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FIBERS AND TEXTILES COMPANY
GASTONIA PLANT
FEBRUARY, 1993
PLANT MANAGER'S MESSAGE
1992 was a very successful year for all
Gastonia plant personnel. Plant
accomplishments during the year resulted
in the following:
Jan. '92 Dec. '92
Safety 9.0 to 6.3
[Incident Rate]
Quality 1.51 to 0.99
[Percent Waste]
Productivity 46.5 to 49.1
[Pounds/manhour]
Absenteeism 5.8 to 5.3
[Percent]
These accomplishments also resulted in
a 3% bonus which was awarded to employees
in December. Plant performance in 1992
is an excellent example of what can be
achieved through TEAMWORK!
Congratulations to you allI
The other exciting news during 1992 was
the approval of a new plant which
signified a definite commitment on the
part of Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. for
the future.
The first group of machines will be
moved to the new plant the first week of
April, and the first group of employees
will be moved to start up this equipment
on May 17, 1993. The transition of
moving equipment and people every 4 to 6
weeks will continue for the rest of this
year.
Bridgestone/Firestone has also provided
us in 1993 with a Gainshare Program which
allows all employees to share in the
financial improvements of the Gastonia
plant. The employees' share is based on
improvements in cost per pound, waste,
quality (reduction of downgraded fabric),
safety and profits. Each one of us can
contribute by doing our jobs the very
best we know how and getting involved in
improving our processes and the way we do
business. There is no cap on the
gainshare amount. This program is
designed to reward all employees for
their efforts to improve our overall
operations. The January results are
included in the newsletter, and if you
have any questions please see your
supervisor or manager.
Let' s continue working together to make
Gastonia a world class operation and make
1993 another record-setting year I
CONSTRUCTION SITE UPDATE
By: BILL LIVDQaiST
Greetings from Kings Mountain, home of
our new conversion plant. Construction
continues in spite of all the rain we
have had in December and January. The
people building the plant have worked
hard to keep the project on schedule.
Those of you who have not been by the
site would be amazed at the
transformation that has taken place in
the last three months. The steel and
precast concrete walls have been erected
and the roof installed. The interior and
exterior underground utilities have been
installed. Inside the structure about
50% of the overhead work is complete
including water, compressed air and
chilled water piping,
electrical conduit,
cable trays, bus
duct, lighting NEWS
hangers and air FROM
conditioning duct. "MUDVILLEf
USA"
Floors in the
maintenance ,
electrical and
mechanical rooms have
been poured. Construction has begun on
three of the ' six air washer (air
conditioning) rooms. Gaston County
started construction on water and sewer
lines to the site. The North Carolina
Department of Transportation started
construction of the frontage road but
stopped due to the wet weather.
In February the overhead work will
continue in the manufacturing area. The
electrical switch gear, air compressors,
air conditioning chillers and cooling
tower will be installed. Work will begin
on the interior lighting followed by
pouring of the manufacturing area
concrete floor. This floor will take
cQjout four weeks to pour and 7,000 cubic
yards of concrete.
Our major concern for meeting project
schedule is weather. The roads need to
be in for us to start moving equipment
and for Duke Power to install the plant's
substation. Any help you could give me
with the weather would be appreciated!
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
THINK SAFETY