“At the end of the day, the growth our company has made and is expected to make in the years to come would not be possible without our most valuable resource: our employees. We are excited about the future and the opportunities it holds for us and our employees.” – ACE Pumps CEO Andy Randle
The AEM Manufacturing Express tour is first and foremost a storytelling exercise. In the nearly two months since the association’s public engagement initiative launched, AEM and its staff have been afforded countless opportunities to meet the men and women of the equipment manufacturing industry, people who help companies like ACE Pumps build equipment that has a lasting impact on society. These people are behind the products that build, power, and feed the world, and their contributions are being celebrated at each stop of what has so far been an incredibly successful tour.
As August winds down, the AEM Manufacturing Express is beginning to work its way east toward Georgia, where it will then move up the coast and toward our nation’s capital. And, after several successful visits to Oklahoma earlier this month, the tour stopped in Paragould, Arkansas, last week Wednesday to celebrate AEM member company Allen Engineering and the company’s 60 years of concrete innovation. A city of 30,000 residents, Paragould is home to several addiction recovery programs offered through faith-based ministries, which Allen Engineering is heavily involved in today. “I’ve personally tried to make my faith a big part of who I am, and that’s been a huge driver of what we’ve done in the community with both drug and alcohol addiction programs, as well as charitable giving,” said Jay Allen, the company’s second-generation CEO and president, who detailed Allen Engineering’s second-chance employment work in a feature article in last week’s AEM Industry Advisor member newsletter.
Check out the latest installment of “ON BOARD!” with Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and AEM’s Kip Eideberg below:
After spending a single day in Arkansas, it was off to Olive Branch, Mississippi, for a visit with Krone North America. A newly published story on manufacturingexpress.org, the official tour website, detailed the inaugural stop in the Magnolia State and how Krone’s workforce comprised of just over 50 people build and distribute more than 300 agricultural machines per year. “Krone is engineered with the highest quality standards that support farmers, large and small, across North America. The team in Mississippi is not just helping bring these products to more customers each year, but it plays an important role in helping to feed families worldwide,” said Krone Parts Manager Jonathan Cole.
Following a sunny afternoon in Olive Branch, the AEM Manufacturing Express crossed the Mississippi-Tennessee border to spend a day at ACE Pumps, located on the man-made island of President’s Island that’s just outside of Memphis. The company, which is known for developing the first hydraulic-driven pump for John Deere, recently received a second “E-Star” Award as part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s President’s “E” Award for Export Achievements. This prestigious recognition underscores Ace Pumps’ significant contribution to U.S. exports, which in turn strengthens communities and generates American jobs. “Each award is in recognition of consistent export growth in the previous four years,” said Andy Randle, CEO of ACE Pump Corporation. “So, with this second ‘E Star’ award, we are celebrating 14 years of continuing growth in exports. A quarter of our products are destined for export markets, supporting one fourth of our employees and their families.”
To kick of its eighth week on the road, the AEM Manufacturing Express spent this past Monday in Corinth, Mississippi, at Caterpillar, before moving on to Schwarze Industries in Huntsville, Alabama. Company employees enjoyed a day of barbecue sandwiches, ice cream, and a competitive bag-toss tournament. According to a story on manufacturingexpress.org, the company is proud of its substantial and ongoing support to Free 2 Teach, a nonprofit organization providing teachers with desperately needed classroom supplies across Madison County’s 88 public schools. “We supply local classrooms with the materials they need to produce the next generation of welders, engineers, and manufacturers,” said Alison Kling, executive director of Free 2 Teach. “We like to say that Schwarze is building sweepers and supporting teachers.”
Check out some photos from the event at Schwarze Industries below, or visit the AEM Manufacturing Express Flickr gallery.
The tour then made its way back up north to Tennessee and ASTEC on Wednesday, and it will close out the week at AGCO Corporation, Kubota Manufacturing America, and SANY America. Next week will bring stops in Georgia and South Carolina, as the AEM Manufacturing Express engages with the men and women of the equipment manufacturing industry at JCB, Takeuchi North America, Calder Brothers Corporation, Timken Tyger River, and Timken Shiloh.
About the AEM Manufacturing Express
The most ambitious and impactful public engagement initiative in AEM’s 130-year history, the AEM Manufacturing Express is an interactive mobile tour that will cover 20 states and make stops at more than 80 equipment manufacturers’ facilities in the Midwest, South, Mid-Atlantic, and states around the Great Lakes this summer and into the fall. Stay in the know on all things AEM Manufacturing Express by visiting www.manufacturingexpress.org.
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