Kenworth's Chillicothe, Ohio Facility Celebrates 25 Years
4 June 1999
Kenworth's Chillicothe, Ohio Manufacturing Facility Celebrates 25 Years of Building Premium Trucks
Kenworth Truck Company, one of central Ohio's leading employers, today marked 25 years of building quality, premium trucks at its Chillicothe manufacturing facility.The anniversary celebration featured the facility's nearly 1,700 employees; state, county and local leaders; Kenworth's largest truck customer; and company executives.
"The truck industry continues to boom after a record sales year in 1998, and many forecasters are predicting yet another record year in 1999," noted Ed Caudill, Kenworth Truck Company general manager and a vice president of Kenworth's parent company, PACCAR Inc. "The employees at Chillicothe have played a key role in Kenworth Truck Company's success both today and over the past quarter of a century."
Caudill was in Chillicothe today along with David Hovind, PACCAR president, and other company officials, including Alan Mayne, current Kenworth Chillicothe plant manager; and Hank Kiefer, Chillicothe's first plant manager.
In remarks to employees and dignitaries, Hovind stressed the importance of the Chillicothe workforce, which has produced more than 160,000 quality Kenworth trucks over the facility's history.
About a year ago, Kenworth added a second shift for the first time in the Chillicothe plant's history to increase capacity and meet strong customer demand for Kenworth products. As a result of the move, more than 300 additional employees were hired to help meet the demand.
When the plant opened, it had a total of approximately 300 employees, Hovind noted. The first six of those original employees -- who were hired on day one -- are still with Kenworth-Chillicothe today. They are Dave Blosser, production; Debbie Doersam, administration; Mike Murphy, maintenance; Fred Mullett and John Grubb, materials; and Tony Howard, tool crib.
"The first trucks we ran were very basic," recalled Blosser, who was a police officer for the City of Chillicothe before joining Kenworth. "The cabs were made and trimmed at Kenworth's Seattle facility and brought to Chillicothe on rail cars. Eventually, we started making our cabs and trimming them here as we ramped up.
"A lot of our processes were done by hand and took quite a while to complete," Blosser said. "For example, frame rails were mostly drilled by hand with the use of a machine. Today, our rails come pre-punched for the most part and we complete any custom drilling using a computer-programmed drill machine."
"Looking back, it seems to me that it took almost two months in-process to produce the first truck here at Chillicothe," said Mullett of the materials department, referring to changes he's seen over 25 years. "This was a state-of-the-art factory that was to build a maximum of 18 trucks per day. We now build 72 of the best trucks in the world daily; surely an impossibility back then.
Added Mike Murphy in maintenance, "I started working for Kenworth in Seattle in 1966 and had the opportunity to help start the Chillicothe operation. In 1974, it didn't seem like a truck plant because it was so quiet. But as the year went on, the build rate was about 10 trucks a day and it began to sound and look like a truck plant."
Over the years, there have been many changes. "I've seen the production processes change," said Doersam, who has served as general administrative specialist for the past three Chillicothe plant managers. "For every new model change, I've been impressed with how our company has come together, as a team, to address all the challenges presented to us and still be able to build `The World's Best Truck'."
The long-time employees see some other keys to Kenworth's success at making quality, premium trucks for customers today.
"I believe the reason we produce a quality truck here at Chillicothe is the pride that employees have instilled in themselves to produce a quality truck, and the respect that managers have for each employee," Mullett said.
"We know that we are making the finest heavy duty truck in the industry and there is a lot of pride in knowing that," echoed Blosser. "People here really care about what we do and what our customers think of our efforts."
"Kenworth Chillicothe definitely has a very strong team of employees to work with every day," noted Murphy.
Doersam, added she has "felt a sense of accomplishment being part of an organization that continues to be successful and innovative."
"Kenworth is a solid corporate citizen and it makes me feel proud to be an employee with a company that gives so much back to our community through United Way, Junior Achievement, the YMCA, and the Park Annex," Doersam said.
Also during today's ceremonies, Contract Freighters Inc. (CFI) of Joplin, Mo. -- Kenworth's largest customer -- took delivery of a new, aerodynamic Kenworth T2000 off the production line as Chillicothe's official 25th anniversary truck. Glenn Brown, CFI president, received the keys from Kenworth officials and Ken Hoffman, Richard Pim and John Butler of Ozark Kenworth-Joplin, the selling dealership. In addition to the T2000, the plant also produces Kenworth's T600, T800, W900 models and CityCab models.
Kenworth Truck Company, a division of PACCAR Inc, is a leading manufacturer of heavy and medium duty trucks. In addition to the Chillicothe facility, Kenworth currently operates manufacturing facilities in Seattle and Renton, Wash. Kenworth's Internet home page is at www.kenworth.com/kw.