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Athens Banner-Herald
June 8, 2003
Ford, Hollis Walk the Walk
Given the economic climate enveloping our nation and
the world in general, it would seem an unlikely time
for a couple of Athens management consultants to gamble
on a manufacturing operation.
Yet, Sherrie Ford and Steve Hollis, co-principals in
Athens-based Change Partners L.L.C. took a chance and
made a major commitment by purchasing the former ABB
power transformer facility on Newton Bridge Road. Ford
and Hollis, under the corporate banner of Power Partners
Inc., purchased the plant May 15, after acquiring capital
investment for the deal.
The Power Partners plant at 200 Newton Bridge Road manufactures
and distributes pole-mount and pad-mount distribution
power transformers which are sold to power producers
as well as manufacturing and utility companies around
the country and internationally.
Like many companies of late, Zurich-based ABB had been
falling short of financial expectations, and consequently
was scaling back many of its operations, including the
Athens plant that it bought in 1990 from Westinghouse.
In 1999 ABB employed as many as 600 people in its Athens
operation, but when Ford and Hollis bought it, the work
force had been reduced to 500. Also, during the past
year ABB sold off several other divisions to help offset
a debt that had grown to $8.2 billion. Its $45-million,
first-quarter loss was 11 times what analysts had predicted,
and the company was planning to eliminate 25,000 jobs
in order to reduce operating costs, according to the
New York Times. It might have meant the closing of the
Athens facility or the sale of the plant to someone
else who would have likely shut it down in the short
run.
Ford and Hollis understood ABB's posture as well as
the stakes associated with buying and operating the
local plant. Ford became familiar with ABB when it first
bought the Athens facility. In 1999, Ford and Hollis,
through their company, Change Partners, began contract
consulting work with ABB specifically for the Athens
plant. Change Partners offers expertise to help other
businesses, especially manufacturing operations, adapt
to changes in their plants, in their industry and in
their marketing fields. Part of Change Partners' expertise
focuses on the concept of Lean Manufacturing, making
the production process as efficient as possible and
creating teams of workers who can solve problems as
quickly as possible.
Buoyed by their familiarity with the operation and their
shared dream of owning a manufacturing company, Ford
and Hollis made their commitment. They are excited about
walking the walk of industrial production. They are
lifted, too, by the prospect of using the plant in Athens
as a demonstration site for Change Partners. Clients
of Change Partners will be invited to Power Partners
to witness first-hand how certain management practices
have been implemented and how they impact the production
process.
Hollis, who will serve as the chief executive officer
of Power Partners, said he and Ford have been encouraged
by input from the plant employees. When the sale was
announced in early May, Hollis said he had 50 to 60
employees stop him to say they had ideas for making
the plant better. That input is what Ford and Hollis
feel is crucial to helping make production more effective.
To invest in a plant that has been in operation since
1958 and to keep 500 jobs available in this market is
quite a contribution. Ford said they already plan on
adding 25 more jobs to the plant.
[Hollis and Ford] deserve a pat on the back. The partners
apparently possess a large amount of faith in themselves,
their team, their management principles and their employees.
Now their job will be practicing what they have been
preaching. Here's hoping they fare well.
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