employee newsletter

October 2013
Vol. 27, No. 3
EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A.
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
The Maryville Plant decided to take it one step further by taking employees and their
families out for a fun filled “Day at the K”.
On August 24 over 1000 people took the trip to Kansas City to enjoy a pregame
tailgate barbecue and to see the Royals take on the Washington Nationals.
Some employees and their family members even got in on a little bit of the action.
Ronnie Wendle and Mr. Nitta got to take the field and watch as the pro’s warmed up
their bats. Sondra Leivan put her best foot forward in the Hot Dog Derby. And Eric
Billing’s daughter Sydney, did an incredible job of leading the entire stadium in singing
“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch.
Luckily neither the hot temperatures nor the Royals performance could put a damper
on what turned out to be a very enjoyable Kawasaki Team outing.
Representing the Kawasaki Family,
Sondra Leivan is shown above trying to
“ketchup” during the Hot Dog Derby!
Managers Participate
in JOC Inland
Distribution Conference
A little relief from the afternoon sun as everyone enjoyed some Kansas City Barbecue
Mozingo Fall Fun Run 5K and 10K
The Kawasaki Wellness Committee sponsored nineteen KMM employees to participate
in the Mozingo Fall Fun Run that was held at Mozingo Lake on Saturday, October 12.
Front row: JoBeth Ancona, Marisa Miller, Eric Sheehan, Jo McGeorge, Sondra Leivan,
QT Wyllie. Back row: Chris Goldsmith, Tammy Sullivan, Mark Schieffer, Gina Davis, Brian
Allen, Megan Madden, Eva Damgar, Sharon Taylor, Deb Wilson. Not pictured: Ashley
Brown, Erin Jackson.
Scott James, Kawasaki Maryville and
Ryan Rikli, Kawasaki Lincoln were part of a
case study panel that was featured at the
Journal Of Commerce Inland Distribution
Conference held in Kansas City in September. Scott and Ryan represented Kawasaki
giving a brief history for each facility as
well as explaining some of the benefits
realized through the Foreign Trade Zone.
Coleman, a global producer of outdoor/
recreation equipment and Zorrel, a global
supplier of technical and lifestyle apparel
were also part of the panel.
Foreign Trade Zones: Untapped
tool for cost savings and supply chain
benefit – Three case studies
For companies searching for untapped
cost savings in the supply chain, foreign
trade zones are an opportunity that deserve serious consideration. Able to be
set up at existing distribution centers and
assembly plants, zones have led to material cash flow and outright cost savings
for many companies by allowing them to
postpone the timing and amount of duties
— Continued on Pg. 2 —
Maryville Plant News
Purchase of Company Parts,
Accessories and Apparel
Retirement
As you are all aware, we closed the Company store in June due to space issues;
however, the opportunity to purchase Kawasaki parts, accessories and apparel still
exists. You can stop in and see Barb Noland for all of your Company product needs.
We have an inventory of items left from the store that Barb will be displaying for sale
or just stop in and check out the 2014 Kawasaki Apparel Collection catalog. Our goal
continues to provide an employee benefit by selling parts, accessories and apparel to
employees at discounted prices. Some guidelines for purchasing Company parts, accessories and apparel include:
•Regular full-time employees are eligible to purchase parts, accessories and apparel
upon completion of six (6) months of employment;
•Employee must provide satisfactory evidence of ownership of vehicle for which
“mounting” parts and accessories are purchased.
•Payment for parts and accessories as well as freight charges must be made at the
time the order is placed.
Service Awards
June
20 Years – Jan Dollen, Eric Billings,
Janet Davis, Ken Poppa, Kevin Farnan
15 Years – JW Law
10 Years – Natalie Yaple, Joe Cady
July
15 Years – Jody Peters
5 Years – Robert Ferguson, Adam Steinhoff, DJ Sunderman, Ronald Hurkman, Ken
Newquist, Machelle Graham, Billy Goodall,
Adam Marriott, Jason Nuffer
3 Years – David Moran, Skyeler Sayre,
Heath Carpenter
August
20 Years – Ricky Gladman
10 Years – Sonya Turner, Jason Evans,
Rachelle Steinman, Jerry Joe
5 Years – Joe Kopel, Dustin Piveral, Wes
Fuller, Leonette Campbell, Chad Conley, Steve
Cox, Jeff Miller, Danny Murphy, Jesse Adams,
Shannon Hornbuckle, Trent Thompson
September
15 Years – Janet Argo, Adam Morrow, Virginia Burns, Chris Gillman, James
Meyer, Greg Drydale
10 Years – Billy Hager, Harley Nash
5 Years – Joe Godfirdon, Chanda
Adams, Jackie Miller, Jeff Lyle, Russell
Stamford
October
20 Years – Deb Pierson, David Conley
10 Years – Jennifer Clements, Jeremy
Purdy, Ken Scott, Mark Vermillion
5 Years – Julie Atkins
3 Years – Danny Holcomb, Ken Sticken,
Ty Sapp, Seth Crabs, Chris Needels, Robin
Hevelone, Nathan Abrams, Mary Allard
November
15 Years – Kim Trimble, Becky Bradham, Ann Estes, Betty Clements, John
Amlong, Clinton Loch
5 Years – William Cameron
Eloise Lewis - 9/3/2013
Thank you for your years of dedication and
service. Best wishes in your retirement.
Case Studies
— Continued from Pg. 1 —
owed on imported goods. An FTZ is considered outside US commerce, and duty
is owed only when goods leave the zone
and enter US commerce. While zones have
been used for years by manufacturing
firms, only more recently are they being
adopted by retailers and consumer goods
firms as part of their core supply chains. In
this session case studies of firms actively
seeing supply chain benefit from FTZs will
be presented.
The panel was part of a three day
conference that was attended by over 300
companies and covered a broad range of
topics based around supply chain logistics.
fffffffffffffffffff
Holiday Party
Holiday Schedule
After careful investigating and analyzing different options, we have, unfortunately,
come to the conclusion that we will be unable to hold a traditional Holiday Party at the
plant this year. We are unable to free up enough space needed to host such a large party
in the plant due to storage needs for shortblock production. However, we are investigating other options to provide our employees and their significant other the opportunity
to celebrate the Holidays. As soon as a decision is made we will notify everyone. We feel
this is actually a “good” problem to have, meaning our production is increasing and we
are continuing to grow. We want to thank you all for your hard work and dedication
and thank you in advance for your patience and understanding in this matter.
2
Thanksgiving....................... 11/28/2013
Day after Thanksgiving........ 11/29/2013
Shut Down.......................... 12/23/2013
Christmas Eve...................... 12/24/2013
Christmas Day...................... 12/25/2013
Floating Holiday................... 12/26/2013
Shut Down.......................... 12/30/2013
New Year’s Eve.................... 12/31/2013
New Year’s Day................... 01/01/2014
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A.
Maryville Plant News
Rocky the Robot
We are coming upon the 1st anniversary of the Kawasaki
Quick Clinic or “Rocky the Robot” as we refer to our telemedicine
doctor. In November of 2012, our Occupation Health Nurse,
Kelly DeMott, in cooperation with Heartland Hospital, started
the Kawasaki Quick Clinic for Kawasaki employees. Beginning
November we will expand access to the quick clinic to
include employee’s spouse and employee’s dependents that
are 18 to 25 years old that are covered under Kawasaki’s
health insurance. Some examples of the types of minor conditions that the Quick Clinic can be utilized for include: upper respiratory infections, sore throats, earaches and rashes. If the injury
or illness is anything more than minor, employees will be directed
to see their own physician. The clinic is free to all employees,
employee’s spouse and employee’s dependents 18 to 25
years old that are on Kawasaki’s health insurance. Hours of
the Quick Clinic are 7:30 am to 3:00 pm Monday through Friday
depending on Kelly’s availability. Scheduling appointments can
begin before 1st shift each day or in advance, if known. If the
appointment is during work time, the employee is paid for this
time. Steps to use the Quick Clinic:
Employee at work:
•Employee stops in First Aid Room and signs in to see the
doctor or they can call Kelly at extension 7141. If doctor is
not available at that time, employee resumes work. Kelly
will schedule an appointment and notify the employee’s
supervisor of the appointment time.
Employee not at work, Spouse or Dependent:
•Call 660-562-7141 to contact Kelly for the need to schedule
an appointment. Kelly will schedule the appointment and
notify the employee, spouse or dependent of when to arrive
for the appointment.
2014 Open Enrollment
ToolingU Engages Users,
Benefits Kawasaki
Our six month anniversary for having plantwide access to
ToolingU courses at Maryville will be Oct. 25. At this milestone,
we will be analyzing access and completions as well as planning
ways to continuously improve KMM’s utilization of these online
resources.
At this point 170 employees have logged on (22%) and 1667
courses have been completed! Our Top 10 Super Users have
completed 725 of these classes (44% of KMM’s completions;
from 128 to 36 courses each).
KMM’s Top 10 Super Users of ToolingU:
• Vance Minor
• Larry Nickerson
• Kaleb Oelze
• John Williams
• Dennis Harris
• Mark Fish
• Mark Vermillion
• Danny Holcomb
• Mark Drydale
• Chris Goldsmith
Half these Super Users are from Maintenance, KMM’s pilot
group who started using ToolingU in January. Maintenance
Management has specified course programs for Introduction to
Maintenance (20 courses) and Level II (45 courses) and Level III
(20 courses) for five areas of maintenance work: Machining, Die
Casting, Assembly, Shop, and Projects/Facilities.
Other top users are Supervisors, Engineers, and Technicians.
Average time for class completion is 44 minutes. KMM’s scores
on the pre-tests average 72%. Our scores on the final exams
average 92%! Only 5% of attempted classes are incomplete (not
yet passed at 80% or better). But now retesting is unlimited, so
get back in there to study and review for mastery!
Only 28 KMM users have set class goals, which are personally
assigned due dates in ToolingU. This can be good for planning
and keeping on schedule.
Open Enrollment is scheduled for the week of November 11th.
Packets with information will be provided to all employees around
the 1st of November. This will be your opportunity to enroll,
cancel or make changes to the following benefits:
•Health Benefits
•Flexible Spending
•Additional Life and AD&D Life Insurance
•AFLAC
Please read through the information in your packet and come
prepared to make your decisions for 2014.
Statistically, our current users have completed an average of
9.8 courses in the first nine months of the year. Let’s keep up
that pace as more learners get curious and log on.
If you can do one ToolingU course per month, you will be
helping to solidify a strong foundational baseline of standard
knowledge, vocabulary, and technical understanding.
KMM users’ average evaluation ratings were 1.7 for the following outcomes (1=excellent; 2=good):
•“ToolingU training improved my skills and knowledge.”
•“I plan to use or have used what I learned from ToolingU
classes in my job.”
•“ToolingU training will help me to increase productivity, cut
costs, or otherwise benefit my company.”
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A. 3
Maryville Plant News
Safety Corner
2013 Fun Fridays Update
“Safety is as easy as A B C, Always Be Careful”
Our Safety Employee of the Month winners were: May – Mike Roberts; June – Darla
Amlong; July – Greg Drydale; August – Todd
Wilson, and September –
Alan Nielson. They were all
nominated by their Supervisor’s for identifying safety
hazards and taking steps to
eliminate them. Their prize
was a reserved parking spot
for the month. Thank you Mike Roberts
for your observations, corrective actions, and commitment to Safety.
Our Safety Suggestion
of the Month winners
Darla Amlong were: May: Tyler Schmidt;
June: Debbie Pierson; July: Shane Garnett &
Debra Edwards; and August: Shane Garnett &
Travis Greever. Thank you for being observant, Greg Drydale
aware of safety hazards,
and giving ideas for safety
improvements.
Winter weather is just
around the corner. Make
sure your car is prepared
with the proper amount
Alan Nielson
of antifreeze, full of windTodd Wilson
shield wiper fluid, an ice-scraper, and extra winter coat, gloves
and hat. Always give yourself extra time to stop and to get where
you are going. Be safe!
Blood Drive
The Community Blood Center conducted our Blood Drive on
Sept. 13, which was a BIG success. We had 130 volunteers, 71
of which were first time donors and collected 103 Units of blood.
Thank You to all who donated and supported this life saving mission. Also a BIG “Thank You” to Steve Bratt for allowing this to
happen during production hours.
4
January – Nodaway County Humane Society…$672.49
February – Special Olympics…$403.95
March – Group Homes for Nodaway County…$568.92
April – St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital…$964.62
May – Camp Quality…$803.10
June – National Multiple Sclerosis Society…$944.53
July – DAV (Disabled American Veterans)…$856.61
August – Juvenile Diabetes…$676.12
September – The Salvation Army…$985.61
October – Breast Cancer Awareness
November – Nodaway County Food Pantry
December – American Red Cross
If you have a charitable organization suggestion that you
would like to be considered for a 2014 Fun Fridays charity, please
let HR know.
BIRTHS
Employee
Melinda & Derick Hicks
William Walker
Josh Hughes
Jason Nuffer
Anton Law
Chris Dilley
Justin Siemer
Jonathan Flint
Child
Bentley
Levi
Liam
Thomas
Lillian
Hannah
Stella
Madelyn
Sex
B
B
B
B
G
G
G
G
Birth Date
3/31/2013
6/18/2013
6/27/2013
7/11/2013
7/15/2013
7/20/2013
8/18/2013
9/12/2013
A Special Thank You
Submitted by Steve Faustlin
I would like to extend a thank you to all EMT personnel and
especially to one particular KMM employee — Tammy Sullivan.
Recently my son was involved in a life threatening automobile
accident. Tammy lives near by the accident scene and was the first
responder to arrive at the accident. Her training, swift actions,
proper decisions coupled with a calm demeanor are the reasons
I still have a son today and he will make near complete recovery.
This type of volunteer is often overlooked and somewhat
forgotten. They wonder if they will ever need to apply this training or use it. I, for one, can say I am grateful and that a life was
saved because of it.
Thank You Tammy Sullivan you make a difference!!
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A.
Maryville Plant News
NEW HIRES
John Roney
Maintenance - 3rd
Amber Thompson
Clerk, Prod. Control - 1st
David DeMaris
Clerk, Prod. Control - 1st
Ryan Mercer
Assembly - 1st
Kelli Wiederholt
Assembly - 1st
Michelle Leonard
Assembly - 1st
Zachary Powell
Machining - 2nd
Timothy Auffert
Machining - 3rd
Matthew Laurent
Prod. Dev. Eng., R&D - 1st
Hiep Tran
Mfg. Process Eng. - 1st
Brett Allen
Engineering Tech. - 1st
Bernard Myers
Inv. Control Clerk - 2nd
Molly Jo Garnett
Assembly - 1st
Stephen Mackley
Mfg. Process Eng. - 1st
Mathew Swank
Assembly - 1st
James (Doug) Sharp
Improvements - 2nd
Cody Swinney
Die Casting - 2nd
Ryan Henderson
Machining - 3rd
Billy Evans
Maintenance - 3rd
Monica Folk
Mfg. Process Eng. - 1st
Eric Supinger
Machining - 2nd
Jonathan Kemper
Mfg. Process Eng. - 1st
Dennis Hamilton
Technician II, R&D - 1st
Andrew Fichter
Assembly - 1st
Anthony (Tony) Hughes
Prod. Dev. Eng. - 1st
Kyle Perry
Mfg. Process Eng. - 1st
Mark Roberts
Assembly - 1st
Dale Sharp
Purchasing Agent - 1st
Michael Lynn
Assembly - 1st
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A. Daniel Portenier
Assembly - 1st
Ashley Huff
Assembly - 1st
Dustin Hanig
Assembly - 1st
Brittany Balster
Assembly - 1st
5
Maryville Plant News
NEW HIRES
Kendell Roberts
Assembly - 1st
Dylan Sipes
Assembly - 1st
Renee Jackson
Assembly - 1st
Russell Johnson
Assembly - 1st
Ryan Smith
Assembly - 1st
Patrick Schmitz
Maintenance - 2nd
Matthew Clements
Maintenance - 3rd
William Moran
S&R - 2nd
Nicholas Buel
Machining - 2nd
Robert Joyce
Machining - 3rd
Nicholas Henggeler
Machining - 3rd
Jacob Schweinebart
Machining - 2nd
Clayton Judd
Machining - 2nd
Randy Rigney
Machining - 2nd
Dane Welch
Die Casting - 3rd
William Yurachek
Die Casting - 3rd
Lincoln Plant News
2014 Wellness Program Year
Congratulations to all of you who’ve met the 200 point requirement for the 2013
Wellness Program year. The program year ended on September 30th, but October 1st
marks the beginning of the 2014 Wellness Program year! You’ll have a whole year
(between October 1st, 2013 through September 30th, 2014) to accumulate 200 points
to qualify for the 2015 Health Premium Reward. There have been some slight changes
to the program, but the majority has remained the same. The program still requires
employees to complete a Biometric Screening and MHA, including the following options
for additional points:
• Community Events
• Online courses
• Marathon
• Webinars
• K-Fit
• Targeted programs
• Preventive Compliance
• Questionnaires
• Kawasaki Quarterly Events
The great new addition to this year’s program is “Health Score Bonus”. Depending on
your health score, you can receive up to an additional 100 points. For more details on
the 2014 Wellness Program, look for the new “Commit to Fit” posting on the Wellness
Boards, or ask for a printed copy from your Supervisor, Will Henry, or HR. Don’t wait
until the last minute, biometric screening sign up for the 2014 Wellness Program year
has already started. Also, keep an eye out for this year’s Quarterly Events. The Kawasaki
Wellness Committee has some awesome plans ahead!
6
— Save the Date —
March 22, 2014
Kawasaki March Madness
(In place of the traditional Kawasaki Holiday Party)
Kawasaki has made arrangements to
host an event at the Pinnacle Bank Arena.
We are excited to provide this opportunity for all Kawasaki employees to
experience the new arena!
The date was changed to March 22nd
based on the availability of the Pinnacle
Bank Arena and it coincides nicely with
our fiscal year ending March 31, 2014.
This will be a perfect time for celebration!
Due to the timing of the party and the
location of the event, this year’s theme
will be “March Madness”. (Right at the
pinnacle of the Men’s NCAA basketball
tournament.)
We plan to host an interactive party
similar to 2012. Further details will be
given at a future date.
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A.
Lincoln Plant News
27th Annual WorkWell Awards Banquet
On October 16th, 2013 Kawasaki was recognized as winner
of the Governor’s “Grower” Wellness Award at the 27th Annual
WorkWell Awards Banquet. This award goes to organizations in
Nebraska which have demonstrated a mature Wellness Program
and have high levels of participation, leadership support, and
behavior change. Kawasaki also had two employees (Jamie Sauser and Jason Nettleton) that were nominated for the Wellness
Champion Award. Out of the 10 nominees selected by various
companies throughout Nebraska, Jason Nettleton was selected
as the award winner! This award is given to individuals who have
made significant improvements in their own personal health and/
or has be a shining example of a well and healthy lifestyle. Please
be sure to congratulate our Wellness Champion Award Nominee
(Jamie) and Winner (Jason) on their amazing achievements. Also,
thanks to those of you who participated and gave input and insight to make our Wellness Program what it is today! We’re always
looking to improve, so if you have any questions or recommendations to help guide our program in the right direction, please don’t
hesitate to voice your thoughts. Thanks again, and best wishes to you in the current Wellness Program year.
35 Year
Anniversaries
Terri Clark - 06/19/2013
Pictured at left with Heather Small
Charlene Luecker - 10/05/2013
Pictured at right with Pete Iacino
Retirement
Promotion
In Memory of
Linda Hirsch
1980 - 2013
_______
Shannon Smith - Purchasing Agent
pictured above with Ray Turek
Kim Kovaschetz
1995 - 2013
(picture not available)
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A. Dan Moravec
1954 - 2013
7
Lincoln Plant News
Announcements:
Manufacturing Day
Open Enrollment
Open enrollment for 2014 will take place November 1st through November 15th.
During this time any additions, deletions and changes to your health insurance can be
made. Forms are due no later than Friday, November 15th. Failure to turn in these
forms may result in no insurance coverage.
Revised Calendar
Please note that there has been a change to the 2013 calendar. Previously December
23, 2013, January 2, 2014 and January 3, 2014 were scheduled as TBA days. These
three days have now been changed to plant shutdown days. This means employees
have the choice of taking the days off without pay, taking Vacation or taking PTO.
FML Policy Change
Effective January 1, 2014, Kawasaki’s method for calculating the 12 month period
will change to a “rolling” 12 month period measured back from the date an employee
first uses any FMLA leave. With this method, the process would be to “count or look
back” for 12 months from any given “request date” and total the amount of FMLA used
(if any), and subtract from the 12 week maximum. That balance is the amount of FMLA
leave currently available for use. Refer to info in open enrollment packet.
Uniform Policy Change
On October 4, 2013 Kawasaki participated in the 2nd Annual National
Manufacturing Day. This event was open
to the public to tour both the Consumer
Products and Rail Car plants. This gave
individuals the opportunity to see what
manufacturing is all about. Approximately
341 individuals toured the Consumer Products plant and 214 individuals toured the
Rail Car plant.
Electronic EOB’s
for UMR
Beginning Friday, Oct. 18, you can register for a UMR Web account, verify your
email address and will automatically start
receiving all of your explanation of benefits
(EOB) documents electronically rather than
through the mail. You will also receive
e-mail notifications every time a new EOB
is generated.
Important things to know
Effective October 1, 2013, Kawasaki branded sweatshirts or jackets may be worn in
place of the uniform jackets provided by KMM. If you plan to wear a Kawasaki jacket/
sweatshirt in place of the uniform jacket, the Aramark rental jackets may be turned in
to HR to help reduce uniform rental costs.
Enhancements to PayFlex’s Integrated
Voice Response (IVR) System
PayFlex is making some changes to their IVR system to provide a more fluid experience
for their member. Starting October 1, PayFlex account members can take advantage
of the following:
•Up front member authentication capturing member’s ID (which is their Employee ID or Social Security number) and ZIP code. Based on this information we
can determine their enrolled benefits and route their call appropriately. With this
authentication enhancement, members will no longer have to select their benefit
options when using the IVR system.
•Customized menu based on member authentication to ensure members only
hear a menu based on their plan and are presented with options that only apply
to their plan.
•If you would like to set up a Web account and still receive paper EOBs in
the mail, your default option can be
changed within your Web profile at
any time. Your paper election is displayed within the myHome tab once
you log in to umr.com.
•You can also contact a UMR Customer
First Representative by calling the
number on the back of your ID card to
assist you in making a change.
•If you are an existing Web account
user, there will be no change. You
can, however, still enjoy the convenience of the paperless option by
simply changing your election on the
myHome tab.
•Real-time account balance provided at the outset of the call. This is one of the
primary reasons why members call Customer Service.
•Quicker access to a customer service representative. Members can now get
directed to a customer service representative quickly, if needed. Once a member is
authenticated and hears their account balance, they can move on to the self-service
items or speak to a representative.
8
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A.
Lincoln Plant News
Farewell
Mr. Yoshihiro Yamazaki left KMM on
August 30, 2013. He returned to KHI as
a General Manager for the Supply Chain
Division of the Motorcycle and Engine
Company. Mr. Yamazaki enjoyed working
with everybody and the changing weather.
Mr. Natsuki Tsuji left KMM on August
18, 2013. He returned to KHI as an Assistant Manager for Purchasing.
Mr. Masato Moriuchi will leave
KMM on October 31, 2013, to return to
KHI as a Senior Staff Officer for the SC
Planning & Control Section, SC Promotion Department. Mr. Moriuchi enjoyed
communicating with people who have
different ways of thinking.
Welcome
Mr. Yoshinori Sakai joined KMM on
August 1, 2013 where he is the Senior
Advisor to the President for Engineering.
Mr. Sakai came from KHI where he was a
Senior Staff Officer of Assembly Engineering
in the Production Engineering Department.
Mr. Sakai enjoys riding motorcycles, camping, skiing and participating in the Japanese
sport of Kendo. His wife and two children
reside in Japan.
Mr. Norimasa Sato joined KMM on
August 1, 2013 where he is Senior Advisor
to the President for Purchasing in Rail Car.
Mr. Sato came from KHI where he was an
Assistant Manager. Mr. Sato enjoys participating in the Japanese sport of Kendo.
His wife and two children reside in Japan.
Mr. Matt Kurushima joined KMM on
September 1, 2013 where he is the President. Mr. Kurushima came from KHI where
he was a Senior Manager of Supply Chain
Promotion Department of the Motorcycle
and Engine Company. Mr. Kurushima
enjoys touring by motorcycle, reading and
golf. His wife and one child live in Japan
while one child lives in Thailand.
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A. Lincoln Victorious
in Golf Outing
Lincoln ended a six year drought by winning a tight match
in the annual Lincoln-Maryville Golf Outing at Table Creek Golf
Course in Nebraska City held in September of 2013. A fun time
was had by all. The Lincoln players were:
Joe Bopho
Steve Leach
Matthew Sell
Dan Davis
John McCarter
Kyohei Tominaga
Tom Day
Shusuke Minami
Takeshi Tsuji
Julian Dible
Josh Michon
Tony Vichitvongsa
Dan Funk
Todd Morley
Marty Watson
Johnny Hayakawa Rob Peters
Yoshiyuki Yamada
Naoki Kawamura
Norimassa Sato
Paul Young
Taiki Kitada
Hiroaki Shimamoto
Lincoln Kawasaki Golf League Results
The winners of the Kawasaki Lincoln 2013 golf league were:
1st Flight
First Place – Steve Leach
Second Place – TIE between John McCarter and Paul Young
2nd Flight
First Place – Don Vredenburgh
Second Place – Dave Brink
3rd Flight
First Place – Taiki Kitada
Second Place – Yoshiyuki Yamada
Congrats to all the winners!
MARRIAGES
* Designates Kawasaki employee
Employee Name
Marriage Date
Zach Keil* and Holly Palandri
Spencer Wolzen* and Brandy Hocking
Ali Al-Jaberi* and Wafaa Kadhim
Holly Jones* and Robert Quinn
Thomas Miller* and Jessica Carpenter
06/07/2013
06/08/2013
06/29/2013
07/19/2013
08/03/2013
BIRTHS
Employee’s Name
Shelley & Brandon Nelson
Mohsin Al-Khafaji
Obadiah Rodriguez Joseph Lewis Juan Renteria Charity & Steve Mercer Craig Becker Child’s Name
Jacob
Zainab
Ashton
Rylah Carlos
Izen Ella
Date of Birth
07/16/2013
09/06/2013
06/21/2013
07/07/2013
08/31/2013
09/04/2013
09/18/2013
9
Lincoln Plant News
Team BMT Competes in Utility Vehicle Race
Three members of KMM R&D recently entered a utility vehicle race called the
Heartland Challenge outside of Carlisle, Iowa. Brian Butler, Mike Scott, and Tyler
Furman, calling themselves Team BMT Racing, entered a stock 2014 Kawasaki
Teryx4 LE model in the 850 Limited SxS Class. The Kawasaki Teryx4 had the rear
seats removed to save weight and modified aluminum OEM rims retrofitted with
beadlocks. Other than those minimal modifications, the UTV was stock. The BMT
team members rotated between driver and co-pilot positions for the 4 hour endurance race that started
at 7:00PM in the evening and finished at
11:00PM. Due to the
deliberate late start
time, majority of the 7 mile race course was driven in the dark. Team BMT
rode in sixth for several laps before taking fourth on lap eleven. They drove
into third position on lap fourteen and remained there until the finish for
the final spot on the podium. Team BMT finished 3rd in their class and
8th overall out of almost 40 vehicles, including vehicles racing in the modified and unlimited classes. The Teryx4 finished one place better than the
9th place 2014 Polaris RZR 1000 that had entered in the unlimited class.
Race officials congratulated the Kawasaki racers and announced during
the awards ceremony that this was the first time a 4 seat UTV had ever
made the podium. Team BMT wanted to thank the staff of ATV 4 and all
its back shops for building such a great and durable unit.
NEW HIRES
Craig Shook
Engineer, Production - Rail
Andrey Bishko
Spray Painter
Andrea Sacca
Spray Painter
Fernando Mendez
Spray Painter
Christopher Patocka
Welder
Dustin Forsgren
Team Member - B
Gary Baxter
Team Member - B
Jason Bennett
Engineer, Quality
Kevin Messersmith
Engineer, Production - Rail
Dina Bleich
Team Member - B
Jonathan Berggren
Engineer, Production - Rail
Justin Wozny
Function Tester - B - Rail
Erin Hannon
Clerk, Production - Rail
10
Alexander Marroquin
Spray Painter
Andrew Knust
Coordinator, Purchasing
Lian Pau
Function Tester - B - Rail
Taylor Lewandowski
Coordinator, Purchasing
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A.