Joint with Georgia MEP – was a huge success from all reports we heard.

The event included customer-supplier “matchmaking” opportunities in automotive, aerospace, and defense. The event was held in Macon, Georgia.

UPCOMING EVENTS May 1, 2018 - GAMA’s Fifth Annual Golf Tournament supporting the Southern Automotive Women’s Forum (SAWF). It will be held at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia (near Columbus, Georgia). Yes, spring will hopefully be in the air in the beautiful Southeast. The last few tournaments have had 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.

October 3-5, 2018 - GAMA’s primary focus this year is on hosting the Southern Automotive Conference (SAC). The GAMA Teams are moving at full speed to have this be a spectacular event, delivering exceptional value for all who attend, exhibit, and/or sponsor. Highlights include: PMT Publishing, with their experienced SAC Team including Sheila Wardy, Molly Lipski, and Walker Sorrell, is the Event Planner and Promoter for this year’s SAC. They are doing a fantastic job.

Sponsorships are very important to the success of events like this, and the GAMA Sponsorship Team consisting of David Eyes, Julio Gonzalez, Walter Griggs, Terry Seese, and Mike Stonecipher, are energized, organized, and are meeting regularly to help ensure the success of this event.

This will be the 11th year for the SAC, and one of the reasons for its continuing success is the support of the other regional association executives – from AAMA, MAMA, TAMA, KAIA, SCAC, and SAWF. This year’s event is expected to host at least a dozen International Pavilions. This adds international resources and opportunities to the event, and builds on the success of the JETRO International Pavilion from 2017.

The logo and theme for this year’s event “Forward Momentum” are intended to capture the growing importance and strength of the SAC to our region and the automotive industry worldwide.

The website for SAC 2018 is www.SouthernAutoCon.com.

For further information, please contact Rick Walker, GAMA President, at rwalker@GAMA-Georgia.org or 770-314-9040 66 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 67

REGIONAL REPORT: MISSISSIPPI

The Mississippi Automotive Manufacturers Association was formed to provide a forum for interaction among automotive manufacturing companies in Mississippi. The organization serves its members by promoting the growth, development and improvement of the automotive industry. The Mississippi Automotive Manufacturers Association (MAMA) is open to companies or plants engaged in the manufacture of vehicles, suppliers and/or distributors of parts to equipment manufacturers and/or after-market distributors; and companies, organizations or advisors that have demonstrated experience with manufacturing trends, techniques, or services to the automotive industry.

Mission: The Mississippi Automotive Manufacturers Association promotes the growth and development of the automotive industry in Mississippi.

2018 INNOVATION CONFERENCE April 25-26, 2018 • Nissan Training Center • Canton, MS The 2018 Innovation Conference at the Nissan North America Plant in Canton, Mississippi is an annual event showcasing the latest technologies for improving quality and productivity within the automotive industry.

There will be over 60 exhibitors displaying their

products that illustrate emerging technologies that will provide you with a competitive edge. Hundreds of people attended the conference and gained valuable insight regarding innovative technologies to improve the quality of their products.

2nd Quarter MAMA Membership Meeting + PACCAR Tour Tuesday, May 29, 2018 Columbus, MS 9:15 – 9:30 – Coffee and networking 9:30 – 10:30 – Membership Meeting 10:30 – 11:30 – Plant Tour

MAMA Annual Scholarship Scramble Tuesday, May 29, 2018 Old Waverly Golf Course • West Point, MS 12:00 – 1:00 – Lunch • 1:00 – Tee Off

To join MAMA, visit www.mamaonline.net.

For questions about membership, contact Caley Dawkins – 601.750.5666 or msautomanufacturers@gmail.com 68 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

North Alabama Workforce Workshop

PR E SE N TED BY :

S P ON SOR ED BY:

5 STAR GLOBAL RECRUITMENT PARTNERS Thursday, April 5, 2018

Come together with economic developers, employers, and educators, including K-12 and community colleges to hear how Alabama is ready to work in preparation for the explosive job growth to come in manufacturing.

Location: Calhoun Community College, 6250 US-31, Tanner, AL 35609, Health Science Building Speakers:

Ron Davis

Fitzgerald Washington

Donny Jones

Josh Laney

Jeff Lynn

Ed Castile

Stephanie McCulloch

TI M E

T OPIC

SPEAKER

7:30-8:00

Continental Breakfast & Networking

8:00-8:15

Introduction and Welcome

Ron Davis, AAMA President

8:15-9:00

Status of Alabama Workforce

Fitzgerald Washington, Alabama Secretary of Labor

9:15-12:00

Building a Pipeline of Qualified Workers

Donny Jones, CEO West Alabama Works

12:00-12:45 Lunch 12:45-1:30

K-12 Initiatives

Josh Laney, Sr. Director of Workforce, Alabama Department of Education

1:30-2:15

Community College System Support for Industry

Jeff Lynn, Vice Chancellor Workforce & Economic Development, Alabama Community College System

2:15-3:00

Toyota/Mazda & Region Support

Ed Castile, Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Workforce Development Division, Director of AIDT

3:00-4:00

Speaker Q&A; Next Steps

All Speakers & Stephanie McCulloch, Assistant Director, North Alabama Works

Register today at www.aama.memberclicks.net!

For more information, please contact: Lynsey Delane | 256.824.6407 | lynsey@alautoindustry.org APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 69

KUDOS

Fairplay on the Fairway BMW charity golf tournament raises big bucks for South Carolina causes

TEXT BY: CARA CLARK / PHOTOS COURTESY: PGATOUR.COM

I

n many business empires, the golf course has replaced the board room for high-level talks and money-making decisions. That’s a far cry from the sport’s origins in 15th century Scotland, but golf ’s appeal spans the spectrum from green-jacketed icons of the professional set to casual weekend enthusiasts.

When the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation tees off for a May 17-20 tournament in South Carolina, the real winners will be the charities that benefit from the event’s proceeds. Hosting this year’s event are The Cliffs Valley, The Furman University Golf Club and the Thornblade Club.

The tournament promotes four primary charities: Children’s Hospital of Greenville Health System, Cliffs Residents Outreach, Mobile Meals of Spartanburg and Upstate SC STEM Collaborative. Last year’s event generated $631,495 for the benefitting agencies, indicating that this year’s charities are also likely to fill their coffers as golfing aficionados line up to watch big names in the sport compete alongside those with aspirations for greatness.

“This event is much more than a golf tournament, it is a purpose-driven

initiative focused on maximizing charitable giving and making a difference throughout the community,” said Steve Sellery, the pro-am’s executive director, in a press release. “By highlighting the work of our featured charities, we look forward to heightening awareness of these organizations as well as increasing funds raised to champion their missions.”

The causes the tournament will aid provide various services to the community.

Children’s Hospital of Greenville Health System in Upstate South Carolina provides board-certified physicians care for more than 400,000 infants, children, and adolescents each year.

The stated mission of The Cliffs Residents Outreach (CRO), a nonprofit corporation, is “providing resources to regional children that promote opportunities for lifelong success.” A 100 percent volunteer organization, CRO is focused on literacy, nutrition and mentoring for kids in Greenville, Pickens and Oconee Counties in South Carolina. The organization raised more than $3 million in the last 10 years to benefit children.

Third in the charity line-up is

70 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

Mobile Meals of Spartanburg. With the vision of the founding executive director Jayne McQueen, along with the influence of First Presbyterian Church and the Spartanburg County Planning Commission, Mobile Meals of Spartanburg began in 1977, serving 25 meals with 15 volunteers. Today, the organization serves nearly 2,000 residents annually.

The Upstate SC STEM Collaborative, which plays a critical role in the region’s economic development, has a mission to pursue opportunities and possibilities in STEM education to promote workforce development in the upstate region of the state.

“With just shy of $13 million raised for our charities since the tournament began, positive momentum is propelling us forward,” said Max Metcalf, secretary/ treasurer for the tournament. “We are looking forward to our thriving local business community becoming an even more active part of this exhilarating forward motion.”

BMW Manufacturing has been the title sponsor of the event since 2001.

Last year’s roster of celebrities included Kim Alexis, actress and model; Jose Alvarez, former Major League Baseball player; Mark Bryan of Hootie and the Blowfish; comedian Larry the Cable Guy; Colt Ford, country music artist; Dan Jansen, Olympic gold medalist; Chipper Jones, former Major League Baseball player; and Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers quarterback.

The pro-am is the only tournament on the Web.com Tour where amateurs and celebrities are grouped with Web. com Tour professionals in a four-day better-ball competition over three courses.

Amateurs, celebrities and pros rotate between three courses on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with the 10 lowest scoring pro-amateur teams, six lowest scoring

pro-celebrity teams and the lowest 65 pros (and ties) advancing to play Sunday’s final round at Thornblade Club.

Bob Nitto, president of the tournament, says The Cliffs Valley venue is one that’s sure to incite anticipation among those who will play the three-day tourney.

“We are thrilled to return to The Cliffs Valley, and we know that both our celebrity and amateur players will be equally pleased by this news. We are also excited that, once again, the tournament will be broadcasted to a worldwide viewing audience on Golf Channel,” he says.

Carlos Phillips, president/CEO of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, is enthusiastic about the upcoming tournament, which it has supported for some time.

“The tournament and its related events have engaged residents of Greenville, the Upstate and beyond for over 17 years, and the resulting charitable contributions have strengthened our community,” Phillips said.

Managed by the nonprofit organization South Carolina Charities, Inc., the tournament and has donated more than $12.7 million to numerous charities since 2001. An economic impact study by Clemson University’s International Institute of Tourism Research and Development estimated that the tournament annually generates total direct spending of $4.712 million, supports 139 jobs, generates net local government revenues of $541,048 and net state government revenues of $868,479, and yields $6.744 million in total output/impact.

The tournament will continue to support other worthwhile causes through Birdies for Charity, as well as rewarding participation in the ticket sales program. Volunteers may select one of the four featured charities to donate proceeds from their hours worked, and volunteer registration is now open at bmwcharitygolf.com. Visit BMWCharityGolf.com for updates and information, and follow the tournament on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @ bmwcharityproam. n

CAREER NOTES Manufacturing Committee, and past board member of the Atlanta Business League.

SYLVESTER HESTER, president and CEO of ARD Logistics, was presented the Minority Business Council Trailblazer Award by the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama. On its website, ARD describes itself as a “full-service, third party logistics provider that delivers endto-end supply chain solutions to a global roster of clients.” The company is based in Vance.

Services include warehousing, supply chain technology, sequencing, contract assembly and process improvement.

ARD is one of six manufacturing and logistics companies under the GAA marketing umbrella, which also includes Global SQ – which provides inspection services for Toyota in Georgetown, KY, Grupo Antolin Wayne, Key Logistics, Vitec and STM-LM. Global Automotive Alliance began in 1999 as an automotive supplier and today serves the aerospace, automotive, food and beverage, government, retail and pharmaceutical clients. GAA has more than 1400 employees in the U.S. and Canada.

Hester began his career in the automotive parts manufacturing in 1985 as an engineering technician for General Motors Advanced Engineering, before becoming project engineer, project manager and eventually vice-president at Regal Plastics in Michigan. Hester is a board member for the Southern Region Minority Supplier Development Council, board member of Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council, sitting chair of MBEIC Automotive

JILL ELKINGTON became the president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK) earlier this year.

Elkington oversees a $7 billion operation which employs over 8,000 people, and in a year, can produce 550,000 vehicles and more than 600,000 engines. The facility in Georgetown is Toyota’s largest production facility globally. The plant produces the Camry, Avalon and Lexus ES 350, plus four-cylinder and V6 engines.

Elkington joined TMMK in January 2017 as senior vice president to oversee the plant’s manufacturing and administrative functions. Before that she was the first woman to serve as general manager in the Production Control Division at Toyota Motor Corporation’s (TMC) global headquarters in Toyota City, Japan. A mechanical engineer with a degree from the University of Evansville, Elkington joined Toyota in 1998 in Princeton, Ind. as an assembly engineering specialist. By 2013, she held the position of manufacturing vice president at TMMI. A native of Huntingburg, Ind., Elkington is a board member of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, a STEP Ahead Honoree (2014) and ATHENA of Southwest Indiana Award Finalist (2013).

APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 71

I N D U S T R Y I N D I C AT O R S Source: AutoAlliance.org, state fact sheets

Who’s Working?

Percentage of state workforce in auto related jobs

Southeast Auto Stocks Company/Security

Headquarters

S.E. U.S.

Ticker

Exchange

Closing Price 3/15/2018

Closing Price 3/15/2017

Stock Price Growth

BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke AG ADR)

Munchen, Germany

SC

BMWYY

OTC

34.7355

29.87

16.29h

Ford Motor Co.

Dearborn, U.S.A

KY

F

NYSE

11.07

12.65

-12.49i

General Motors Co.

Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A

KY, TN

GM

NYSE

37.85

37.09

2.05h

Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

Minato, Tokyo, Japan

AL, SC

HMC

NYSE

34.73

31.16

11.46h

Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd.

Seoul, South Korea

AL

HYMLF

OTC

120

120

0.00

Kia Motors Corp.

Seoul, South Korea

GA

KIMTF

OTC

30.3

32.3

-6.19i

Mazda Motor Corp.

Hiroshima, Japan

AL

MZDAF

OTC

12.9901

14.34

-9.41i

Mercedes-Benz (Daimler AG)

Stuttgart, Germany

AL, GA, SC

DDAIF

OTC

83.92

76.39

9.86h

Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

Tokyo, Japan

KY

MMTOF

OTC

7.1

6.2

14.52h

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.

Yokohama, Japan

MS, TN

NSANF

OTC

10.69

10.0279

6.60h

Porsche Automobile Pfd.

Stuttgart, Germany

Ga.

POAHF

OTC

83.12

55.22

50.53h

Toyota Motor Corp. Ltd. Ord.

Toyota, Aichi, Japan

AL, KY MS

TM

NYSE

130.39

113.24

15.14h

Volkswagen Ag Ord.

Wolfsburg, Germany

TN

VLKAF

OTC

201.55

154.45

30.50h

Volvo AB ADR

Gothenburg, Sweden

S.C.

VLVLY

OTC

18.85

14.22

32.56h

72 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

HEADQUARTERS FACILITIES PLANT

LOCATION

TELEPHONE

WEB SITE

MAKES AND MODELS PRODUCED

Mercedes-Benz U.S.A.

303 Perimeter Center N., Atlanta, GA 30346

(800) 367-6372

mbusa.com

U.S. headquarters

Porsche Cars North America

One Porsche Dr., Atlanta, GA 30354

(770) 290-3500

porsche.com

North American headquarters

Nissan North America

One Nissan Way, Franklin, TN 37067

(615) 725-1000

nissannews.com

North American headquarters

ASSEMBLY PLANTS PLANT

LOCATION

TELEPHONE

WEB SITE

MAKES AND MODELS PRODUCED

BMW U.S. Manufacturing Co., L.L.C.

1400 Hwy. 101 S., Greer, SC 29651

(864) 989-6000

bmwusfactory.com

BMW X3, BMW X4, BMW X5, BMW X5 M, BMW X6, BMW X6 M

Kentucky Truck Assembly

3001 Chamberlain Ln., Louisville, KY 40241

(800) 392-3673

at.ford.com

Ford Expedition, Ford F-250, Ford F-350, Ford F-450, Ford F-550, Lincoln Navigator

Louisville Assembly Plant

2000 Fern Valley Rd., Louisville, KY 40213

(800) 392-3673

at.ford.com

Ford Escape, Lincoln MKC

Bowling Green Assembly Plant

600 Corvette Dr., Bowling Green, KY 42101

(270) 745-8019

corvetteassembly. com

Chevrolet Corvette

Spring Hill Manufacturing

100 Saturn Pkwy., Spring Hill, TN 37174

(931) 486-5440

media.gm.com

Cadillac XT5, GMC Acadia, four-cylinder and V8 engines

Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, L.L.C.

1800 Honda Dr., Lincoln, AL 35096

(205) 355-5000

hondaalabama.com

Honda Odyssey, Honda Pilot, Honda Ridgeline, V-6 engines

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, L.L.C.

700 Hyundai Blvd., Montgomery, AL 36105

(334) 387-8000

hmmausa.com

Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Sonata, Santa Fe

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc.

7777 Kia Pkwy., West Point, GA 31833

(706) 902-7777

kmmgusa.com

Kia Sorrento, Kia Optima

Mercedes-Benz U.S. International

1 Mercedes Dr., Vance, AL 35490

(205) 507-3300

mbusi.com

Mercedes-Benz C-class, Mercedes-Benz GLS, Mercedes-Benz GLE, Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe

Mercedes-Benz Vans, L.L.C.

8501 Palmetto Commerce Pkwy., Ladson, SC 29456

(843) 695-5000

daimler.com

Sprinter, Metris

Nissan Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant

983 Nissan Dr., Smyrna, TN 37167

(615) 459-1400

nissan-smyrna.com

Nissan Altima, Nissan Maxima, Nissan LEAF, Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Rogue, Infiniti QX60

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky

1001 Cherry Blossom Way, Georgetown, KY 40324

(502) 868-2000

toyotageorgetown. com

Lexus ES 350, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Avalon Hybrid, Toyota Camry, Toyota Camry Hybrid

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi

1200 Magnolia Way, Blue Springs, MS 38828

(662) 317-3000

toyota.com

Toyota Corolla

Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant

8001 Volkswagen Dr., Chattanooga, TN 37416

(423) 582-4000

volkswagengroupamerica.com

Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen Atlas

Nissan Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant

300 Nissan Dr., Canton, MS 39046

(601) 855-6000

nissan-canton.com

Nissan TITAN and TITAN XD, NV Cargo, NV Passenger, Nissan Frontier, Nissan Murano

Volvo Car USA (1)

3290 Volvo Car Dr., Ridgeville, SC 29472

n/a

volvocars.com

Volvo S60

TELEPHONE

COMPONENT PLANTS PLANT

LOCATION

WEB SITE

MAKES AND MODELS PRODUCED

Mitsubishi Electric

1705 Downing Dr., Maysville, (606) 759-5760 KY 41056

mitsubishielectric. com

Produces automotive electronic components

Honda Precision Parts of Georgia

550 Honda Pkwy., Tallapoosa, GA 30176

(770) 574-3400

hondainamerica.com

Produces transmissions for Honda and Acura light trucks assembled at Honda Manufacturing of Alabama

Chrysler Group, L.L.C. Atlanta Parts Distribution Center

1149 Citizens Pkwy., Morrow, GA 30260

(770) 960-3355

n/a

Parts distribution center

Nissan Decherd Powertrain Operations

520 Nissan Powertrain Dr., Decherd, TN 37324

(931) 962-5000

nissan-smyrna.com

Produces engines and electric motors for Nissan and Infiniti vehicles and Mercedes-Benz C-class vehicles assembled in Alabama

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama

1 Cottonvalley Dr. NW, Huntsville, AL 35810

(256) 746-4000

toyota.com

Produces 4-cylinder, V6 and V8 engines

(1) Production is expected to begin late in 2018.

APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 73

BY T H E N U M B E R S

2,500 Acreage of the planned ToyotaMazda car factory in Huntsville, Ala., more than twice the size originally anticipated. fortune.com

110 Number of jobs created in connection with Daesol Material Georgia’s new automotive fiber padding manufacturing facility in Harris County, Ga. southernautocorridor.com

/3

1

Approximate U.S. market share of South Carolina for production and export of tires. sccommerce.com

$27

BILLION

MILLION

Investment being made by Indian conglomerate Novelis in an aluminium sheet factor in Guthrie, Ky. southernautocorridor.com

$1.2

BILLION

Annual economic impact of the automotive sector in South Carolina. sccommerce.com

Anticipated investment by Volkswagen over the next three years, in its Chattanooga, Tenn. plant. southernautocorridor.com

1

50

30

MILLION

STORIES Height of Bridgestone’s new North American headquarters in Nashville, Tenn., making it the fifth largest in the city. southernautocorridor.com

$300 43,000

Square footage of planned headquarters and production facility for battery manufacturer EnerBlu in connection with its relocation to Lexington, Ky. southernautocorridor.com

74 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

Number of jobs being added by motion and control system manufacturer Parker Hannifin at its Holly Springs, Miss. facility. southernautocorridor.com

Index AAMA............................................... 4, 58,59,60, 69 Aaron Rodgers................................................................. 70 AIAG Quality Summit.......................................... 2 AIDT......................................................58,59,61,62 Alabama Community College System... 3, 58,59 American Automotive Policy Council.................................................... 18, 26, 28 American International Automobile Dealers Association ........................................................ 28 Amy Tinsley....................................................................... 51 Angela Crain................................................................54,55 Antonio Montoro............................................................ 18 ARD Logistics...................................................... 71 Association of Global Automakers............ 12,18 Audi................................................................ 12,13 Autocar............................................................... 60 Barber Motor Sports.................................... 17,18 Bentley................................................................ 41 Bharat Balsaubramanian.............................................. 13 Bill Dawson...................................................................... 44 Bill Haslam........................................................................ 22 Bill Jakubsen..............................................40,41,42,43,44 BMW........4,12,13,17,41,44,48,50,51,57 70,71,72 Bob Rolfe..............................................20,22,24,25 Bocar................................................................... 10 Bridgestone Americas.................................. 24,74 Burr & Forman................................................... 63 Business Council of Alabama ............................ 4 Calsonic.......................................................... 24,53 Carlos Phillips................................................................... 70 Carolyn Voisin.............................................................50,51 Caterpiller........................................................... 41 Center for Automotive Research............... 27,28 Charles Kendig.......................................................... 43, 44 Chevrolet....................................... 13,16 33,40 73 Chipper Jones................................................................... 70 Chris Wayne.................................................................50,51 Chrysler/FCA.....................10, 12,13, 18,32,33, 73 Clay Walden...................................................................... 14 CleanTechnica.................................................... 13 Cody Lusk.....................................................................27,28 Colt Ford............................................................................ 70 Daesol.................................................................. 74 Daimler/Mercedes Benz .......................................12,13, 18, 40,60,62 72,73 Daniel Amman................................................................. 46 David Zhu.......................................................................... 14 DENSO................................................. 15,22,24, 25 Dixie Flyer........................................................... 76 Don Erwin.......................................................................... 17 Donald Trump.................................................12,18,26,62 Dr. Gunther Schmidt............................................... 13, 16 Draxlmaier......................................................... 51 Dynametal.......................................................... 11 Edison Energy..................................................... 32 Elon Musk............................................................12, 13, 15, EnerBlu................................................................ 74 EnSafe.................................................................. 32 Fitzgerald Washington................................................... 16 Ford.................................13,16, 32,48,49,56 72,73 Frank Chestnut...........................................................58,59 GAMA......................................................... 56,57,66 Georgia Ports Authority.10, 38,39,40,41,42,43,44

Georgia Quick Start........................................... 62 Glenn Hegar..................................................................... 12 Glenn McCullough, Jr................................................54,55 GM........10,12, 13,14, 16,17, 22, 30,31,32,33,46, 47,48,49 ,52,53,72,73 Google................................................................. 17 Griff Lynch..............................................................41,43,44 Hankook Tires............................................... 15,24 Herbert Diess.......................................................14, 15,16 Hodges.................................................................. 6 Holmes Community College....................... 54,55 Honda .........................7,12,15,17,18,43,44 ,72,73 HPJ Industries.................................................... 37 Hugh Cantrell..................................................... 15 Hwan-Sik Yoon................................................................. 35 Hytch................................................................... 32 Hyundai............................................... 13, 15,17,41 Infinity................................................................. 12 IVRTrain......................................................... 60,61 J. Trent Scofield...........................................................62,63 Jack Sisk.........................................................................60,61 Jaguar.................................................................. 41 James Carskadon............................................................ 14 Jamison Money Farmer.................................... 23 Jason Hoff.......................................................................... 12 Jeffrey Humphreys.......................................................... 43 Jill Elkington....................................................................... 71 Jimmy Allgood.................................................................. 44 Joe Mattos......................................................................... 19 John Bradburn................................................................. 33 John Deere.......................................................... 41 John Thune....................................................................... 47 Jose Alvarez....................................................................... 70 Joshua Speller.............................................................48,49 KAIA..................................................................... 67 Kay Ivey ............................................................................. 18 Keeton General Contractors............................ 29 Kellen Mahoney....................................................31,32,33 KIA..................................................40,41, 72,73,77 Kim Alexis.......................................................................... 70 Kristin Dziczek.............................................................27,28 Kuhlman Corp.................................................... 57 Land Rover.................................................... 41,44 Larry the Cable Guy.......................................... 70 Leadec................................................................. 11 Lexus................................................................... 13 Lyft....................................................................... 19 Macy Williams..............................................................52,53 Magneti Marelli................................................................ 24 MAMA.................................................................. 68 Mann+Hummel............................................. 48,49 Mark Bryan....................................................................... 70 Matt Blunt......................................................................... 18 Matthew Doude.............................................................. 14 Max Metcalf........................................................ 70 Mazda........................... 10, 13, 14, 15,16,62 72,74 McAbee Construction....................................... 29 Mississippi State CAVS...................................... 14 Mitsubishi...................................................... 72,73 MollerTech.......................................................... 12 Molly Williams.............................................................52,53 Morris South...................................................... 45 NAOS................................................................... 25

NASCAR............................................................... 19 New Center Stamping....................................... 33 Nicolas Peter.................................................................... 17 Nissan...........10,12,13, 15, 16, 17,18, 22, 24, 25,48, 52,53,54,55 ,72,73 Nokian Tyres...................................................... 24 Novelis................................................................ 74 NSF....................................................................... 29 Omnex................................................................. 79 Omron................................................................. 80 Pamela Anderson........................................................... 19 Parker Hannifin................................................................ 74 Patrick J. Van Ryckeghem.............................30,31,32,33 PMT Events......................................................... 23 PNC Bank............................................................ 19 Porsche ........................................... 9,12,17 72,73 Port of Mobile.................................................... 18 Port of Tacoma................................................... 41 Quistem.............................................................. 21 Reich.................................................................... 21 Responsible Battery Coalition......................... 32 Rick Walker...................................................................56,57 Ride Responsibly............................................... 19 Rolls-Royce.................................................... 12,41 Ron Davis........................................................................... 59 Ronnie Rousey................................................................. 51 Roylco............................................................. 50,51 Russ Rader........................................................................ 47 SAC..............................................13,56,57,60,61,77 Saturn........................................................ 33,44,60 SCMA................................................................... 65 Sean Kane......................................................................... 47 Staubli................................................................. 33 Steven Mnuchen................................................ 18 Suppliers Partnership for the Environment.......................................30,31,32,33 Surgere........................................................... 18,19 Sylvester Hester.............................................................. 71 SYNNEX.......................................................... 70,71 Takata................................................................. 47 TAMA................................................................... 64 Tesla.....................................................10,13,15,50 Tim Haskew................................................... 35,36 TNECD...................................................20,22,24,25 Tom Shoupe..................................................................... 15 Topre America.................................................... 15 Toyota...............10,12,13,14,16,17,18,32,50,60,62 71,72,73,74 Truck & Wheel.................................................... 18 Tsutomo Morimoto........................................................ 15 UA Bama at Work................................................ 9 UA Bama By Distance....................................... 45 UA Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies...................................................... 13 UA IUCRC........................................................ 34,36 Uber..................................................................... 19 UTZ....................................................................... 63 Volkswagen...................................13,14, 16,17,22 Volvo.....................................................10,18,72,73 Warren Matthews......................................................62,63 Workforce Investment Network..................... 62 Yang-Ki Hong.........................................................34,35,36 YASA.................................................................... 14

APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 75

VINTAGE

The Dixie Flyer The last remaining example of a Dixie Flyer Firefly has returned home to Louisville and the company whose corporate ancestor built the car in 1922.

Born to a company with truly aheadof-its-time ideas, this Louisville, KY car enjoyed a brief period of fame.

TEXT BY: NICK PATTERSON PHOTOS COURTESY OF: KENTUCKY TRAILER

W

With most major car manufacturers today gearing up for building electric cars, it would be easy to assume that the alternative power source is just the wave of the future. But a Louisville company took steps toward electric cars before settling on the more conventional combustion engine more than 100 years ago.

Shortly after the Civil War, in 1878, the Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Company was established, and by 1912, had acquired the Electric Vehicle Company based in Louisville. According to Wikipedia, Kentucky Wagon wanted to get into electric cars and even had one called the Kentucky Electric on the drawing board. It never got built, but from 1912-1916, Kentucky did manufacture its Urban Electric Truck.

The same year the company stopped making its electric truck, however,

Kentucky Wagon took the assets it had acquired from the Hercules Motor Car Company of New Albany, Indiana and started down a new avenue, developing the Dixie Flyer. According to the website of Historic Photos of Louisville Kentucky and Environs, the Dixie Flyer was the first car ever built in the city.

The Dixie Flyer wasn’t electric – every one of them had a four-cylinder engine – but it had brushes with innovation nonetheless. The engines in the Dixie Flyer were built either

by Lycoming, which is now known for manufacturing aircraft engines, or Herschell-Spillman, which was primarily engaged in the business of making carousels and other amusement park rides.

Kentucky Wagon built the Dixie Flyer until 1923 under their Dixie Motor Car Company, Inc. banner. A vintage advertisement for their model

76 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

HS 50, from the April 17, 1919 edition of Motor Age magazine, let readers know the company was proud of its car. “The Dixie is a new car backed by old judgment, long experience and a thoroughly equipped plant covering thirty-two acres. It’s the people’s car and the dealer’s opportunity. Write for particulars.”

Another ad, from the Automobile Trade Journal makes it clear that Kentucky Wagon felt the Dixie Flyer, with styles ranging from roadsters and touring cars at $1595 to sedans and coupes at $2570, was a good value for consumers: Get down to plain figures.

Check up the nationally-known mechanical units of The Dixie Flyer.

Compare them one by one with those of cars selling at higher prices. Ride in the car. Drive it. Note its small gasoline consumption and long tire mileage. Feel its smooth, easy gliding movement and

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APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 77

the assuring response of its full-powered motor. Then you will know why Dixie owners everywhere are finding in it dependability, economy, comfort, and withal, exceptional car value. The Dixie Flyer Sedan and Coupe, combining the pleasure of open cars with the snug comfort of closed models, reveal the possibilities of quiet luxury, plus economy.

And the Dixie didn’t just toot its own horn either. One of its suppliers, the Dyneto Electric Corporation of Syracuse, N.Y. chose the Dixie Flyer to illustrate the “compactness and high quality” of its starting and lighting components. “The lucky owner of one of these beautiful Kentucky-made cars need never worry about its eagerness to start whenever he’s ready to say, ‘Let’s go,’ – because the engineers responsible for its design selected DYNETO Starting and Lighting system.”

Still, no one appreciated the virtues of the Dixie more than Kentucky Wagon’s copywriters as this final 1920 example from Motor Age demonstrates in spades: A product of experienced engineers and skilled artificers, the Dixie is made to quickly adapt itself to every unusual condition and to respond to every immediate requirement. …

Honest in workmanship, sturdy in poise, dependable and versatile in performance, the Dixie Flyer has everywhere won its way to the hearts of men and women

who realize that more than superficial garnishings are required to make a thoroughly satisfactory car. Graceful of lines, luxurious in appointments, the Dixie has been generously endowed with all those qualities that contribute so completely to comfort of mind and body.

The Dixie had several distinctive features: “vertical windshields that were integrated into the curved cowl dash, and the spring-mounted radiators. This latter feature was to reduce vibration, as well as strain on the chassis,” according to the Wikipedia article. The company expanded the line to include the Firefly Speedster, but that 1922 model was also the last new Dixie Flyer.

The Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Company fell victim to the recession that swept the country after World War I, which caused an implosion in their model line. Truck production ended quickly. And after three of Kentucky Wagon’s brands were merged – the Dixie, the Jackson and the National – the Dixie and Jackson brands were discontinued in 1923. “Many of the last Dixie Flyers were converted to Nationals by simply exchanging the Dixie radiator emblems and hubcaps with National ones,” Wikipedia reports.

The last known example of the Dixie Flyer is a two-seat Firefly, currently on display in the Louisville production plant at Kentucky Trailer, the successor company to Kentucky Wagon. n"

The Dixie is a new car backed by old judgment, long experience and a thoroughly equipped plant covering thirty-two acres. It’s the people’s car and the dealer’s opportunity. Write for particulars.”

—1919 advertisement

78 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018

APRIL/MAY 2018/ Southern Automotive Alliance 79

80 | Southern Automotive Alliance / APRIL/MAY 2018