Jim Schwarz was shaking Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson’s hand Tuesday, when the governor asked how Schwarz’s company was doing.
“We’re doing pretty well,” said Schwarz, president and CEO of Able Manufacturing and Assembly, LLC. “We’ve been pretty hit by the economy, but we’re doing OK.”
Parkinson said later that Schwarz had reason to be optimistic about the future.
“We’ve seen some positive signs with regard to the economy,” Parkinson said. “Now, it will take a little while, and while we’re not ready to declare victory over the recession just yet, there are some positive indicators there.”
Chief among those indicators was the drop in Kansas’s unemployment rate from 7.7 percent to 7.1 percent. Parkinson also noted the state’s rising revenues as another reason for optimism.
“We have to remember that the state lagged behind the nation in coming into the recession, and we will lag behind the nation in coming out of it,” Parkinson said. “The reason for that is that the aircraft industry lags behind in going in and out of recessions.”
Parkinson’s comments came while he visited Able Manufacturing’s Pittsburg facility to celebrate the business’s safety achievement of 400,000 (now around 430,000) hours with no lost time, and the two-year recertification of the company’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program. SHARP is an OSHA safety-consultation program administered by the state of Kansas to assist businesses in achieving full compliance with all OSHA rules and regulations.
Able Manufacturing is one of only 133 employers in the state of Kansas, and the first in the Pittsburg area, to participate in the SHARP program, which preaches the health and safety of employees.
It was that commitment that Daniel Hillenbrand, Able chairman of the board of directors, said helped to make the company a strong one. He cited the company’s major goals, the first of which was safety.
“SHARP is a win-win program,” Hillenbrand said. “I truly believe that it helps to make us better.
“There aren’t any better people, in my opinion, anywhere,” Hillenbrand said. “It’s a total team effort.”
That team effort was also discussed by Parkinson, who said that a safety record like Able’s often came, “from more than one person.” Parkinson quipped that trips like this one made him nervous.
“I’m kind of clumsy,” Parkinson said. “So I would hate to trip somewhere and break the streak.
“It’s really such a remarkable accomplishment,” Parkinson said. “An accomplishment like that shows that a company cares about its employees. And a company that cares about its employees is usually a very good company.”
Kevin Flaherty can be reached at kevin.flaherty@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 Ext. 134
