El propósito es un viaje

Working at Michelin Tweel Technologies Facility I feel we have all grown together and learned together and it has been a 18 months and yet there are more challenges ahead. Training new employees has become one of the most satisfying aspects of my position because I can really see the hard work and dedication grow in our new team members as well as witness the amount of inspiration and focus we share.

I learned to love nature and hiking in the national parks from a colleague from France. She frequently organizes nature hikes, and it was the first time I experienced hiking for hours in places like Paris Mountain, Jones Gap, Du Pont Forest and Table Rock National Park. My father passed away 3 years ago and I was depressed. Thanks to my French colleague, hiking with her (and her dogs) allowed me recover and heal in nature. I appreciate concern from colleagues to their fellow workers to help recover from personal loss. 

I love that Michelin is concerned about the Environment. I am very proud to participate in the environmental community projects.

As a Uniformity Engineer in OE Quality, it is my purpose to ensure Michelin OE tires are graded to the correct limits in order meet all the customer expectations, while being conscious to the industrial impact these limits have on our production facilities.

In my new role as a Process Improvement Project Manager, I have the opportunity to improve our processes so that we can deliver better quality at a more competitive price. At BFG3, we were starving the tire room for belt and had to improve our throughput on our VMI's or risk growing to meet customer demands. We held a 4 day cycle time event that allowed us to improve or cycle by 15% on all of our VMI's. The collective efforts of production, maintenance, and our IE group made this improvement possible. It is always exciting to see what happens when we work together to solve a problem.

In 2003, I was hired into Michelin's Training department after six years of working as a contractor here in various roles. Through the support of many in this department, I was hired, supported as I earned a degree, mentored, coached, and truly loved. I will mention a few that strongly touched my life and my heart and are no longer are alive: Luis Anastacio, Joel Dobson, and David Mims! In addition, Milan Mizerovsky, Dave Andrews, and Mary Ann Price ensured my entry into Michelin and supported and guided me as I developed and learned the Company.

David Barton, now retired, proctored my exams for several years, and was a true friend for the six years prior to my start date, when I was a software trainer for Michelin, and continues to be.

Joel Dobson was an amazing man, full of heart and passion for this Company. He helped me solve many statistics problems–he was my biggest cheerleader!

Everyone in T&D at the time, took turns participating in public speaking exercises, helping with school problems, watching my son grow as he visited often, and celebrated my graduation as well!

And I have to give special thanks to the one and only Dr. John Hargrave, also retired. Through his passion, I fell in love with marketing, and completed every Kotler Marketing course I could get my hands on and advanced into the marketing department - with his friendship, knowledge, coaching and advice - and still today.

There are many more people at the beginning of my career (as an employee) here at Michelin that are the REAL PIONEERS for how you set THE foundation for starting a career at Michelin!

My purpose is to demonstrate my values (that align completely with Michelin's values) inside and outside the work environment through my actions.

A little more than a month ago my 29 year old brother went into cardiac arrest. It began on Sunday around midnight, and I immediately went to the hospital to be with him. He went into a coma and passed away 3 days later. Because of TCI's alignment with Michelin and the emphasis they have put on work/family time, I was able to be with my brother until his passing as well as with my family who needed my support at that time. I will never forget the words my RSM (Daniel Herrera) expressed: "Robert, take all the time you need!" I was back at work the following week, but I feel fortunate to work for a company that embraces these values. Dealing with a situation like this is hard enough, without having to worry about missing time at work and income lost. I appreciate this gesture so much that it makes me feel more committed to be the best employee I can be. I feel blessed.

For me, delivering excellence and quality is to inspire people on doing their jobs well and work hard to achieve their goals. It is a great satisfaction to know that what you do is well done, and that can prevent people from losing time, getting frustrated, or having to deal with problems derived from it. At the same time, I am expecting what I do in some way be returned, making things easier for me as well. 

If every person would do their job as excellent as expected, it could be a different world. By excellence and quality I mean not just the work itself, but also how we treat one another. We must respect, listen and be committed to helping each other succeed. By doing so we enhance our environment.

I was in the plant as a manager during the economic recession in 2008. During this time, I was a part of some tough meetings where we discussed how we were going to manage our manpower while we scaled back production and managed a growing tire inventory. It was incredible to me that, right from the start, the statement was clearly made that Michelin was going to take care of its people.  We weren't talking about layoffs. 

We were talking about how we were going to keep our people working while scaling back production. My neighbors were getting laid off or experiencing salary cuts. My company was saying, you have a job and we will honor it. Even if it means we re-paint the inside of the plant twice....you will keep your job. I had the opportunity to communicate that message to the employees in my team.

It wasn't a fun time, but you learn the character of a company in difficult situations. My wife has always said that she doesn't really care if I can get a better paying job or not outside of Michelin because she knows this company has character and cares about its people and our family.

Recently CA1 was placed in the difficult position of downsizing our TCAR.  Michelin went above and beyond normal expectations to accommodate, counsel and compensate employees faced with relocation to new positions both here at CA1 and other Michelin facilities. It was a lengthy process and was drawn out over a year. The impacted employees were handled with dignity, respect, and compassion by Michelin. What may not have been as obvious, however, was the level of caring and concern shown by the employees as a family.

We work together, spend most of our waking time together. Laugh and celebrate our wins, our own accomplishments and family's accomplishments together. The day they announced the cuts a black cloud hung over the plant. As we started to work together to find solutions and free resources we were helping people while ensuring that business ran as smoothly as ever. 

Our actions as a company and a family began to encourage new growth within individuals and new growth within the company. I am proud to work here, for this company and with these people.

As a Customer Service Rep for the Mining sites in North America, I ensure that all the necessary steps are in place to assist our sales reps out in the field. I also ensure that Supply is where it needs to be, by providing accurate feedback and information regarding customer's purchase orders (which drive production). The mining industry is in decline and many of these company's employees lack confidence that they will have steady employment. It is my job to make sure they don't have to worry about tires.

Over the last five years, a cross-functional team (Materials + Industry + Tire Design) has been working on increasing the consumption of crumb rubber in our retread products. Recycling crumb rubber in our products provides our factories in both Asheboro and Covington an environmentally friendly option to recycle material.  Michelin North America is now recycling over 90 tractor trailer loads of crumb rubber each year.  

I continually advocate for the customers I call on and represent. I was able to work with my main customer a help them more than double their launch goal for the BFGoodrich Advantage T/A Sport tire. The BFGoodrich Advantage T/A sport tire is one of the keys to BFGoodrich success in 2016 as well as key to success for my customers in 2016.  

I volunteer with a local fire department as a firefighter and EMT, this allows me to interact with my community on personal basis almost every day. Over the past 25 years, I've often wondered if I make an impact in my community. One day we responded to a cardiac event and arrived on scene within a few minutes, began administering CPR until the responding EMS Unit arrived. The patient was revived and was transported to the hospital for further evaluation.

Typically, as a volunteer EMS provider, that would be the last contact you would have with the patient or the family. Appropriately three weeks later, I was at the mall and was approached by one of the family members of the patient, they informed me that their father had passed away 3 days after his cardiac event.

As I began to apologize, she interrupted and thanked me for all that I did, that without my assistance her father would not have been able to see all of his family and said his goodbyes. This was just validation that the work I've committed to my community is worth it, maybe not materialistic, but by gratitude.

Before I came to Michelin, I worked at the Children's Museum of the Upstate as a Science Educator, during which I had the opportunity to work with several Michelin employees who shared their knowledge and experience with the children I was working with. The enthusiasm with which these employees shared their knowledge, inspired me to pursue my Masters in mechanical engineering and apply at Michelin to which I was eventually accepted as an employee.

Every day at work the end customer is always on my mind. These tires could be on my vehicle or a vehicle of someone I know. I strive to produce the best quality so I know the people who are driving on those tires are safer.

I am so thankful that Michelin allows me the opportunity to be a mentor to a student at our partner elementary school. It's such a blessing that I can meet with my student weekly. It truly is one of the most meaningful meetings that I have on a weekly basis. 

Providing our employees with the confidence in their work environment that is safe and allows them to deliver the best products and tires to our customers. I, along with my co-workers, deliver this effort every day in our monitoring of the raw materials, chemicals and physical hazards they come in contact with every day. Everyone goes home safe to their families every day!

I have been with BFG3 for the past 2 years right out of college. Seeing the company's determination to help it's community, whether it is through donating to the United Way Fund or volunteering at local schools and colleges, has given me great pride in being a part of this organization. My desire to reach outside of my comfort zone to help the surrounding community and its people has grown and has made me feel like I am actually making a difference.

In high school, I fit the description that many people think of when they picture a teenage boy. Active in sports, fascinated with cars, and enjoying the new found freedom of having a license that enabled me to drive myself and friends to school. I considered myself an above average driver due to my enthusiasm for cars and performance driving, but on one wet, fall morning, while driving a childhood friend to school, that belief was severely altered. I recall the sensation of the tires losing their grip and the brakes locking up as we approached the intersection. Out of the corner of my eye I could see an oncoming tractor trailer, and after that things went blank. The next thing I could recall was the voices of the paramedics cutting us out of the car and the cries of my passenger. She and I were fortunate to continue our lives after that day. In addition to reinforcing the profound gift that life is, this experience truly became a moment in my life that emphasized the importance of vehicle safety, through proper driver training, defensive driving behavior on the roads, and quality of the vehicle and its equipment. While studying Mechanical Engineering in college, I researched a lot companies that utilize test drivers, and I set my sights on Michelin. Their standards, track record, and commitment to innovation in service of quality made me want to be a part of their team. One of the key lines in the Michelin Quality Statement says, “Quality is essential for the safety of our Customers and satisfaction of their needs.” As a Subjective Test Driver I get to be our companies’ most critical customer, and help ensure that the tires we design, produce, and sell to our customers meet Michelin’s high standard for safety and quality. To further emphasize our commitment to safety, Michelin also sponsors the Tire Rack Street Survival program for teen drivers where they are taught to control the car in unpredictable situations. They learn how to make good driving decisions and react more quickly. This leaves them better educated and prepared for driving in the real world. While attending various automotive events, I often hear words of praise and remarks from customers about Michelin being a top choice for reliability and quality. By working for Michelin and helping our designers deliver on safety and quality, I feel like I am paying it forward in a way. I go to work with hopes that other families and friends don’t have to endure the kind of trauma that mine did on that morning, and I think of families who have lost so much more. With our tireless commitment to safety and quality, I feel proud of the work we do to help people stay safe and make the most out of their lives too.

Right off the bat I could tell that my employment with Michelin was different than any job that I had previously. I could tell that working for Michelin wasn't just a job for it's employees, it was a career. I had a background of moving one job to the other every few years, continuously looking for more fulfillment from my work. Through the hiring process I could already tell that Michelin cared about who they employed and that they only wanted people that were going to care about the work they performed and that they shared the same values in quality of work and life. My first week of employment was an onboarding class that told you all that Michelin was going to do for you and offer you as an employee. Whether it be benefits, or pay, or even furthering your training (education through AP School) you could tell that Michelin was a company that was going to invest in keeping their employees for the life of their career. I had never worked any where that had employees that had made a long career at that one place. Michelin is a big part of upstate SC and anytime I tell someone where I work it has always been with a positive attitude that they reply on how much Michelin cares about their employees and how great of a company it is to work for. Even in the short time that I have been with the company I have already seen that you are not limited in your career with the company, they are willing to let you progress throughout your career so that you can achieve all the success that you are willing to work for. Michelin is a company that not only can I be proud to work for, but my family can too.

I went through a very difficult time of my life over the past year losing my mother and my father from cancer. Michelin helped me to go through this difficult period by letting me go to France and spend several weeks with my mother and dad before they passed away. I didn't give Management much notice... They didn't question my decision to go home but instead they were vey supportive and told me ' Family comes first!'

"So do you get free tires?" is typically the question I get after telling folks I work for Michelin. But it's the look..the look of awe before that question that says it all. The look that says "wow, you work for the best in the world", the look of respect for the brand and the reputation it means. It's that look that means responsibility for me as a Safety Professional. There is no greater responsibility than protecting people and the environment. Keeping the chemicals in the pipes and rubber shipping safely out the back dock is my moral obligation and I am proud to do so for Michelin.

I was hired in 2002 as a subject matter expert for radio frequency identification (RFID) at RDI. Prashant once explained to me that what I was experiencing at Michelin was not unique. Most employees are hired fresh from college and Bib'ed immediately and forever, whereas college was a distant memory for me and my 30 years of prior training were very different. Prashant explained that anything different at Michelin was sort of like a virus that gets into the body and the body sends all anti-bodies to kill the virus. Ultimately the virus is assimilated or killed. I am still in the process of discovery as to which I am. My RFID functions linked to what is today a global adoption for a single standard and even single design for all tire RFID is a long and colorful story and I love to tell it but not now or here. To make the story short and to the point - I participated in no less that six RFID related B-2's. When we finally succeeded to pass the LPPL B-2 ( in only 12 years) and were tasked with organizing a B-3 , I lamented that I had no prior experience with a B-3 and could we please do another B-2 (LoL). Colorfully I recall asking Terry Gettys if I could please convert all of the rest of the world first as related to the Michelin vision in order to help accelerate adoption by Michelin. That is what we did and how we did it. If you view this in isolation it seems crazy but NOTE, I was once reminded by my colleague in the Carmes to be quiet as "we are the #1 tire company in the world and must be doing something right. What could that be? 1) The entire tire industry is also conservative and cautious. 2) We hire outside experience as well as fresh college students. 3) We do not make it easy on purpose but always respect data. 4) We want to be first and are willing to sacrifice and work hard to be first. Finally, we do not chase whims not do we have a 6 month financial horizon. We have long term vision and very highly qualified employees. Does it end there? No I have been blessed to apply these learned principals to leading a project reorganizing global Intellectual Property management while living in Clermont and current are aiding in the emergence of the future in airless radial tires at Tweel. Sometimes it hurts but the boundries and borders are less real then we imagine and the challenge is to force assimilation and not be killed.

My career at Michelin has been mostly technical in nature having worked in tire design for 8 years. Once I moved into my current role as a Quality Manager at Tweel, my perspective on the company and my role in the company really changed. Being involved in the start-up of Tweel has challenged me to deliver the highest excellence and quality of product to ensure that this segment of our business grows as well as delivers an innovative product that exceeds customers' expectations. It is very exciting being on the cutting edge of what could be the future of the tire industry. Additionally, this is the first time that I have been the manager of a small group of technicians. This has been the most rewarding part of my career to date. Helping my employees develop into a cohesive group with a focus on delivering quality products has been a challenge, but seeing the success not only of the team in achieving results but individual growth has made my current job very worthwhile. The joy and pride I have felt watching several of my employees develop and advance into new roles that help them move ahead with their career goals has really demonstrated to me what my purpose is at Michelin.