Upper Peninsula Manufacturing Leader is Honored with 2001 John G. Thodis Michigan Manufacturer of the Year Award

    LANSING, Mich., May 2 An innovating manufacturer who has
helped stimulate his local economy and brought educational creativity and
training opportunities to young people will become the Upper Peninsula's first
recipient of the John G. Thodis Michigan Manufacturer of the Year Award.
    Brian Larche, president of Engineered Machined Products, Inc. (EMP) of
Escanaba, will receive the 2001 Award, presented by the Michigan Manufacturers
Association (MMA) and sponsored by Deloitte & Touche LLP and Clark Hill PLC,
at MMA's annual Legislative and Executive Reception Tuesday, May 8 at the
Country Club of Lansing.
    The MMA John G. Thodis Michigan Manufacturer of the Year Award, presented
since 1981, was renamed last year in honor of MMA's former president and chief
executive officer, who passed away in January 2000.
    Faced with the potential closure of EMP in 1990, Larche, who served as
treasurer at that time, led a group of local investors that acquired EMP and
kept the company in Escanaba, the business and educational hub of the
southwestern Upper Peninsula.  In the 10 years since, EMP has significantly
increased capital investment in facilities and equipment, created a wealth of
skilled jobs and established opportunities for professionals previously
separated from the community to relocate to Escanaba.
    EMP has expanded its core product line -- cooling pumps -- to include lube
pumps, fuel system components, and highly integrated engine front covers
(including pumps, gears and accessory drives.)  Indicative of EMP's commitment
to its community, the company has recently expanded by purchasing a North
Carolina-based water pump company and moved all its operations to Escanaba.
With this acquisition, EMP has become the second largest manufacturer in Delta
County and the fastest-growing manufacturer in the state of Michigan.
    The company received a U.S. patent for an electric controllable fluid pump
in 2000 and was awarded a Grand Prize for "Excellence in Design" at the Design
News magazine's Engineering Achievement Awards Banquet this winter.  EMP has
also received feature coverage in publications such as Car Craft Magazine,
World Pumps Journal, Diesel Progress Magazine and US Industry Today, and has
displayed at the National Automotive Center's booth at the recent SAE World
Congress in Detroit.
    Brian Larche has also taken personal leadership in creating opportunities
for school students to learn about the manufacturing industry.  EMP works
closely with the Delta-Schoolcraft Intermediate School District to generate a
pipeline of students interested in engineering and technical training
opportunities.  Summer internships are provided to approximately 20 college
engineering students each year, with the same opportunities given to high
school students who have demonstrated an interest in engineering.
    All employees are offered training opportunities and degree programs at
nearby Bay de Noc Community College.  Larche has also supported several
students in pursuit of engineering degrees at his alma mater, Michigan
Technological University in Houghton.
    Two Finalists in the award program will also be recognized at the May 8
event in Lansing.  Rita Williams, CEO of Gill Industries, Inc. of Grand
Rapids, and Ron Howard, general manager of Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. of
Ontonagon, will be honored for exemplary contributions to their communities
and the manufacturing industry.  Williams is the first woman recipient of the
Michigan Manufacturer of the Year award, while Howard joins Larche as the
first U.P. manufacturing executives to receive the awards.
    Gill Industries has established the Gill Technologies Center in the Grand
Rapids area, investing in product design and development to open up more jobs
for product engineers in West Michigan.  The company has developed Pro/E
software and hardware, as well as JobBoss software and product testing
equipment.  Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. is the leading job provider and
taxpayer in Ontonagon County and, in 1998, was the first non-auto-related
company to receive Clean Corporate Citizen status from the Michigan Department
of Environmental Quality.  In 2000, the company earned a Gold Award in the
Healthy Worksite Program of the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and
Sports.
    Founded in 1902, the Michigan Manufacturers Association represents more
than 3,000 businesses that collectively employ 90 percent of Michigan's
manufacturing workforce.

                    MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT -  Click Here
               http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X44388203