Peak Performance Inc. held its 5th Annual Peak Performance Symposium at the Volkswagen Academy in Chattanooga, TN on October 31st. This yearly event, held for manufacturers by manufacturers, is a collaboration of regional manufacturing leaders coming together to share best practices with industry peers. This year’s event brought attendees from 20 manufacturers across the state of Tennessee.
This year's symposium was opened by President and CEO of Peak Performance, Denise Rice, followed by Keynote Speaker, Peter Chia, Operations Director for Nokian Tyres in Dayton, TN. Chia addressed the 75 person manufacturing crowd about Nokian’s people-first approach which they refer to as the “Hakkapeliitta Spirit”. Although his company exists to provide maximum value to shareholders by hitting revenue and productivity marks, his job is to create an environment to deliver those results and that begins with the people of Nokian. Peter says their people are what truly drives their success. Peter closed by saying, “Growth is driven by people. And if we invest in our personnel by fostering entrepreneurship, inventiveness, and teamwork, profit will follow.”
The keynote address was followed by two rounds of breakout sessions where attendees were able to hear manufacturing leaders from Consolidated Nuclear Security, Volkswagen Chattanooga, Cleveland Utilities and Stanley Black & Decker speak on the following topics: Getting the Most out of Your Six Sigma Programs, Apprenticeships that Deliver Results, Workplace Safety Performance and the Importance of Onboarding. The event was concluded with an hour long panel discussion featuring speakers from Mueller, McKee Foods, Beiersdorf and DENSO answer questions on how they are raising employees’ advanced manufacturing skills in today’s ever changing technological environment. Tours of the Volkswagen Academy were given to any attendee who chose to participate after the event was over.
Denise Rice, President & CEO, Peak Performance, “The health of the manufacturing industry is an economic indicator for our state and country. Manufacturing provides well paying careers and supports the communities in which they reside. We sincerely thank all of the attendees for taking the time to share amongst their peers and we hope they gained something valuable from the events’ sessions. Together, we will ensure that the manufacturing community continues to thrive and prosper.”
We are already in the planning stages for next year's event and we hope to see everyone again!