/PRNewswire/ -- The first U.S.-built Kia vehicle(1), a white 2011 MY Sorento CUV, rolled off the production line today at Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG), officially opening the first U.S. Kia Motors(2) plant. KMMG is expected to produce 300,000 vehicles at full capacity and employ 2,500 people, with on-site and nearby suppliers creating 7,500 additional jobs in the region.
"The start of production for our first manufacturing facility in the United States further demonstrates our commitment to growth in North America and we are proud to be adding 2,500 jobs to the local economy," said B.M. Ahn, group president and CEO, Kia Motors America (KMA) and KMMG.
Representing an investment by Kia Motors of $1 billion, KMMG will establish new benchmarks for vehicle quality and productivity by utilizing some of the world's most advanced manufacturing techniques. KMMG's general assembly area is outfitted with more than a half mile of height-adjustable conveyors to achieve the most favorable installation position for each team member and reduce physical fatigue. Also in general assembly, KMMG is the only plant in North America outfitted with wood flooring, which provides a more comfortable and forgiving work environment for team members.
Built on 2,200 acres, the complex includes a body stamping facility, a transmission shop where the all-new 2011 Sorento's six-speed automatic transmission is produced, and a two mile test track in addition to the main assembly plant. The plant's 186-foot-long stamping press delivers 5,400 tons of pressure to stamp steel into 17 different types of vehicle panels for the all-new Sorento, operating at a speed of seven to 15 strokes per minute. The massive stamping equipment spans from almost 20 feet below the floor to 39.4 feet high.
KMMG continues Kia Motors' aggressive investment in the U.S. market. Since 2002, more than $1.3 billion has been invested in various facilities throughout the country, including a dedicated corporate campus and design center in Irvine, Calif., a state-of-the-art research and development center in Ann Arbor, Mich. and custom-built vehicle proving grounds in Mojave, Calif.
Since coming to market in the United States, Kia Motors, through its US-based marketing and distribution arm, KMA, has expanded to a full product line of vehicles and enjoyed 14 years of consecutive market share increases, including a 50 percent increase through October 2009. Most recently, KMA posted its best sales quarter in company history and is one of only three automakers whose sales are up over their 2008 sales pace.
About Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia
Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) is the first manufacturing site in North America for Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, Korea. KMMG is located on 2,200 acres in West Point, Georgia. At full capacity, the plant will have the ability to produce 300,000 vehicles annually and employ approximately 2,500 team members.
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Monday, November 16, 2009
Kia Motors' First U.S. Manufacturing Plant Starts Production in West Point, GA
Thursday, April 30, 2009
CDC: 109 Confirmed Cases of H1N1 Flu
GFP Note: The CDC released this information before the one case in Georgia was confirmed. The total may now be adjusted to 110. According to the Georgia hospital where the 30 year old female is, she is in isolation and has just returned from a trip to Cancun.
In response to an intensifying outbreak in the
States | # of laboratory confirmed cases | Deaths | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 1 | ||
| California | 14 | ||
| Indiana | 1 | ||
| Kansas | 2 | ||
| Massachusetts | 2 | ||
| Michigan | 1 | ||
| Nevada | 1 | ||
| New York | 50 | ||
| Ohio | 1 | ||
| South Carolina | 10 | ||
| Texas | 26 | 1 | |
| TOTAL COUNTS | 109 cases | 1 death | |
The United States Government has declared a public health emergency in the United States. CDC’s response goals are to reduce transmission and illness severity, and provide information to help health care providers, public health officials and the public address the challenges posed by this emergency. CDC is issuing and updating interim guidance daily in response to the rapidly evolving situation. CDC’s Division of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) continues to send antiviral drugs, personal protective equipment, and respiratory protection devices to all 50 states and U.S. territories to help them respond to the outbreak. The swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is susceptible to the prescription antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir. In addition, the Federal Government and manufacturers have begun the process of developing a vaccine against this new virus.
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Friday, December 12, 2008
Initiative Helps Rural Georgia Hospitals Improve Performance
Seven rural Georgia hospitals will participate in a new initiative designed to help increase their capacity to serve patients, improve the quality of their services and reduce costs. The benefits will come from adopting performance improvement techniques that are already widely used in manufacturing industry.
The two-year demonstration project, to be led by the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Enterprise Innovation Institute through a $349,000 grant from Healthcare Georgia Foundation, will help train hospital staff in “lean” techniques that identify waste in processes and find ways to eliminate it.
Georgia Tech has successfully used the approach with hospitals in Atlanta, Columbus, Newnan and Vidalia. Its “lean health care” training programs have been licensed for use nationwide by the American Hospital Association.
“We want to take the techniques that have proven to be so successful in large hospitals and use them in small, rural hospitals,” said Frank Mewborn, director of the Healthcare Performance Group in Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. “Rural hospitals typically don’t have the resources to hire outside consultants to help with performance improvement issues, so we very much appreciate the support from Healthcare Georgia Foundation to make this initiative possible.”
Georgia Tech project leaders will work with health care professionals at the participating hospitals to conduct lean assessments, teach basic lean concepts, develop value stream maps to analyze the flow of materials and information, and implement rapid process improvement techniques. Because the techniques rely on input from those closest to the processes being improved, each hospital will dedicate staff members to work with Georgia Tech.
“This is a substantial investment on the part of the hospitals because they must pull front-line staff from their normal responsibilities during the process improvement activities,” Mewborn noted. “Involvement of these key people is essential to the process, and it pays off long-term through better processes and buy-in from those who are on the front lines of providing patient care.”
Beyond direct process improvements, the initiative will also provide long-term benefits through senior leadership and hospital staff who have been trained in the lean techniques and who will share them with other departments and facilities. Success will be measured by improvements made during the process, and by the ability of each hospital to continue the process improvement efforts after the initiative’s conclusion.
Rural hospitals in Georgia face a financial crisis because their patients are less likely than those of metropolitan hospitals to have health insurance. At the same time, hospitals in underserved areas face other competitive disadvantages as they confront rising costs.
“A lot of rural hospitals are struggling to make payroll every month,” Mewborn noted. “They don’t have revenue opportunities from more profitable kinds of surgeries because they may not have a large enough market. They are meeting an essential need for health care in their areas, but their reimbursement rates tend to be low.”
Such facilities need to find sustainable ways to become more efficient, which is why Healthcare Georgia Foundation provided the grant to Georgia Tech.
“This grant award represents a tremendous opportunity to achieve greater efficiencies in health care quality and costs,” said Gary D. Nelson, president of the Foundation. “By taking this issue on from both clinical and operational perspectives, we can achieve sustainable efficiencies where they are most needed in our state.”
One of Georgia Tech’s first lean health care projects was with the emergency department at Meadows Regional Medical Center in Vidalia, Ga. As a result of the process improvement activities done there, the average time patients remained in the emergency department was reduced 44 percent and physicians were able to see more patients per hour – all while maintaining a 92 percent patient satisfaction rating.
Other hospital process improvement projects done by Georgia Tech have:
-Shortened the lead time and reduced errors in blood testing,
-Developed a time-saving system for managing intravenous pumps,
-Reduced errors and lead time for collecting and processing tissue samples,
-Increased capacity by reducing room down-times between patients,
-Boosted laboratory capacity and reduced errors through improved organization,
-Increased physician productivity through standardized work processes, and
-Streamlined pre-registration processes.
Hospitals that have agreed to participate in the program include Upson Regional Medical Center in Thomaston, Peach Regional Medical Center in Fort Valley, Monroe County Hospital in Forsyth, Morgan Memorial Hospital in Madison, Banks-Jackson-Commerce Hospital in Commerce, West Georgia Medical Center in LaGrange, and Hutcheson Medical Center in Fort Oglethorpe.
The projects are expected to be completed by June 2010.
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Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Cougar Killed in Troup County
Hunters around West Point Lake might be led to believe that Georgia has a new predator roaming the woods – the cougar. A Sunday kill of a male cougar on U.S. Army Corps of Engineer land at West Point Lake, south of Hwy. 109 seemed to verify that thought. However, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division, this simply is a one-time experience.
“Though cougar and panther sightings persist in Georgia, there are no known native populations of these animals roaming the woods,” advises Wildlife Resources Division Region Supervisor Kevin Kramer. “There is no reason to believe there are any more cougars out there. This likely is a unique experience and while exciting, is not something for which we should be concerned.”
The cougar, taken near the Abbottsford community west of LaGrange, was a male, 88 inches in length measured from the nose to the tip of the tail and weighed approximately 140 pounds. The hunter who took the animal was legally hunting deer from his tree stand at the time the cougar approached.
Initial external examination by Wildlife Resources Division biologists found no tattoos, tags or collars, and the cougar had not been declawed.
Further examination by The Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens Monday afternoon confirmed the cougar to be healthy and well fed. Researchers determined the cougar had a very low parasite level and that the pads on all four feet were scuffed. According to SCWDS staff, these findings are consistent with a captive reared cougar, not a wild specimen.
Due to the fact that there are no known native populations of cougars in Georgia, no permitted cougars in this area and that the closest Alabama facilities permitted to house cougars (in Elmore and Macon Counties) have accounted for all permitted animals, the cougar taken Sunday likely escaped or was released from a non-permitted individual.
There currently are no leads as to who may have most recently held the animal, but the Division will continue to look into all possibilities.
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Thursday, October 16, 2008
Troup County's Long Cane Creek Project Nears Completion
Local efforts currently in progress are nearing completion on Long Cane Creek, and nearing completion. In conjunction with Ronny D. Jones Enterprises Inc., the culvert project has recently entered its second phase of progress, during which the portable dam system was moved and reconfigured to render construction possible.
The system, appropriately named Portadam, allows for a versatile range of water diversion purposes.
Due to its innovative design, it was maneuvered to address the specific on-site needs of the Ronny D. Jones Enterprises, Inc. crew, increasing the overall timeliness and efficiency of this municipal project.
Portadam’s technology makes use of a steel frame structure that supports an impermeable fabric liner, which can form a wall capable of holding back up to ten feet of standing or running water.
As a result, working areas that were previously hazardous or hidden under water are dry and easily accessible for work and repair.
Portadam allows water to be temporarily diverted and is environmentally preferred over sandbags or cumbersome cofferdams.
The system literally parts the water in order to allow for access to or construction of structures which would typically be submerged.
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Dominique Wilkins to Visit the Atlanta Hawks 2008 Kia Motors Summer Hoops Tour in LaGrange
Basketball Hall-of-Famer Dominique Wilkins will make a special appearance at the Atlanta Hawks 2008 Kia Motors Summer Hoops Tour stop in LaGrange on Thursday, July 24. The event will take place at the Troup County Parks & Recreation Department beginning at 10 a.m. Festivities include a youth basketball clinic led by former Hawks guard Charlie Criss, interactive elements from the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers, an appearance by Hawks mascot SkyHawk as well as the Kia Motors Summer Hoops Tour vehicle on display. Admission is free and open to the public.
This summer, the Hawks and Kia Motors America have come together to host the second Atlanta Hawks Kia Motors Summer Hoops Tour at more than 20 locations around metro Atlanta. The Tour is a free, high-energy basketball clinic that focuses on teaching the basic skills of the game to children. Each participant receives instruction on the fundamentals of basketball from former Hawks guard Charlie Criss, who will share tips designed to help participants improve their game and love of the sport. Criss also speaks on the importance of education, dedication, teamwork and responsibility and how skills developed on the court apply to everyday life. Each participant receives an autographed Charlie Criss player card and an official Atlanta Hawks 2008 Kia Motors Summer Hoops Tour hat. Visit www.hawks.com for more information.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Major Kia supplier to locate manufacturing facility in LaGrange
Today Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue announced that Sewon Precision, a major Kia supplier, will locate its first U.S. plant in LaGrange. The company plans to create 700 jobs and invest $170 million in a facility to manufacture automotive components for the Kia plant in West Point over a three year period.
“Landing a top-tier supplier such as Sewon Precision indicates that communities across West Georgia are continuing to benefit from Kia’s decision to locate in our state,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “Suppliers have announced upwards of 2,000 jobs on top of the 2,800 that Kia will bring.”
Sewon Precision, based in Daegu, Korea, will produce stamped chassis and body components as well as some decorative trim pieces for Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia. The company has selected a 65-acre site at the Callaway South Industrial Park in Troup County.
Construction will begin in spring 2008 on the 420,000-square-foot building. The facility is scheduled to go into production in fall 2009.
The Sewon Group, which is the parent company of Sewon Precision, has a more than 20-year history as a Kia supplier in Korea. This will be the company’s first plant in the United States. Governor Perdue met with senior Sewon officials in October during the Kia supplier dinner in Seoul.
“We are looking forward to making LaGrange and Georgia our new home,” said Moon-Ki Kim, CEO and chairman of Sewon Precision Industrial Company Limited. “Sewon Precision is celebrated for its high quality automotive parts and I know we will continue our tradition of excellence here.”
Today Sewon officials and representatives from the Development Authority of LaGrange signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the project.
Mark Lytle was project manager for the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
“We are proud to welcome Sewon to LaGrange,” said Diethard Lindner, chairman of the Development Authority of LaGrange. “Sewon is the perfect anchor company for our new 1,200-acre Callaway South Industrial Park in LaGrange. Strong teamwork from the state, the Callaway Foundation, Troup County officials, City of LaGrange officials, the Chamber of Commerce and the Development Authority helped us attract Sewon Precision and we will all benefit from having such a high quality company in our community.”
Since its founding in 1985, Sewon has pursued a business strategy exemplified by management accountability, client confidence in its products and the growth of its business partners. Sewon Co. specializes in the manufacture of automotive parts and ornaments. The company has achieved superior product development and manufacturing technologies through the Six Sigma revolution and productivity enhancement plans.
