EVANS
UNVEILS MANUFACTURING COUNCIL
COUNCIL WILL SERVE AS STRONG VOICE FOR MANUFACTURERS
Grand
Rapids, Mich. – Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans
today announced the members of the Bush Administration’s new
Manufacturing Council. The new body consists of manufacturing leaders
from across the industry that will serve as a strong voice for policies
to grow manufacturing jobs. The council’s membership reflects
diversity of industry, size of industry and geography.
“While we have seen rising growth in manufacturing employment
nationwide, the Bush Administration is providing manufacturers with
a permanent seat at the policy table,” Evans said. “The
newly-formed Manufacturing Council will provide the real world experience
needed to ultimately help strengthen the industry and create manufacturing
jobs across America.”
The manufacturing council will work with the Commerce Department
to advocate, coordinate and implement policies that will help U.S.
manufacturers compete worldwide. The council will focus on:
1.
Enhancing Government’s Focus on Manufacturing Competitiveness;
2. Creating the Conditions for Economic Growth and Manufacturing
Investment;
3. Promoting Open Markets and a Level Playing Field;
4. Lowering the Cost of Manufacturing in the United States;
5. Investing in Innovation; and
6. Strengthening Education, Retraining, and Economic Diversification.
Today’s
announcement fulfills some of the recommendations made in a comprehensive
report by the Commerce Department, Manufacturing in America, that
identified challenges facing the manufacturing sector and outlined
recommendations that will aid American manufacturing and create
jobs.
Since
the release of the manufacturing report, the Commerce Department
has begun to tackle unnecessary regulations that are creating barriers
to free and fair trade. Additionally, the Commerce Department is
studying ways to lower the costs of tax compliance and expand research
and development opportunities for manufacturers.
The Department has also created an Unfair Trade Practices Task Force
to aggressively enforce trade agreements with countries that do
not allow market forces to set economic decisions.
Visit
www.manufacturing.gov to view the complete Manufacturing Report
and the four-page summary.
COUNCIL
MEMBERS
Evans
previously appointed Don Wainwright, Chairman/CEO of Wainwright
Industries headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, as Chairman of
the Manufacturing Council. Karen Wright, President and owner of
Ariel Corporation in Mt. Vernon, Ohio was named as Vice-Chair of
the Manufacturing Council.
Council
Members include (in alphabetical order by last name):
-- George L. Gonzalez, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer,
Aerospace Integration Corporation (AIC). Gonzalez founded AIC in
1997 with a vision to fill a niche in the aerospace industry, a
vision to become the premier systems integrator for America’s
Special Operation Forces. AIC’s principal focus is supporting
organizations and systems of the Special Operations Forces (SOF)
with a unique quick-response capability. AIC teams work to engineer
cost-effective turnkey solutions, and then fully integrate those
solutions into various SOF special-mission platforms and systems
that include Roll-on/Roll-off Command and Control Systems, Navigation
and GPS, Flight Control Systems, Communications and Radar, Fire
Control Systems, and Threat Detection and Countermeasures. Gonzalez
was named 2003 Florida Small Business Person of the Year by the
U.S. Small Business Administration.
--
Fred P. Keller, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and founder, Cascade
Engineering, a global provider of plastic solutions to the automotive,
office furniture and material handling markets. Keller began his
career with Pratt & Whitney Aircraft and after six years as
a metallurgist, he founded Cascade Engineering in 1973. Today Cascade
Engineering operates 104 machines, employs over 1,200 people in
10 manufacturing facilities. Keller has earned numerous awards including
Chrysler’s Technology Role Model, the Hugh Michael Beahan
Foundation’s “Faith in Humanity” Award for 2004,
the Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership, and Goodwill’s
Employer of the Year.
--
James B. McGregor, President, Morgal Machine Tool Company, Inc and
three other family owned businesses in Springfield, Ohio. McGregor
and his family employ approximately 400 people and are one of the
largest manufacturers in Clark County. The companies provide metal
stampings, machined parts and value added assemblies for the automotive,
locomotive, agricultural implement and lawn and garden industries.
McGregor’s commitment to employee development through training
has established his company’s reputation for a skilled workforce
throughout the metal stamping industry.
--
Wayne W. Murdy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Newmont
Mining Corporation headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Newmont is
the world’s largest gold producer and has 13,500 employees
worldwide. Murdy is also a Director of TransMontaigne Inc., a U.S.
distributor and supplier of refined petroleum products.
--
Michael R. Nowak, President and Chief Executive Officer, Coating
Excellence International (CEI) in Wrightstown, Wisconsin. Nowak
founded the company in 1997 which has grown into a $90 million company
in 7 years. CEI specializes in high quality extrusion coating and
printing products for a wide range of markets, including ream wrap,
flexible packaging, industrial packaging and release products. CEI
was the 2003 Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year.
--
James W. Owens, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Caterpillar
Inc. in Peoria, Illinois. Owens has held numerous management positions
since joining Caterpillar in 1972 as a corporate economist. In 1995,
Owens was named a group president and member of Caterpillar’s
Executive Office. In December 2003, the Caterpillar Board of Directors
named Owens vice chairman and appointed him chairman and chief executive
officer February 1, 2004. Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer
of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines
and industrial gas turbines. The company is a technology leader
in construction, transportation, mining, forestry, energy, logistics,
electronics, financing and electric power generation. Owens is a
director of the Institute for International Economics in Washington,
DC, a director of FM Global Insurance Company in Rhode Island, and
a member of The Business Roundtable in Washington, DC.
--
Jim Padilla, Chief Operating Officer, Ford Motor Company and chairman
of Automotive Operations. He is responsible for the global automotive
business, overseeing operations in more than 200 countries and employing
over 300,000 employees worldwide. Ford annual sales are $160 billion
for 7 million+ vehicles representing diverse brands of Ford, Lincoln,
Mercury, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin. Padilla was
named a White House Fellow and served as special assistant to the
U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1978 to 1979. In 2001, he was named
a Fellow by the National Academy of Engineering and, in 2000, “Engineer
of the Year” at the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement
Awards Conference.
--
Charles P. Pizzi, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tasty Baking
Company is responsible for all operations of the fourth largest
baking company in the United States. Tasty Baking Company, founded
in 1914 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one
of the country’s leading bakers of snack cakes, pies, cookies,
and donuts with manufacturing facilities in Philadelphia and Oxford,
Pennsylvania. Tasty Baking Company offers more than 100 products
under the Tastykake brand name. Pizzi’s experience also includes
participating in the transition teams for Governor Ridge, Mayor
Rendell and Mayor Street. While working with Governor Ridge on export
issues, Pizzi was instrumental in increasing the number of Pennsylvania’s
offices around the world from three to fifteen.
--
Daniel Harding Stowe, President and Chief Executive Officer, R.L.
Stowe Mills, Inc., a producer of dyed and natural yarns, headquartered
in Belmont, North Carolina. Stowe is committed to defining the needs
of its customers and improving in every phase of business including
manufacturing, financial services and human resources.
--
Markos I. Tambakeras, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
of Kennametal Inc., headquartered in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Kennametal
Inc. is a tooling solutions company that provides customers a broad
range of technologically advanced tools, tooling systems and engineering
services aimed at improving customers' manufacturing competitiveness.
--
Scott Thiss, Chairman and Chief Executive, S&W Plastics, LLC
in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. S&W is a medium sized custom injection
molder that provides design, mold construction, plastic part manufacturing
and assembly services to customers in the medical, electronics and
industrial markets. Thiss currently serves as the Chair of the Minnesota
Chamber of Commerce and co-chairs the Minnesota Manufacturers Coalition.