Winning manufacturers see better times

By Dan Chapman

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

One way to survive the recession is to make a product the world can’t do without. Like potato chips.

The Frito-Lay factory in Perry this week was named Georgia’s 2010 large Manufacturer of the Year. The Boeing Corp. in Macon, maker of aircraft wings and other parts, earned the top spot for mid-sized Georgia companies, or those with 151 to 500 workers.

And Star Granite in Elberton, which makes headstones and kitchen counter tops, won among small businesses, or those with fewer than 150. The awards, co-hosted by the state’s technical college system and department of economic development, highlight Manufacturing Appreciation Week.

Factory workers have been hammered by the recession. Georgia has lost one of every five factory jobs since December 2007.

“But manufacturing is a viable part of the economy,” said Bob Crain, Frito-Lay’s southeastern regional vice president of operations. “If you don’t make things, you don’t have an economy.”

Crain, Reed Morren (Boeing’s site leader) and Rusty Adams (Star Granite owner) spoke with reporter Dan Chapman about how they survived 2009 and what they expect from 2010.

Bob Crain

2009: We aren’t recession-proof, but when people don’t travel and can’t afford to go out to dinner they stay home and they can afford a $2, $3 or $4 bag of chips. We were blessed that we were able to actually (hire) people.

2010: Definitely the economy is picking up. We expect slow, positive growth. We’re hiring at the moment for warehouse and over-the-road jobs, as well as some college recruits.

Reed Morren

2009: All of our product lines are defense-related lines. We never say we’re immune to a recession because Defense Department funding is a year-to-year program. But we extended new programs into our facility in 2009.

2010: I’ll not say the recession is over, but we have the same fundamental principles that we did in 2009. We’ll have to execute the same programs and stabilize the workforce so we can continue to bring new work in.

Rusty Adams

2009: The recession did hit us pretty good in certain divisions of our company. But the memorial side of the (burial) industry stays pretty strong in a recession. That’s what helped us get through.

2010: We are expecting great growth with our new bronze foundry. And, with the Baby Boomers getting (older), we expect our cemetery products to continue to grow. We’ll probably hire 40 more workers in the next 12 months for our new foundry.