FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2008
Contact Ben Chambers, (770) 537-5756
HARALSON CO. PLANT NAMED GEORGIA MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR
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Honda Precision Parts of Georgia, LLC, was named Georgia Manufacturer of the Year April 17 in the Medium Manufacturer category. Shown are HPPG Human Resources Manager Steve Ward, WCTC Vice President of Economic Development Phil Carter, HPPG President Masaaki Miyaji, HPPG Vice President and Plant Manager John Spoltman, WCTC board member Bill Hightower, WCTC President Dr. Skip Sullivan, Haralson Co. Development Authority Executive Director Tara Chapman, Haralson Co. Chamber of Commerce President Jennie English, and HPPG Manufacturing Manager Mike Schwaderer. |
Honda Precision Parts of Georgia, LLC, has been named Georgia Manufacturer of the Year in the Medium Manufacturer category after being nominated by West Central Technical College, the Haralson Co. Chamber of Commerce and the Haralson Co. Development Authority.
The award was announced by Georgia Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle during the Governor’s Award Luncheon Thursday at the Cobb Galleria Centre. Over 100 manufacturers across the state were nominated in three categories: 1-150 employees, 151-750 employees and over 750 employees.
“I accept this award on behalf of our 450 associates,” HPPG Vice President and Plant Manager John Spoltman said in his acceptance speech. About a dozen HPPG associates from the Tallapoosa plant attended the luncheon along with the HPPG leadership.
“We are thrilled to have our nominee, HPPG, bring home this prestigious honor,” West Central Technical College President Dr. Skip Sullivan said. “We have been working with HPPG for over three years to ensure that they have the best trained and most capable workforce anywhere, and we hope that we have had some small behind-the-scenes part in helping them to succeed.”
The Technical College System of Georgia is providing HPPG with two years of startup training through the Georgia QuickStart program, and HPPG associates also have been trained through West Central’s Economic Development Division which provides customized corporate training.
“It has been a pleasure to help HPPG to locate in our community, to become acquainted with them and to have such a great partnership with them,” Vice President of Economic Development Phil Carter said.
Winning in the other two categories were Marietta’s Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company in the large employer category (more than 750 employees) and Spectral Response, of Duluth, in the small category (1-150 employees).
Keynote speaker Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle presented the awards. He was joined by Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Ken Stewart and Ron Jackson, commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia, at the luncheon marking the culmination of Manufacturing Appreciation Week. The event was co-hosted by the Technical College System of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Economic Development as an effort to recognize and pay tribute to manufacturing’s role in Georgia’s economy. The manufacturing sector employs more than 400,000 Georgians at nearly 10,000 facilities across the state, contributing more than $100 billion to its economy annually.
West Central Tech Executive Director of Economic Development Scotty Parker said HPPG has been a crucial resource as the College plans for a “maintenance college,” an open format concept designed to provide business and industry ‘just-in-time’ training opportunities.
“Through the maintenance college, we will be able to respond in a rapid fashion to specialized training needs of our industrial partners,” Parker said.
“Our corporate training department supports initial employee training for new and expanding industries in our service area through Georgia Quick Start. By utilizing the experience we have gained over the years in this training arena, we can leverage that expertise to benefit our local existing industry,” Carter said.
The maintenance college as now planned would be located on the College’s Carroll Campus.
“We applaud the work of HPPG as they have become an integral part of our community in such a short time,” Sullivan said. “They represent the west Georgia area well and we look forward to partnering with them for many years.”
West Central Technical College, with campuses in Carroll, Coweta, Douglas and Haralson counties, offers over 90 associate degree, diploma and technical certificate programs of study. A unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, West Central last year served over 10,000 students including credit enrollment, adult education, ESL classes, continuing education and corporate training.
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