Manufacturing Express bus rolls into Salisbury: Power Curbers recognized
Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 8, 2024
Power Curbers President Stephen Bullock welcomed the crowd and thanked them for being there. -- Karen Kistler
Alexander Russ, senior advisor with AEM expressed thanks for the opportunity to be there. -- Karen Kistler
Company President Stephen Bullock, right, called Perry Campbell, left, and Bill Robinson forward to recognize them. — Submitted photo
From left, Andrew Thompson, David Tresler and Tim Driggers, chat after playing the manufacturing challenge game. Driggers had the highest score for the day and won a cooler. -- Karen Kistler
Employees were encouraged to visit the tents and get a hat and try for a chance to win a raffle prize. AEM staff member Pedro Martin, left, assisted at the tent. -- Karen Kistler
Everyone was invited to enjoy a meal during the event. -- Karen Kistler
Associates gathered to listen to the various speakers during the ceremony. -- Karen Kistler
Power Curbers’ loga was placed by Josh Furr on the Manufacturing Express bus. — Submitted photo
SALISBURY — The AEM Manufacturing Express rolled through Salisbury making its 51st stop as it visited Power Curbers, recognizing them for their commitment to manufacturing and celebrating the company and its almost 90 employees.
The company is a leading producer of concrete slipform machines used for paving, curbs, sidewalks, barrier walls and ditches, and the event recognized the company’s commitment to innovation as the manufacturer of the world’s first automatic curb and gutter machine over 75 years ago.
This stop on Sept. 5 in Salisbury by those representing the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and the bus was part of a tour covering 10,000 miles, more than 20 states and more than 85 stops at manufacturing communities across the country, said Alexander Russ, senior advisor.
The tour, the first of its kind for AEM, began July 1 with a stop in Knoxville, Iowa, and will conclude on Oct. 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Selection of the various stops came about as they reached out to the AEM membership, Russ said, asking who wanted to host a manufacturing express and said Stephen Bullock, the president of the company, “was kind enough to open up his facility for us to be able to come today.”
He, in turn, said what a great honor it was to have AEM there and it was a thrill to be selected as there are manufacturers all over the country.
Russ spoke to the employees, elected officials and other guests during the opening ceremony as he thanked them for the opportunity to be there.
“You are quite literally the face of the manufacturing bus,” he said to those at the company and shared that the purpose of the day was to “celebrate you, your work, everything you do for our industry and also to learn about some of the public policy issues that we are facing in Washington.”
Bullock kicked off the event by welcoming everyone to this special day that he said they had been waiting for all summer and were excited to have them in Rowan County.
He then turned his attention to the associates of Power Curbers noting the great job each does for the company and then asked them to think about the purpose of the company.
“We connect people,” Bullock said.
He directed their attention to the interstate right behind them, noting it was paved by a power curber.
“Think about all the cars and trucks that go up and down 85 every day and your contribution to all that goes on in connecting people, in connecting cities, in promoting trade, it’s tremendous,” he said.
They also promote healthy lifestyles, he said, as they have provided sidewalk molds that go into subdivisions so people have a place to walk.
Travel is made safer as the barrier molds they have built go into a barrier wall dividing oncoming traffic and thus keeping people safe as they travel.
He said they also control erosion as the curbs and gutter molds direct where wastewater and runoff goes.
And one final area he said is the company helps feed the world, noting that the machines that go out for a cattle feedlot, a dairy application, poultry house foundation, all contribute to feeding the world.
“With that in mind,” Bullock said, “I say thank you for all you do to make the world a better place for everyone. I thank you for your determination, your grit, your dedication, and maybe most of all the can-do attitude that you all have every time a challenge comes up.”
Bullock not only thanked the associates of Power Curbers, but he also thanked AEM who he said was responsible for the event and the bus that was onsite and for their being there.
“We are so proud to be a part of the organization that promotes manufacturing all over the country. They do a great job of keeping manufacturing issues at the forefront in Washington, D.C., and just supporting us in so many ways.”
On behalf of Senator Ted Budd, Justin Somers thanked them for what they do in Rowan County and the country in manufacturing and “really being the backbone of America and what that means to the economy here and the nationwide economy. So thank you for what you’re doing. We certainly appreciate it,” he said.
He also pointed out that when the bus was on Capitol Hill, Budd would be participating in an interview with AEM on the bus.
As they speak with the politicians, Russ said what they discuss is “all policy driven. We are a bipartisan organization and we’re focused on public policies that impact manufacturing.”
Some of the issues discussed, he said, include infrastructure investment, agricultural public policies and trade.
“We are a very globalized industry, and it is the norm for a small manufacturer in rural communities to be selling across the world,” he said.
In addition to addressing the legislative issues, Bullock said that AEM assists them in multiple other ways including safety, employee training and market information analysis.
“All of that are things that AEM provides us and makes it worth our while to be a part of it as well as trade shows” that they provide, which help them get out the message about the company.
Before the crowd was invited to enjoy the prepared meal of hamburgers and hot dogs, with all the trimmings and Kona Ice, which was on hand for the day, several others were recognized including Rowan County Commissioner Judy Klusman, president of the Rowan Chamber of Commerce Elaine Spalding and Mollie Ruf and Kendall Henderson with the Rowan County EDC.
Two others, employees Perry Campbell and Bill Robinson, who Bullock said are Power Curber celebrities, were called forward, which brought lots of applause from the others. He pointed out that huge pictures of these two are on the bus and that it had been fun tracking the bus and seeing the pictures.
“It’s great having y’all represent us,” he said.
A company decal was added to the bus, by Josh Furr, alongside other logos from previous tour stops, giving it additional local flavor.
The crowd was reminded of The Manufacturing Challenge, an industry-themed online game, that they were encouraged to participate in, and by playing the game they were entered in a chance to win the grand prize of a Ford F-150 at the end of the tour.
Alex Caldeira with AEM was assisting at the challenge tent where the game was set up.
When asked how many had participated in the game, Caldeira said while he didn’t know the exact number, he would estimate anywhere from 100-500 people per stop at the approximately 40 locations.
The winner of the truck would be from a random drawing when the tour was completed, and that “anyone who entered to play the game no matter how good or bad they have done gets a fair shot at winning the truck,” Caldeira said.
Early January is the approximate date for the drawing for the truck.
Of those who participated in the challenge, the one who had the highest score was presented with a cooler, with Tim Driggers being declared as the winner.
Russ also pointed out another tent, manned by additional AEM staff Sara Stromski, Becca Basten and Pedro Martin where people could sign up for I Make America Grassroots Campaign, get a hat and get a chance to win some prizes including another cooler, various gift cards, a tool set, and a Cheerwine gift set.
Russ noted that each AEM staff member was volunteering their time to be on the bus to help staff it and these would rotate during the tour.
Caldeira said they were off to Tennessee after the Salisbury visit and this has meant a lot to him and had been amazing. He noted that he had been able to visit lots of states “that I never would have gotten to see,” and had been able to see lots of manufacturing companies and learn lots as well.
Russ said the visits along the tour “have just been wonderful” giving a way the people can feel connected and it provides them with a “platform to really talk about the set of core issues that are impacting manufacturing in this country.”
Bullock said they are very involved with AEM and wanted to introduce the associates with AEM and the work they do “and just promote that relationship.”
Enoc Cantero, a supervisor at Power Curbers, thought it was a special day allowing them to be able to “get everybody together, celebrating successes.” The day was also special being able to see some of “their best workers on the side of this bus, really just pride in our work and pride in our city,” he added.
Cantero has been with the company eight years and trained as a machinist, started as a CNC operator, worked as a programmer and is now in a supervisor role.
Perry Campbell has been with the company for seven years and serves as a plasma table operator, which entails taking a flat piece of steel and turning it into a part for the machine. He noted the job takes many hands but he starts it out.
Campbell said this was a special day because “it recognizes our work and shows that we are really dedicated to the world by connecting roads, highways.”
He added that the company does a lot with the small number of people.
“It’s amazing how we start a machine and one day, the third day, it’s going out the back door to a customer,” he said.
Cantero said the company was a great place to work and it didn’t take him long after graduating from college to find the job “and find a place that I know I will be retiring at.”
And that is the message that Bullock said they want to share with their associates.
“We want to be a place that people come to work and stay their career. So we work really hard at creating and providing a culture that does that,” he said.
In a release from AEM, Senior Vice President Kip Eideberg said that “equipment manufacturers are the backbone of America, representing 2.3 million employees. The ‘AEM Manufacturing Express’ is thrilled to be in North Carolina to celebrate the critical role of the state’s equipment manufacturers in building, powering, and feeding our nation.”
The message they want to share, Bullock said, is that “our industry has a voice, and it doesn’t matter if you’re in office or on the shop floor, your voice is just as powerful and if you are given the tools to connect with elected officials and talk about policies that are impacting your community, that is incredibly important.”
Wade Balkonis of AEM said that the “AEM Manufacturing Express is more than just a bus tour. It is an opportunity to tell the stories of the men and women of our industry in Rowan County and highlight how their grit, determination and can-do spirit have been pivotal to the American way of life.”
For additional details about the AEM Manufacturing Express national tour, go to www.manufacturingexpress.org.
