March 2017 MiMfg Magazine 25
Ford Invests to Test New Vehicles at Allen Park Plant
Ford Motor Company announced a $ 200 million investment toward new vehicle testing at the company ’ s Allen Park facility . The investment will allow for construction of a wind tunnel and climatic chamber and will share space with Ford ’ s Driveability Test Facility .
The wind tunnel will allow the global automaker to conduct vehicle aerodynamic and other tests with speeds reaching 200 mph , will include a rolling road simulator and will be built to accommodate large-frame vehicles , such as the Super Duty pickup .
“ This new wind tunnel facility will not only allow us to test our performance and racing vehicle lineup but will also enable us to share innovations across all our global Ford products ,” said Dave Pericak , global director of Ford Performance .
Ford ’ s new climatic chamber will allow for vehicle testing in temperatures as low as minus-40 degrees Fahrenheit to as high as 140 degrees .
DeWys Manufacturing Celebrates 40 Years
DeWys Manufacturing Inc ., a West Michigan-based metal solutions company , is celebrating their 40 th anniversary this year . Growing from a small business with only a few employees to one with more than 160 team members and an in-house training program , DeWys University , the company is a symbol of what manufacturers can do in Michigan .
“ I ’ ve always encouraged our innovation teams to be progressive , to try new things without the fear of failing forward ,” said CEO , and 2013 recipient of the John G . Thodis Michigan Manufacturer of the Year Award , Jon DeWys . “ This mentality allowed us to stay afloat during the challenging economic recession from 2008-2013 . During this time period many manufacturing companies experienced a decline in sales and some even closed their doors . Because we were diversified in our service offerings and customer base and have always invested in technology , we made it though and came out stronger than ever .”
C . T . Martin ( president ), Jon DeWys ( CEO ) and Mark Schoenborn ( COO ) celebrate 40 years on the floor of DeWys Manufacturing .
The company knew new talent was needed to keep the business strong , yet in the last decade many businesses struggled to locate talent using traditional means . In 2012 , DeWys University was born .
“ DeWys University has really allowed our business to grow . We ’ ve been able to build a team of motived , well-trained , and knowledgeable employees who are excited about their future with the company ,” said Laura Elsner , workforce development manager for DeWys .
“ We take a lot of pride in hitting this 40-year mile stone ,” said DeWys . “ We know that we ’ ll never be finished finding new ways to innovate and we ’ re looking forward to the growth ahead of us .” 6
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