Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 7, 1993 TAG: 9302050282
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Long
TRUCKING DOWN THE LINE
William Brubaker takes a cue from country singer Johnny Cash when it comes to managing the Volvo GM Heavy Truck Corp. plant in Dublin.For three decades, Cash has wooed fans with the love song, "I Walk the Line."
Every weekday since taking over as general manager of the heavy truck plant in October, Brubaker heads to the plant's production line at 8 a.m. to chat with workers, hear their suggestions and make any necessary production adjustments.
"It gives me the input I need to run the factory," he said. "I really can't make the decisions I need to make in isolation."
The daily visits begin at the end of the production line where finished trucks are getting their final touches. Brubaker gradually works his way back along the line through the various work stations where hoods are fitted, tires added, dashboards assembled and engines modified.
"I figure if I start at the end of the line, then I can fix any problems I see as I go up the line," he said.
Along the way, the general manager talks with the employees not only about work, but also about personal interests. To an outsider, the conversations seem more like buddies jawing on their break instead of a supervisor talking with employees.
Beatrice Walker, a production worker at the plant for 17 years, said she looks forward to Brubaker's daily visits.
"It's always nice to see his smiling face," she said. "It's good that he listens to us, because in order to have quality you have to have communication."
Last Monday, the topic of most conversations was the Dallas Cowboys' 52-17 Super Bowl slaughter of the Buffalo Bills.
Brubaker, a Washington Redskins fan, continuously received razzing from overzealous Cowboys fans basking in the long-awaited victory.
Some of the trucks creeping down the plant's conveyor belt production line were even decorated with homemade signs proclaiming Dallas as World Champions.
Brubaker took the boasting with a smile and continued his trek down the line. When one of the workers saw Brubaker coming, he made a beeline for his lunch box and produced some homemade beef jerky for the plant manager to sample.
"Reckon this stuff is fit to eat?" Brubaker said.
"I had some about an hour ago and can still taste it," a worker said.
By 10 a.m. Brubaker has covered the entire production floor and heads back to his corner office to entertain prospective customers, attend planning sessions and return phone calls.
Though he labels himself a strong introvert, Brubaker said he feels "very comfortable" talking with the plant's workers.
"It's the one part of my day that I don't think of as being work," he said. "In fact, sometimes I feel guilty about it."
Workers at the plant say Brubaker's visits are enjoyable, but, more importantly, they also raise employee morale and improve communication in the plant.
It hasn't always been that way, said Walter Beyers, a 15-year veteran at the plant, as he took a break from putting truck hoses together.
Beyers said the turning point in employee-management relations was a month-long strike at the New River Valley Plant in 1991.
"The strike brought the managers and workers closer together," he said. "Everyone realizes now that it takes two sides to get out the product that the customer wants."
It was also during the strike that Frank Adams took over as general manager of the Dublin plant. His new management style, which Brubaker also shares, was the key to improving management's relationship with workers, said Steve Plastek, human resources manager at the plant.
"We are simply sharing more information with all our employees," he said.
The company also has put a new focus on quality in the last two years. Graphs on the plant's bulletin boards show the many stages a truck goes through during assembly. Once a week, a finished truck is pulled off the line and checked for defects.
Meetings then follow on how to correct these problems.
Plastek said Brubaker's 17 years of experience is also one of the keys to the truck plant's continued quality improvements.
"Bill's been around, visited lots of different plants. He knows what it takes to be successful," he said. "And probably just as important, he knows what makes companies fail."
The New River Valley truck plant was built in 1975 by White Motor Co. Brubaker was one of the first workers hired.
An industrial engineer, he left the Radford Army Ammunition Plant to set up job assignments at the Pulaski County plant.
In the last 18 years, Brubaker has seen the plant undergo two name changes and numerous technology advances - all for the better, he said.
The plant, originally designed to make 30 trucks a day, now produces 49 and soon will increase to 55, Brubaker said.
The trucks made in Dublin cost between $75,000 and $100,000 and practically every one is made to order.
Volvo bought the plant in 1981 and the plant was renamed Volvo White Truck Corp. Then, in 1988, General Motors bought into the company, giving it its current name.
Brubakers not only has survived all the changes, he steadily moved up the corporate ladder.
He was named industrial engineering manager in 1978 and served as production manager from 1986 to June 1991. For 18 months, he worked in the company's headquarters in Greensboro, N.C.
A native of Covington and a Virginia Tech graduate, Brubaker readily accepted the company's offer last year to return to Dublin as general manager.
Workers at the plant say they are happy to have Brubaker at the helm because, like his predecessor, Adams, he listens to employees.
"The biggest change around here is the attitude. People are working better," said Charlie Barbettini, an 18-year veteran at the plant.
The workers have another reason to be happy: The plant's average wage of about $14.50 is one of the highest in the New River Valley.
Because of an increased demand, Brubaker said, the plant's 1,250 workers will begin working overtime at the end of the month and increase production to 55 trucks a day.
The company also will spend $1 million in the next three months for renovations to increase the plant's capacity to 60 trucks.
Business hasn't always been so prosperous at the Dublin factory.
In late 1990 and early 1991 more than 350 workers were laid off.
All but 44 of those workers have been recalled and Brubaker is hopeful the rest can be rehired by year's end.
A final decision won't be made until about April.
The work ethic at the plant is one reason for continued quality improvements, Brubaker said.
The absentee rate is just over 2 percent; turnover is less than 1 percent.
A modest, quiet individual, Brubaker also gives credit to his co-workers for his personal success.
"I've always relied heavily on the people around me and don't try to do any thing special," he said.
Production worker Luther Henley said it's exactly that attitude that does indeed make Brubaker special.
"He lets people do what they're hired to do and doesn't try to do it all himself," he said. "He's done a great job."
Brubaker has been married to his college-sweetheart for 25 years. Though she's not working now, Sarah Brubaker is a high school math teacher who graduated from Radford College.
The Brubakers have two college-bound children - Wayne, 21, and Mary Kay, 19 - and live in Blacksburg.
Brubaker is still an avid Tech fan, attending nearly every home football and basketball game. When he's not rooting for the Hokies, Brubaker enjoys trout fishing and hiking.
Both are hobbies he rarely finds time to enjoy with a 50- to 60-hour work schedule.
As for the future, Brubaker said he would be content to finish his career as general manager of the Volvo-GM plant.
"There's always a new challenge," he said. "In the past year and a half I have seen the plant really progress. There's more of a family atmosphere. I'd like to see that continue."