JerrySharrett
Senile Member
Below is a newspaper article that appeared recently in the Lewiston, ID paper.
It seems, according to this article that 1) CCI in Lewiston is running full out and has even added 209 additional employees in 2009, and 2) the new leader we have has more than one plan to create jobs....panic!! (Who said the government doesn't know how to create jobs)!!
I know for fact that locally, Wideners Reloading www.wideners.com has a building full of folks filling orders and still is getting further behind in order shipping.
In reading the following keep in mind the parent company, ATK, is also a big NASA contractor also and some internal problems seem to stem from a slowdown in the space program. But, it appears for folks like myself that use some CCI products it's just a matter of "take a number and get in line"
Business is booming at Lewiston's ATK
November 22nd, 2009
By Elaine Williams of the Tribune
Ammo company's workforce grows past 1,000 mark
The number of employees at ATK's Lewiston location has swelled past the 1,000 mark, breaking previous records, thanks in part to President Barack Obama and the French.
ATK has 1,090 employees in Lewiston, 206 more than at the beginning of 2009. Workers are forecast to produce more ammunition than in any other single year in every product line ATK makes in Lewiston. Among them are Gold Dot pistol ammunition for law enforcement and Stinger, a form of .22-caliber long rifle rimfire.
Lewiston is one of two sites where ATK, a Minneapolis-area-based aerospace and defense company, makes ammunition for the commercial and law enforcement sectors.
"ATK is experiencing unprecedented demand for ammunition," said Amanda Covington, a spokeswoman for the company in Salt Lake City. "Our facilities are working 24-7 to meet the demand of all of our customers."
Some of the success has been luck. Gun sales rose consistently over a 10-month period that started in 2008 when Obama was elected, according to a news release from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an organization to which Covington referred a question about Obama.
That organization also reported that a survey found 57 percent of Americans attribute the rise in gun sales to fear of increased government restrictions on firearm ownership. (43% must be asleep)
But the growth in demand for ATK's ammunition is also a result of hard work by employees throughout the company, including the ones based in Lewiston, said Marty Zacha, director of ATK's Lewiston operations.
One example of that is the hours ATK spent landing a contract potentially worth more than $14 million over four years to supply French law enforcement.
ATK learned about three years ago that the French might consider bids from companies in the United States, Zacha said. It sent high-level employees, such as engineers who had been involved in designing ammunition, to France several times to provide education about ATK products.
Often the ATK contingent would demonstrate the ammunition's superiority by shooting at targets that law enforcement might encounter in the line of duty, like windshields or walls, Zacha said. "There were no sales involved. It was all about building relationships." (Yes!! Not to speak of designing and building the product the customer wanted.)
It's possible that ATK will gain even more business abroad now that the company has won acceptance from the French, Zacha said.
As demand has increased, ATK has been conservative in how it has expanded, always looking at ways to increase the efficiency of existing machines and employees before making additions, Zacha said.
The employees who work on the line have provided some of the best suggestions to improve the processes. During a tour Friday, Zacha pointed to a monitor with four images on a screen at a station where an employee was packaging power loads. Power loads are used in construction to drive nails and other fasteners.
The images on the screen came from cameras taking pictures of the activity of a robotic arm behind the employee. The employee has to check the robotic arm occasionally to be sure it's functioning correctly. Prior to the cameras and monitor- an employee suggestion - it was impossible to check the arm without twisting around, a motion that slowed the process of packaging and potentially caused back strain.
It cost ATK $1,000, and now it saves that much on each shift, Zacha said.
Not far away, Zacha pointed to a machine that closes box ends, another improvement made at the recommendation of employees. Even though getting the fold right was hard to do manually, employees adapted and could shut two or three at once. The problem was it was tough on their hands.
Those kinds of innovations have been made throughout the plant as its in-house machine shop has grown, Zacha said.
The shop can manufacture almost any part ATK might need. It reduces delays when machines break and even does certain jobs for another ATK plant in a different part of the country, Zacha said.
Zacha expects what's already happened in Lewiston to continue. "Our plan is to follow the same path and strategy we've been on."
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It seems, according to this article that 1) CCI in Lewiston is running full out and has even added 209 additional employees in 2009, and 2) the new leader we have has more than one plan to create jobs....panic!! (Who said the government doesn't know how to create jobs)!!
I know for fact that locally, Wideners Reloading www.wideners.com has a building full of folks filling orders and still is getting further behind in order shipping.
In reading the following keep in mind the parent company, ATK, is also a big NASA contractor also and some internal problems seem to stem from a slowdown in the space program. But, it appears for folks like myself that use some CCI products it's just a matter of "take a number and get in line"
Business is booming at Lewiston's ATK
November 22nd, 2009
By Elaine Williams of the Tribune
Ammo company's workforce grows past 1,000 mark
The number of employees at ATK's Lewiston location has swelled past the 1,000 mark, breaking previous records, thanks in part to President Barack Obama and the French.
ATK has 1,090 employees in Lewiston, 206 more than at the beginning of 2009. Workers are forecast to produce more ammunition than in any other single year in every product line ATK makes in Lewiston. Among them are Gold Dot pistol ammunition for law enforcement and Stinger, a form of .22-caliber long rifle rimfire.
Lewiston is one of two sites where ATK, a Minneapolis-area-based aerospace and defense company, makes ammunition for the commercial and law enforcement sectors.
"ATK is experiencing unprecedented demand for ammunition," said Amanda Covington, a spokeswoman for the company in Salt Lake City. "Our facilities are working 24-7 to meet the demand of all of our customers."
Some of the success has been luck. Gun sales rose consistently over a 10-month period that started in 2008 when Obama was elected, according to a news release from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an organization to which Covington referred a question about Obama.
That organization also reported that a survey found 57 percent of Americans attribute the rise in gun sales to fear of increased government restrictions on firearm ownership. (43% must be asleep)
But the growth in demand for ATK's ammunition is also a result of hard work by employees throughout the company, including the ones based in Lewiston, said Marty Zacha, director of ATK's Lewiston operations.
One example of that is the hours ATK spent landing a contract potentially worth more than $14 million over four years to supply French law enforcement.
ATK learned about three years ago that the French might consider bids from companies in the United States, Zacha said. It sent high-level employees, such as engineers who had been involved in designing ammunition, to France several times to provide education about ATK products.
Often the ATK contingent would demonstrate the ammunition's superiority by shooting at targets that law enforcement might encounter in the line of duty, like windshields or walls, Zacha said. "There were no sales involved. It was all about building relationships." (Yes!! Not to speak of designing and building the product the customer wanted.)
It's possible that ATK will gain even more business abroad now that the company has won acceptance from the French, Zacha said.
As demand has increased, ATK has been conservative in how it has expanded, always looking at ways to increase the efficiency of existing machines and employees before making additions, Zacha said.
The employees who work on the line have provided some of the best suggestions to improve the processes. During a tour Friday, Zacha pointed to a monitor with four images on a screen at a station where an employee was packaging power loads. Power loads are used in construction to drive nails and other fasteners.
The images on the screen came from cameras taking pictures of the activity of a robotic arm behind the employee. The employee has to check the robotic arm occasionally to be sure it's functioning correctly. Prior to the cameras and monitor- an employee suggestion - it was impossible to check the arm without twisting around, a motion that slowed the process of packaging and potentially caused back strain.
It cost ATK $1,000, and now it saves that much on each shift, Zacha said.
Not far away, Zacha pointed to a machine that closes box ends, another improvement made at the recommendation of employees. Even though getting the fold right was hard to do manually, employees adapted and could shut two or three at once. The problem was it was tough on their hands.
Those kinds of innovations have been made throughout the plant as its in-house machine shop has grown, Zacha said.
The shop can manufacture almost any part ATK might need. It reduces delays when machines break and even does certain jobs for another ATK plant in a different part of the country, Zacha said.
Zacha expects what's already happened in Lewiston to continue. "Our plan is to follow the same path and strategy we've been on."
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