When professionals join a Rotary Club, they do so as a
representative of their particular business or profession. This gives
Rotarians the dual responsibility of representing their vocation within the
club and of exemplifying the ideals of Rotary within the workplace.
Nic
Demet, Dieter Pr้court, Nittaya and Peter Rottman all goggled up in
preparation for the tour.
As business leaders, Rotarians share their skills and
expertise through vocational service, one of the Four Avenues of Service in
Rotary. A Rotarian’s vocational service efforts can play a vital role in
improving the quality of life for those hardworking members of the community
who need direction and expertise. They participate in a number of vocational
service activities, mentoring, career days, vocational awards, business
assistance, or even talking about their jobs at a club meeting or in the
work place, where they can turn their experience into an invaluable resource
for others.
Khun
Ann passes out safety goggles to the plant visitors to be worn at all times.
Vocational service focuses on adherence to, and promotion
of, the highest ethical standards in all occupations, including fair
treatment of employers, employees, associates, competitors, and the public.
The recognition of the worthiness is of all useful occupations, not just
their own or those that are pursued by other Rotarians. But best of all they
contribute their vocational talents to the problems and needs of society.
Jon
Tellefsen, Nic Demet and Dieter Pr้court observe the electric motor
assembly line.
On receiving an invitation from Rotarian Bruce Hoppe, MD
of Copeland Corporation, a subsidy of Emerson Electric (Thailand), to visit
Copeland’s production plant in Rayong, members of the Rotary Club of
Jomtien-Pattaya and the Rotary Club of Taksin-Pattaya, two very active and
vibrant clubs in our community whose members are always eager to go on
excursions visiting various businesses as part of a study of the different
vocations in our community, gathered together one fine sunny morning last
month to be picked up by a Copeland mini-bus and driven to the Eastern
Seaboard Industrial Estate, a.k.a. Detroit of the East, for a private tour
of the world famous Copeland Corporation production plant.
The
group is impressed by the machine that rolls a sheet of hardened steel into
a compressor casing.
On arrival at the sweeping 84,000 square meters expanse
of the Copeland territory, whose security measures could easily be compared
to that of Fort Knox, our group, headed by Dieter Pr้court (RCTP), and
Peter Rottman, director of the Vocational Service (RCJP), were warmly
welcomed by Bruce at the doorsteps to his office building.
The
demonstration of this spinning compressor motor with the help of a strobe
light fascinated the visitors immensely.
Bruce directed us straight to the canteen, as it was
lunchtime, and we enjoyed some of the finest Thai food one could get in any
good restaurant. Mind you, this was no special meal for us, for we learned
later that this was the normal fare that the staff ate. Now we know why
Bruce preferred to eat his lunch at work.
Bruce
(left) demonstrates to Dennis, Dieter and Peter of the intricacies yet
logical system of how a scroll compressor works.
After lunch, in the comfort of the state of the art
conference room, Bruce introduced the company, “Copeland Corporation is
part of the Climate Technologies group of Emerson Electric Corporation.
Emerson Electric, a 14 billion US dollar industry, is headquartered in the
U.S.A. In 1996, Copeland built their first plant in Asia. They chose
Thailand over many other potential sites in Southeast Asia because of
several key factors including a supportive business environment, stable
political situation, and an excellent workforce.”
A multi vision slideshow was projected onto the screen as
Bruce continued, “Copeland builds very reliable, efficient, scroll type,
air conditioning and refrigeration compressors. Their performance and
reliability make Copeland Scroll compressors a popular choice of the best
air conditioning and refrigeration system manufacturers around the world.
Most people do not know what an air conditioning compressor is, but it is
the heart of every air conditioning system. The compressor is mounted inside
the cabinet that sits outside your home or office. Since you never see the
compressor, most people do not even know that they have a Copeland Scroll
compressor.”
The Emerson Electric plant is located in the Eastern
Seaboard Industrial Estate in Rayong. Their plant was one of the first built
in that industrial estate. It was the first Emerson plant in which they
build both compressors and motors under one roof. In the United States,
Copeland and the Emerson Hermetic Motor Division operate separate plants,
sometimes hundreds of kilometres apart.
In 2001, Emerson doubled the size of their Thailand plant
to approximately 26,400 square meters to accommodate their rapidly growing
sales. This year they moved an assembly line for larger size Copeland Scroll
compressors, called the Summit model, from the U.S. to their Thailand plant
to support their growing Asian market. About 30 percent of their sales are
to Thai air conditioning system manufacturers and the other 70 percent are
exported across SE Asia, China, Australia, the Middle East and Europe. For
several years, the Emerson-Thailand plant has also been shipping Copeland
Scroll compressors to the United States to supplement Copeland’s US
compressor production.
By now we were all herded to the outer offices to be
prepared for the walk around the massive plant. Safety goggles were issued
and one had to wear them at all times. Other dos and don’ts instructions
were given and we felt as though we were being prepared to take flight in a
space shuttle.
Bruce spoke proudly of his company and his vocation.
“The Emerson-Thailand plant has a great reputation in our industry and
within the company. Everyone in the plant is proud of their quality record.
We are consistently rated as the plant with the best quality record in
Copeland worldwide. Consequently, we host many tours of customers and
visitors from within the Copeland organization. When people visit our plant,
they are always impressed by how neat, clean and well organized it is. Our
results show that we do a good job and it is rewarded with good benefits and
several parties throughout the year. The Emerson-Thailand plant is ISO 9001:
2000 and ISO 14001 certified, which demonstrates our commitment to quality,
having good management systems, and being a good corporate citizen of
Thailand.”
We were guided through the Rayong plant, which is fully
air conditioned, very clean and well organized making it an excellent work
environment. Bruce stopped to show us every step of the production line as
he explained, “our approach to operating in Thailand is to take the best
of American systems and practices, then blend them with the best of Thai
culture and ingenuity, to make a unique Emerson-Thailand plant culture.”
With a glimmer of satisfaction in his goggle covered
eyes, Bruce went on to say, “A key part of that culture is stressing that
safety is our first priority. Consequently, we have now worked 5.8 million
man-hours without a lost time accident. To further enhance our safety
program, we are working on getting OHSAS 18001 certification later this
year. This safety certification is another way that Emerson-Thailand focuses
on making our organization a great place to work.”
After an exhausting 2 and a half hour walk, we were
guided back to the conference room, where Bruce welcomed questions about
what we had seen and experienced. Of course by now we were all experts on
air conditioning compressors and knew everything about how to build them,
especially the scroll ones. Before this tour, our only experience at
scrolling was with a little mouse on a pad.
Bruce and his assistant Ann bid us farewell as we boarded
the van to go home, but throughout the whole ride back, we could not get
over the fact that we had spent one of the most interesting afternoons with
one of the most fascinating persons that this community is lucky to have
amongst us.
Rotarian Bruce’s impeccable reputation for promoting
high ethical standards in the workplace, a central theme of Rotary, precedes
him by far. He is devoted not only to his family and friends, but also to
his staff. He is inspired to find new ways to reach out to others in order
to foster fellowship, cultivate peace and understanding, and improve the
lives of those in need.
Bruce passionately emphasizes the opportunity Rotarians
have to use their vocation as a way to Lend a Hand. Upholding high ethical
standards and maintaining supportive professional relationships, which are
goals toward which, not only Rotarians but also every human being should
strive.
Chonburi
Governor Pisit Khetphasook, Minister of Tourism & Sports Sontaya
Khunpluem, Royal Cliff Beach Resort MD Panga Vathanakul, and Alexander
Haeusler, Royal Cliff Beach Resort general manager chat during the
cocktail reception in the lobby of the main building.
Archie
Dunlop, long time guest, confidently strides into the ballroom, surrounded
by the young ladies guiding guests into the ballroom.
During
the gala evening, performances included a depiction of the legendary tales
of Prapaimanee. Prapaimanee is known as the symbol of the Royal Cliff
Beach Resort.
The
prime minister’s brother Payap Shinawatra and his wife (left), Royal
Cliff Beach Resort MD Panga Vathanakul (2nd right), and Samoekhae
Khetphasook (far right), head of Chonburi Red Cross, await the arrival of
HRH Princess Ubolratana.
HRH
Princess Ubolratana places the crystal sphere in position, officially
declaring the evening’s ceremonies open.
Models
in the fashion show, including Pattaya’s own Cindy Burbridge (front
right), displayed unique couture from the Nagara and Jim Thompson fashion
houses.
And
the grand finale begins the end of a spectacular show. From the age of three
and up all the ballerinas went on stage and one of them, as a fairy
princess, flies in the air with her star wand. Amazing!
Tawit
Chaisawangwong, president of Pattaya City Council, awarded trophies to this
year’s deserving students from the Ballet Dance Studio.
Ms.
Arutsaya Netchumnong, or “Kru Num Pueng”, from World of Language
Computer Institute, plus two hot DJs Kob and Miew from 104.75 MHz radio
wave, participated in a special talk show they called, “English Modern
Style by Kru Num Paung”.
Young
international ballerinas in colorful leotards begin the evening with an
excitement that enchanted the audience.
Putting
the audience in complete joy with laughter are the bunny ballerinas
performing their hopping skills, balance, and ability to imagine being
something other than themselves.