Lordstown Manager Awaits New Mission
07-31-2005, 06:14 PM
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Lordstown Manager Awaits New Mission
Herman Maass' mission was to use his communication skills to convince workers - and then General Motors Corp. - that Lordstown could make dramatic work changes needed to build a new small car profitably.
Mission accomplished.
Maureen Midgley's mission was to use her engineering and paint shop backgrounds to shepherd Lordstown through a $1 billion renovation of Lordstown, construction of a paint shop and the successful launch of the Chevrolet Cobalt.
Mission accomplished.
Newly named Lordstown Manager John Donahoe's mission is to - well, that remains to be spelled out, but there might be some reasonable opinions on what it could be.
Chiefly, how about a second mass-production car for Lordstown to build?
A few items seem to be lining up to be optimistic that might happen.
The Saturn Ion is rumored to be earmarked for the complex. GM officials officially have denied it, but it's generally believed the automaker wants - all things being equal - to build another vehicle at Lordstown.
Because Lordstown can churn out more cars than most other auto plants in the world, GM wants to keep its $1 billion investment humming even if Cobalt sales dip. Building another car there would help (although to me the Ion looks a lot like the Cobalt and other small cars, so I have to wonder how stable its sales would be if the Cobalt weakens.)
Another thought is that GM reportedly plans to replace Ion's long-touted plastic skin with good, old-fashioned sheet metal. If that's the case, the Lordstown metal stamping plant, which pounds out body panels and frame parts, would become very important, both for quality and quantity. GM knows it'll be crucial to have a skilled stamping guy in charge at the front end of the assembly process.
Enter Donahoe, who at Mansfield just happened to head one of GM's top stamping operations. The automakers has invested in new presses for the plant, and its work force of 2,200-plus has been stable, or even grown a bit in recent years.
For its part, Lordstown metal fab has done well in the closely watched Harbour productivity reports and has received significant investments for new equipment.
In addition, workers are bring trained in team-work practices and quality improvements. Jim Kaster, president of United Auto Workers Local 1714 at the plant, last week cited cases where workers have caught defects in material through the plant's Eye Care program designed to prevent bad parts from getting into good Cobalts.
Another plus is Lordstown keeps getting well-regarded people to head the operation. These aren't caretakers. Maass and Midgley clearly were well-regarded by the corporation.
Ditto for Donahoe, who is believed to have good relations with Larry Zahner, head of GM's North American assembly operations, and further up the food chain through Vice President Joe Spielman and Guy Briggs, head of all GM manufacturing.
GM doesn't put people at Lordstown to fail. The complex is too important to the company, especially in a time of high gasoline prices, and even more so because the workers have shown a willingness to help make any product a success.
Donahoe may well be able to say "mission accomplished'' whenever GM moves him up the ladder.
From: http://www.tribune-chronicle.com
Mission accomplished.
Maureen Midgley's mission was to use her engineering and paint shop backgrounds to shepherd Lordstown through a $1 billion renovation of Lordstown, construction of a paint shop and the successful launch of the Chevrolet Cobalt.
Mission accomplished.
Newly named Lordstown Manager John Donahoe's mission is to - well, that remains to be spelled out, but there might be some reasonable opinions on what it could be.
Chiefly, how about a second mass-production car for Lordstown to build?
A few items seem to be lining up to be optimistic that might happen.
The Saturn Ion is rumored to be earmarked for the complex. GM officials officially have denied it, but it's generally believed the automaker wants - all things being equal - to build another vehicle at Lordstown.
Because Lordstown can churn out more cars than most other auto plants in the world, GM wants to keep its $1 billion investment humming even if Cobalt sales dip. Building another car there would help (although to me the Ion looks a lot like the Cobalt and other small cars, so I have to wonder how stable its sales would be if the Cobalt weakens.)
Another thought is that GM reportedly plans to replace Ion's long-touted plastic skin with good, old-fashioned sheet metal. If that's the case, the Lordstown metal stamping plant, which pounds out body panels and frame parts, would become very important, both for quality and quantity. GM knows it'll be crucial to have a skilled stamping guy in charge at the front end of the assembly process.
Enter Donahoe, who at Mansfield just happened to head one of GM's top stamping operations. The automakers has invested in new presses for the plant, and its work force of 2,200-plus has been stable, or even grown a bit in recent years.
For its part, Lordstown metal fab has done well in the closely watched Harbour productivity reports and has received significant investments for new equipment.
In addition, workers are bring trained in team-work practices and quality improvements. Jim Kaster, president of United Auto Workers Local 1714 at the plant, last week cited cases where workers have caught defects in material through the plant's Eye Care program designed to prevent bad parts from getting into good Cobalts.
Another plus is Lordstown keeps getting well-regarded people to head the operation. These aren't caretakers. Maass and Midgley clearly were well-regarded by the corporation.
Ditto for Donahoe, who is believed to have good relations with Larry Zahner, head of GM's North American assembly operations, and further up the food chain through Vice President Joe Spielman and Guy Briggs, head of all GM manufacturing.
GM doesn't put people at Lordstown to fail. The complex is too important to the company, especially in a time of high gasoline prices, and even more so because the workers have shown a willingness to help make any product a success.
Donahoe may well be able to say "mission accomplished'' whenever GM moves him up the ladder.
From: http://www.tribune-chronicle.com
08-01-2005, 12:41 AM
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Yeah, this is good news. I work as a supervisor at GM Lordstown, and I hear that the only thing keeping us from getting the new product is some consessions they are trying to work out with the maintenance department. Nothing is official as the article mentions but we would be shocked if we didnt get it at this point. 
GM understands how important the Cobalt is to the Chevy line and wants to have the same success with the ION replacement.
2005 Cobalt SS/SC Arrival Blue
GM understands how important the Cobalt is to the Chevy line and wants to have the same success with the ION replacement.2005 Cobalt SS/SC Arrival Blue
not that they will read this, but if they do.... thank you to whomever gave the go-ahead for the cobalt SS/SC 
.
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