TG MISSOURI COMMITS TO VOLUNTEERISM IN COMMUNITY

PERRYVILLE -- The powers that be at TG Missouri won't let Ron Lovett, vice president of operations, have the new company T-shirt.

He hasn't earned it.

"You can only get one by volunteering in some sort of community activity," Lovett said. "I tried to make a deal, but I couldn't."

The 1,200-member work force at auto parts manufacturer TG Missouri takes volunteerism seriously, and Lovett is proud of it.

From line employees organizing walks to raise money for heart disease, to company executives donating thousands of dollars to dozens of groups throughout the region, the company has tried to make community involvement as synonymous with its profile as quality car airbags.

The company known as TG USA, renamed TG Missouri last August, came to Southeast Missouri 13 years ago as part of a migration of Japanese auto parts makers into the U.S. market, said David Milam, senior general manager.

It's original purpose was to supply Toyota Motor Corp.'s automotive plant in Georgetown, Ky., Milam said. Since then, the region's only on-time supplier of air bags, steering wheels and just about anything else plastic on a car has expanded. TG Missouri fills orders for General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and many Japanese car makers.

It was more efficient to move the making of parts from Japan to the United States, Milam said, because shipments took six weeks to make the international trip.

The move has paid off. Last year, the company accounted for about $351 million in sales for Toyoda Gosei, its Japanese parent company.

Few other industries in an area close to major transportation routes made Perryville an attractive site, Milam said.

"The lack of industry in the area made for good pickings for employees at that time," he said.

Now the labor market in Perry County is so tight, planned expansion for a TG Missouri department making rubber products for cars will be shifted to its Kentucky plant. The 60 or so people employed in this department will be shifted into one of the three plastics plants in Perryville.

"We just don't have enough people to draw from," Milam said. "We've already tapped out a quality labor market."

This doesn't mean TG Missouri has limited its financial impact in the community. Lovett said nearly $40 million is plowed back into the area through purchasing goods and services and outsourcing jobs. About $1 million annually goes to VIP Industries for assembling small plastic parts.

The company has grown from 26 employees when manufacturing began to a peak of 1,400 in 1997. That number has dropped slightly, amounting to reduction through attrition, Milam said.

"Companies do get more efficient over time," he said, but unlike most other companies in automotive manufacturing, TG Missouri has never experienced a layoff. Instead of managing people, it tries to manage its product.

Job security for full-time employees is helped by filling out the work force by 5 to 10 percent with temporaries, Milam said.

Many temporaries are attracted into waiting for full-time work by company benefits, which include fully-paid health insurance, 14 paid holidays along with 20 paid personal days when an employee reaches his second year.

Every employee also gets a chance to meet with the company president, Tokinori Iwama, once a year to discuss whatever subject he wants.

The conversations are often used to dispel or explain various company rumors, Milam said.

By improving communications from top to bottom, the stress of the auto business is lessened, although Lovett said it's still high.

"The demands in this business are hourly," said Lovett, taking some time in the management lounge to pause and smoke. "We need to be able to give tools to the people in the field to be able to deliver on time and at the right price."