Published: June 20, 2007 01:27 am            

Tower Automotive: ‘Officially here’

Plant enjoys ribbon-cutting ceremony

The skies may have been dark Tuesday afternoon, but the mood inside Tower Automotive in the South Industrial Park was anything but overcast.

Though the plant has been operational since September and now running at 90 percent capacity, Tuesday marked the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the automotive part factory — bringing community and industry leaders together in an afternoon of celebration.

“This is a great day for Mississippi,” said Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith. “This building has been an expensive white elephant for Meridian and it is now bringing jobs back in Lauderdale County. “

More than 240 new jobs have been created with the addition of this plant to Meridian’s industrial landscape, and with probable plant expansion, more jobs may soon be created.

“We only have two thirds of the assembly bay filled,” said Plant Manager Steve Bednark. “We are looking to add another bay. I still have a large number of applicants but I’ve got a great group of workers right now; they are willing to learn. We are definitely looking to the future.”

Plant Controller Jim Ewald said that the facility ships out more than $70 million of parts each year. Currently the plant works in conjunction with their sister plant in Madison to supply X-Terra, Titan and Altima frames to the Nissan plant in Canton. While currently only supplying Nissan, plant administrators said that they have put in bids with KIA and Toyota and look to expand production.

The plant itself is massive, with a giant work area filled with high tech robotic machines, constantly working.

“We probably have the second largest number of robotic machines in Mississippi behind Canton,” said EHS Engineer Robert Wilson. “But we also have an outstanding workforce here. These people take pride in what they do, and it is because of them that this plant is a success.”

Wilson said workers spend little time actually working on the metal, rather they spend 99 percent of their time feeding the machines and overseeing the robots work. The work done by the robots is impressive — from simple welding tasks to taking a 39,000 pound coil of steel and turning it into precise parts ready for construction.

While the plant has been producing a high volume of parts, it also has, according to Wilson, maintained a stellar safety record since opening in September. That commitment to safety was also echoed by Tower’s North American President, Bill Pumphrey, who was on hand for the ceremony.

“We want to first provide a safe working environment,” said Pumphrey. “We also want to make sure that Nissan receives perfect parts and we want to reduce costs and make the plant more efficient. “

Part of that efficiency involves getting Tower Automotive involved in the community of Meridian.

“I’m from Detroit, Michigan,” said Bednark. “Going and visiting a plant like this wasn’t an uncommon thing, it was a part of your community and people saw what it could do. Kids in Mississippi haven’t had that opportunity. I’m hoping to get involved with kids coming out of school and let them see what we do here.

“I think there are some tremendous opportunities for us to partner with MSU and help get Mississippi involved in the automotive industries future.”

        

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