®| Training is our business Winter 2000 Volume 2, Number I |
SKC
Amazon.com
Solectron
Honda
Geico
Viracon
Project Update
Operating Results
I am often asked about both the geographic distribution of Quick Start services and how often we serve Georgia's companies as they expand employment in our state. These highlights from FY99 Operating Results should help answer those questions. Winter 2000. It sounds like the start of the unfolding of the future. As I review Quick Start's recent past, especially as noted in the articles in this issue, I am grateful for the privelege of leading this organization and look ahead to the opportunities and prosperity the coming months and years will bring to our state. Jackie Rohosky
Winter 2000
Director, Communications 404-679-2915
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SKC Spanning the World 
When the SKC facility in Covington began producing polyester film in April 1999, the first sheets to roll off the high-technology production equipment were more than finished products. That first production run of film represented four years of successful planning and project work between SKC and Georgia Quick Start.
“SKC’s three-phase $1.5 billion investment plan represents the single largest investment ever announced in Georgia’s history,” said Randy Cardoza, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism. “When completed, the facility will be the largest plant of its kind in the world.” In early 1996, Quick Start began what would be nearly three full years of project work before the high technology plant was ready to open. The training fell into three categories. The first area was manufacturing training — certainly not a new item for Quick Start. But an historic first was that the SKC project included the transfer of proprietary technology applications from Korea to Georgia. Successful technology transfer mandated language translation components and cross-cultural communication training for both Korean and American employees. Process training manuals were the first items to be produced, followed by technical manuals translated from Korean to English.  Once the manufacturing environment hurdles had been identified, Quick Start staff moved onto its other two, long-term training areas — organizational efficiency and job performance. Quick Start training for new SKC employees included pre-employment training in everything from mathematics and pneumatic systems to leadership excellence. Employee training lasted more than 14 months, with DeKalb Technical Institute providing assistance and classroom space.
Adds Cardoza, “The quality jobs and investment SKC provides Covington
are of great benefit to the community and Georgia. Georgia’s, and
specifically Quick Start’s, role in the successful Phase I startup is
just the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership.”
 The Covington site produces a film called SKYrol-polyester, which is used for magnetic media; food and decorative materials packaging; imaging and graphic arts; electrical applications, such as flexible circuit boards; and general industrial applications, such as hot stamping foils and laminates. Since SKC is vertically integrated, the company eventually will produce onsite the resin pellets used in film manufacture. When Phase III is complete, 10 production lines will bring the total to more than 1,000 new jobs.
The planning and attention to detail in the training environment have paid off well for SKC in the marketplace. “The Covington plant was able to produce and deliver its first shipment of SKYrol film just two weeks after opening,” said Young Lee, vice president, manufacturing and technical services. “The production is proof of our capabilities, and the customer, who received an on-time delivery of that first shipment, has high praise for the film’s quality. In Covington, we have the most efficient film production plant operating in the world today.” QS
[ADDITIONAL SKC ARTICLES BELOW]
Georgia Offered Qualitative
Both Georgia sites and the South Carolina site gave SKC what the company needed — proximity to customers; an affordable skilled workforce; and convenient, effective transportation from major airports and the port of Savannah. Georgia eventually tipped the balance in its favor with help from then Gov. Zell Miller’s office and Georgia Quick Start, and Covington, 25 miles east of Atlanta, landed the deal. In the end, the dollar value of South Carolina’s incentive package was far greater than what Georgia offered. However, Georgia provided something richer — a culture offering good quality of life for foreign nationals, and a deeper understanding of intercultural communications and the needs of technology transfer. Not only could Georgia demonstrate that there would be a Korean community for SKC’s employees to move into in close-by metro Atlanta, but that the community included schools, churches and market and entertainment districts. Quick Start impressed the company up-front with cultural sensitivity when the group had much of its presentation to SKC executives translated into Korean. It is one thing to market, another to deliver. Other states, including South Carolina, offered grant monies to pay for cross-cultural training and handle technology transfer, but none of those incentive packages included an implementation plan. Quick Start developed the cross-cultural training modules to fit SKC’s key needs. The Quick Start training plan bridged any gaps that existed with Georgians communicating with Koreans, and vice versa. From there, technology transfer needs became much simpler to undertake. It was a great comfort factor to senior management at SKC that Georgia could provide the skilled workforce the company needed. QS |
QUICK START | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | TECHNICAL INSTITUTES | DTAE HOME
“This unique merging of Korean and American business practices and
cultures has been a great adventure for all of us,” said Bill Lucey, SKC
facilities manager in Covington. “We have superb equipment and
facilities; we have well-tested processes, expert technicians from the
Suwon plant in South Korea to facilitate quick startup and comprehensive
technology transfer, and an eager group of local employees. We are proud
of how well the project has come together.”
SKC Donates Wetlands Area to State
There is no substitute for Quick Start. The work the Quick Start staff
does is so important to Georgia and that importance deserves a deeper
understanding.