In 1975, manufacturing and agriculture accounted for 65% of the US GDP.
Schwan Foods Salina Ks
My
experience at Schwan Foods provided me with more automation experience and led
me to focus on an employee development model that worked. I reported to Al
Schwan, the brother of Marvin Schwan the founder. This was a private company.
Al had been the Chief Industrial Engineer at John Deere and joined his brother
to establish the frozen food manufacturing facility. Schwan Foods began as
Schwan Sales Enterprises and began in Marshall Mn with an Ice Cream Plant next
to the Family Restaurant. Marvin began delivering the popular Ice Cream to farm
wives and added other frozen foods to deliver. I joined Schwan’s as Personnel
Manager for the Pizza Plant in Salina Ks, the Tortilla Bakery in Hutchinson Ks
and the Sandwich Plant West Union Iowa
Schwan’s annual revenue was $150M in 1975 and would increase to $650M by 1979. Schwan Foods eventually bought a lot of frozen food companies and reached revenues of $50 billion with 50,000 employees in 50 countries. The sold them off to pay the inheritance tax bill when Marvin Schwan died. Schwan Foods closed in November 2024.
I interviewed for the job at Schwan’s with Loren Loucks Personnel Director, Marvin Schwan, Al Schwan in Salina in 1975 during Marvin’s annual meeting with all Supervisors. Marvin talked about the importance of a good family life. He was very interested in employee development.
I moved to Salina in March 1975 and spent time with their Engineering Consultant who was responsible for automating sauce, cheese and topping applications equipment. He had identified a rubber band filling shaker table as the model for a cheese applicator, but needed to design a sauce applicator and meat and topping application devices.
My family was scheduled to move to Salina in June 1975 and I had 3 months to work days and nights and travel. Part of my orientation allowed me to work on the lines at the plants and meet all of the employees.
My staff numbered 30 employees and included Recruiting, Training, Payroll, Reception, Security, Purchasing, Accounting and the Plant Nurse. The wheat, cheese, meat and toppings Purchasing Rep reported to the Plant Manager.
In 1975, I was offered a promotion to Personnel Director for Schwans’ and relocate to Marshall Mn to swap jobs with Loren Loucks, who didn’t want to move. I turned it down and we hired another guy who lived in Minnesota.
Al Schwan assigned me to succeed him in handling “Community Relations”. With 1400 employees, we were the largest employer in Salina. We already ran a 4 hour shift for High School Students who had a B average.
In 1976, I founded the Salina Area Personnel Association as an ASPA Chapter and designed a Wage and Salary Survey for 40 local member companies.
I ran “how are we doing” ads on the radio to report our automation progress. I founded the Salina Area Personnel Association as an ASPA Chapter. I designed a wage survey we supplied to the Chamber of Commerce and to participating companies. I was on the Board of the United Way and recruited their Director who was recommended by my old boss at United Way in St. Louis. Tony’s entered a float the Bi-Centennial parade in 1976 and won 1st Place. We also ran a Pizza Stand at the Bi-Centennial Festival and the annual River Festivals that followed.
One of the first things I did was to meet with the Data Processing Manager at the Headquarters in Marshall Mn. I wrote the HRIS System and got a compatible “slave computer” for the Salina location so we could modem to the Headquarters Computer and print checks in Salina. I hired a Data Processing Manager for Salina to run the slave computer. We could then run the paychecks locally. When we went to direct deposit, we used the local computer to place orders for food production.
I worked with Mel Schwan, Al’s son, who was an Electronics Engineering student and Pete Sias, a brilliant electrician to build a custom PC to monitor our Ammonia Refrigeration system with “rate of rise” sensors. We saved $100 000 per year on our Plant Insurance Policy. I replaced time clocks with Rusco Cards to automate payroll. I ran Security with 1 Officer inside, monitoring the cameras, screens and sensors and 1 Officer in a car 24/7.
We moved the company picnic to the Land behind the Plant and brought in carnival rides.
Loren Loucks had found Associated Personnel Technicians APT Test in Wichita KS. It was a 4-hour test that was a perfect base-line test to begin a serious, employee development program. We used the APT to select employees for promotions and to begin their individual development program. The APT included timed and untimed reading comprehension, math, simple physics and the MMPI. It compared scores with the APT database of scores from successful managers.
The employees wanted a Test used to help select Supervisors. They were participating in lame, generic employee development sessions prior to using the APT as a base-line test. The employees loved it, because it put them in charge of their development.
I developed a 9-factor job evaluation plan to evaluate jobs. I developed a numerically scored Performance Appraisal Form the employees loved. We continued to have “Line Meetings” and had employees review policy changes before they were adopted. I developed an employee questionnaire that included comments on what problems existed in each part of the plant. This resulted in us developing our own bakery ovens that better controlled moisture and humidity to end out-of-round crusts and solved all Packaging rejects.
When we moved to full automation in 1979, all promotions were filled by current employees. Our Maintenance Teams had trained line workers to become Automated Machine Operators. Others became “Materials Movers”. Others took office jobs. The Salina Workforce was extremely capable. These were Farm Kids who got straight As and did their chores. Most were high school grads, but their APT Test Scores were similar to College Grads.
I had accomplished more than I had planned and I was ready to move on. I got a call from Salina-based Rickle Manufacturing in 1979. I lived next door to their previous Controller and he complained about the UAW. I agreed to meet with Rickle to consider becoming their Corporate Personnel Manager and took the job.
Rickle Manufacturing Salina KS
I joined Rickle Manufacturing in 1979. I didn’t share that I was there to decertify the UAW.
Rickle Manufacturing had designed and developed a 3-wheel Fertilizer and Pesticide Applicator and sold these to large farmers and custom applicators. Each model could hold a dry box and a spray tank. The 3-wheel design made them more stable. They also had a sludge applicator. Ed Rickle designed the 3-wheel applicator with large Terra Tires for low compaction and high stability. Ed had inherited Rickle Grain Company. Rickle Manufacturing was a subsidiary of Rickle Grain. The management staff of Rickle Manufacturing was impressive.
My experience with Rickle was excellent and enjoyable. I recruited Engineers to strengthen their Engineering team and recruited Sales Reps. I hung out with their Controller and Manufacturing Manager.
Manufacturing included a steel structure for each unit and pre manufactured cabs, an Allison Engine and Transmission. We employed Metal Fabrication Operators, Welders, Assemblers and Painters.
The management team included a VP General Manager, Manufacturing Manager, Controller, Engineering Manager, Sales Manager and Personnel Manager. Interest rates were about to rise and the Agriculture markets were down. We had 100 employees. Kansas is a “Right to Work” State and 50 of our employees were dues-paying Union Members. Decertification required a petition to decertify initiated by the workforce.
In
1979, I was tapped to serve as ASPA Director for Kansas by the American Society
for Personnel Administration.
In 1980, I was asked to write the Business Column for Kansas Business News.
Contract Negotiations were scheduled for 1982 and I asked the Manufacturing Manager and his Superintendent to serve on the Bargaining Committee. He also suggested that I add my Personnel Rep to join the Bargaining Committee.
Our Manufacturing Manager was anxious to know what I thought of the union situation. I told him that the UAW needed to go. He was delighted and wanted to know my plan.
The UAW had run rough-shod in the plant. The prior Personnel Manager had allowed the UAW to hold negotiations in the company conference room. Shop Stewards were allowed to conduct Union Business on working time.
In my first meeting with the the UAW President and Business Agent I told them that we would need the conference room for Sales and Engineering meetings and could not hold negotiations there. I also told them that they would need to instruct Shop Stewards to hear grievances during breaks and not on working time.
I told the Manufacturing Manager and his Superintendent to alert the Foremen to ignore the Shop Stewards and enforce my new rules.
The result was the filing of 100 nuisance grievances I would be given and would ignore. The UAW wanted to return to horse-trading and I insisted that we follow the Contract. I would refer all grievances to arbitration and knew all would be dismissed. This would result in more time and expense for the UAW President. His UAW Local 710 covered 4 states and included dozens of small companies.
I found out what companies had Local 710 and contacted them. Each one added another company to my list. Before long I sent them a list that I had compiled called the “Local 710 Club”. The Personnel Manager a Hesse Truck Manufacturing in Kansas City called me. I suggested that we schedule meetings with the Local 710 President. The guy at Hesse loved it and asked if he could be the coordinator. I said yes. Our negotiations drug out as the UAW didn’t find the time to begin wage negotiations. The dues-paying members at Rickel became irritated with their UAW President.
The Salina Journal newspaper published a lengthy article announcing the opening of a new Ag Equipment Company opening in Salina. The article included the pay rates for Metal Fabricators, Welders, Assemblers and Painters. All rates were higher than our rates at Rickel.
I pre-notified the UAW that I was immediately raising our wage rates to match the new company. I posted the new rates on the bulletin board.
One of the dues-paying Shop Stewards hand-carried the Decertification Petition through the plant. They all signed it and the Shop Steward filed it with the NLRB. The Notice of Decertification was sent to the UAW 70 President and he filed a Disclaimer, accepting the Decertification. At that point we were union-free.
We knew that the Japanese were about to launch their Ag Equipment into the US markets and that our sales would slump. I suggested that we contact a Broker to call Ag Chem, our closest competitor to see if they would like to acquire Rickel. They did. This would give Ag Chem ownership of the patents for our equipment and they could add our 3-wheel product line to their current 4-wheel product lines for Applicators. The fact that Rickel was “union-free” sealed the deal.
I met with the President of Ag Chem when he visited Rickel in Salina. I told him that our Manufacturing Manager was the one to keep as their Plant Manager and that the rest of us were highly competent and ready to move on.
I was offered a Consulting Contract to install the Personnel Function for the Saline County Government and signed on to a Consulting Contract as I exited Rickel.
I got a call from a Personnel Manager I had gotten to know when he was in Salina. He wanted me to join him at Hayes Microcomputer Products in Atlanta GA. He said that Hayes needed everything. They were a 100 electronics employee company and expected to grow rapidly to provide Modems for PCs. One of my neighbors was a Dentist who was an avid Hayes Modem customer and he tole me that Hayes was “first class”.
Marlene was ready to earn a degree in Dental Hygiene and Atlanta had a Dental Hygiene School. The kids had enjoyed Kansas and our camping and boating from ages 2 to 10. In 1983, they ranged in ages 10 to 18 and were ready for a bigger town.
Marlene and I were invited to visit Hayes in February 1983. We met with Dennis Hayes for dinner. The next day I met with the staff at Hayes and Marlene was shown houses. Marlene loved Atlanta. I got the offer to serve as an internal consultant and project manager to prepare for rapid growth. I got the offer and took the job with plans to join Hayes in March 1983 after I completed my consulting contract with Saline County.
Marlene would sell the boat and the horse and get the house ready to sell. She and the kids would move to Atlanta in July 1983.
We found our house in Dunwoody in June 1983. It was near Norcross where Hayes was located and close to the Dental Hygiene School.
In 1983, I resigned as ASPA Director for Kansas and Business Columnist for Kansas Business News. I also got a call from the St. Charles County Council of Homeowners Associations. I wrote the bi-laws and included a “termination clause” to consider after county economic development was complete. I got a call from the current President and after that call I agreed. Marlene and I resigned as Engaged Encounter Leaders for Western Kansas and transferred to Engaged Encounter in Atlanta. I had become a “folk hero” in Kansas and gave my farewell address to the Lions Club. I told them that I went to Kansas to experience a low Ag economy and was going to Atlanta Georgia to experience the Electronics Industry shakeout. I had been the Lions Club Board Reporter. I had promised to make things up like a professional reporter. I recommended that they appoint a new reporter who also had an incurable Stage 4 Addiction to Humor.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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