EVANS NAMES FRED KELLER AND JAMES PADILLA TO MANUFACTURING COUNCIL

CASCADE CEO AND FORD MOTOR COMPANY CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER WILL SERVE AS STRONG VOICES FOR MICHIGAN’S MANUFACTURERS

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans today along with Congressman Vern Ehlers (R-MI) announced at Cascade Engineering that Cascade Engineering CEO Fred P. Keller and Ford Motor Company Chief Operating Officer, Chairman of Automotive Operations James Padilla will serve as key members of the Bush Administration's Manufacturing Council.  The Council consists of manufacturing leaders from across the industry that will serve as a strong voice for policies that will help U.S. manufacturers succeed worldwide.

"The Bush administration is providing Michigan manufacturers with a permanent seat at the policy table," Evans said in his prepared remarks. "The newly formed Manufacturing Council will provide the real world experience needed to ultimately help strengthen the industry and create manufacturing jobs in Michigan and across America."

“Fred and Jim are a wonderful fit for the President's Manufacturing Council. As Chairman of Cascade Engineering, he has shown that a focus on innovation is critical in ensuring that manufacturers not only survive, but thrive in today's global economy,” said Ehlers. “This appointment gives West Michigan's 2,300 competitive and innovative manufacturers another important voice in Washington. Moreover, President Bush's Manufacturing Council will be able to give both the Administration and Congress a first-hand perspective on this sector's triumphs and struggles. This knowledge will help us make much more informed policy decisions.”

“The council represents an important step forward in fostering collaboration between manufacturing and government. I am very pleased and honored to have the opportunity to be a part of that effort,” said Fred Keller, CEO of Cascade Engineering.

The council’s membership reflects diversity of industry, size of industry and geography.  The members will work with the Commerce Department to advocate, coordinate and implement policies that will help U.S. manufacturers compete worldwide.  The council will focus on:

1.         Enhancing Government’s Focus on Manufacturing Competitiveness;

2.         Creating the Conditions for Economic Growth and Manufacturing Investment;

3.         Promoting Open Markets and a Level Playing Field;

4.         Lowering the Cost of Manufacturing in the United States;

5.         Investing in Innovation; and

6.         Strengthening Education, Retraining, and Economic Diversification.

Today’s announcement fulfills some of the recommendations made in a comprehensive report by the Commerce Department, Manufacturing in America, that identified challenges facing the manufacturing sector and outlined recommendations that will aid American manufacturing and create jobs.

Since the release of the manufacturing report, the Commerce Department has begun to tackle unnecessary regulations that are creating barriers to free and fair trade.  Additionally, the Commerce Department is studying ways to lower the costs of tax compliance and expand research and development opportunities for manufacturers.

The Department has also created an Unfair Trade Practices Task Force to aggressively enforce trade agreements with countries that do not allow market forces to set economic decisions.

Visit www.manufacturing.gov to view the complete Manufacturing Report and the four-page summary.

COUNCIL MEMBERS

Evans previously appointed Don Wainwright, Chairman/CEO of Wainwright Industries headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, as Chairman of the Manufacturing Council.  Karen Wright, President and owner of Ariel Corporation in Mt. Vernon, Ohio was named as Vice-Chair of the Manufacturing Council.

Council Members include (in alphabetical order by last name):

• George L. Gonzalez, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aerospace Integration Corporation (AIC).  Gonzalez founded AIC in 1997 with a vision to fill a niche in the aerospace industry, a vision to become the premier systems intergrator for America’s Special Operation Forces. AIC’s principal focus is supporting organizations and systems of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) with a unique quick-response capability.  AIC teams work to engineer cost-effective turnkey solutions, and then fully integrate those solutions into various SOF special-mission platforms and systems that include Roll-on/Roll-off Command and Control Systems, Navigation and GPS, Flight Control Systems, Communications and Radar, Fire Control Systems, and Threat Detection and Countermeasures.  Gonzalez was named 2003 Florida Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

• Fred P. Keller, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and founder, Cascade Engineering, a global provider of plastic solutions to the automotive, office furniture and material handling markets.  Keller began his career with Pratt & Whitney Aircraft and after six years as a metallurgist, he founded Cascade Engineering in 1973.  Today Cascade Engineering operates 104 machines, employs over 1,200 people in 10 manufacturing facilities.  Keller has earned numerous awards including Chrysler’s Technology Role Model, the Hugh Michael Beahan Foundation’s “Faith in Humanity” Award for 2004, the Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership, and Goodwill’s Employer of the Year.

• James B. McGregor, President, Morgal Machine Tool Company, Inc and three other family owned businesses in Springfield, Ohio.  McGregor and his family employ approximately 400 people and are one of the largest manufacturers in Clark County.  The companies provide metal stampings, machined parts and value added assemblies for the automotive, locomotive, agricultural implement and lawn and garden industries.  McGregor’s commitment to employee development through training has established his company’s reputation for a skilled workforce throughout the metal stamping industry.

• Wayne W. Murdy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Newmont Mining Corporation headquartered in Denver, Colorado.  Newmont is the world’s largest gold producer and has 13,500 employees worldwide.  Murdy is also a Director of TransMontaigne Inc., a U.S. distributor and supplier of refined petroleum products.

• Michael R. Nowak, President and Chief Executive Officer, Coating Excellence International (CEI) in Wrightstown, Wisconsin.  Nowak founded the company in 1997 which has grown into a $90 million company in 7 years.  CEI specializes in high quality extrusion coating and printing products for a wide range of markets, including ream wrap, flexible packaging, industrial packaging and release products.  CEI was the 2003 Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year.

• James W. Owens, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria, Illinois.  Owens has held numerous management positions since joining Caterpillar in 1972 as a corporate economist.  In 1995, Owens was named a group president  and member of Caterpillar’s Executive Office.  In December 2003, the Caterpillar Board of Directors named Owens vice chairman and appointed him chairman and chief executive officer February 1, 2004.  Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. The company is a technology leader in construction, transportation, mining, forestry, energy, logistics, electronics, financing and electric power generation.  Owens is a director of the Institute for International Economics in Washington, DC, a director of FM Global Insurance Company in Rhode Island, and a member of The Business Roundtable in Washington, DC.

• Jim Padilla, Chief Operating Officer, Ford Motor Company and chairman of Automotive Operations.  He is responsible for the global automotive business, overseeing operations in more than 200 countries and employing over 300,000 employees worldwide.  Ford annual sales are $160 billion for 7 million+ vehicles representing diverse brands of Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin.  Padilla was named a White House Fellow and served as special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1978 to  1979.  In 2001, he was named a Fellow by the National Academy of Engineering and, in 2000, “Engineer of the Year” at the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference.

• Charles P. Pizzi, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tasty Baking Company is responsible for all operations of the fourth largest baking company in the United States.  Tasty Baking Company, founded in 1914 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the country’s leading bakers of snack cakes, pies, cookies, and donuts with manufacturing facilities in Philadelphia and Oxford, Pennsylvania.  Tasty Baking Company offers more than 100 products under the Tastykake brand name.  Pizzi’s experience also includes participating in the transition teams for Governor Ridge, Mayor Rendell and Mayor Street.  While working with Governor Ridge on export issues, Pizzi was instrumental in increasing the number of Pennsylvania’s offices around the world from three to fifteen.

• Daniel Harding Stowe, President and Chief Executive Officer, R.L. Stowe Mills, Inc., a producer of dyed and natural yarns, headquartered in Belmont, North Carolina.  Stowe is committed to defining the needs of its customers and improving in every phase of business including manufacturing, financial services and human resources.

• Markos I. Tambakeras, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kennametal Inc., headquartered in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.  Kennametal Inc. is a tooling solutions company that provides customers a broad range of technologically advanced tools, tooling systems and engineering services aimed at improving customers' manufacturing competitiveness.

• Scott Thiss, Chairman and Chief Executive, S&W Plastics, LLC in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.  S&W is a medium sized custom injection molder that provides design, mold construction, plastic part manufacturing and assembly services to customers in the medical, electronics and industrial markets.  Thiss currently serves as the Chair of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and co-chairs the Minnesota Manufacturers Coalition. 

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