Copeland Corporation celebrates 7,000,000
man hours without a lost time accident
by Karen Roy
Copeland Corporation, a division of US based Emerson
Electric Corporation, recently celebrated 7,000,000 man-hours worked
without a lost time accident. This safety milestone marks the best safety
record in Copeland Asia production plants, and currently stands as the
second best all time record in Copeland worldwide.
Copeland commemorated this safety achievement on June
15 at their Rayong factory. The celebration began with Bruce Hoppe
(managing director of Copeland-Thailand) and Steve Stewart (vice president
and general manager for Copeland Asia Operations) leading their group of
managers to say their prayers and give food offerings to the spirit house.
Bruce
Hoppe said, "I am extremely proud of our group for reaching 7,000,000
man hours worked without a lost time accident. Our safety record is the
best in Copeland Asia."
They then proceeded to the factory floor to witness a
blessing ceremony conducted by nine Buddhist monks. More than 800
employees gathered to donate dry goods to the monks and participate in the
religious service. Thank you speeches were then delivered by Bruce Hoppe
and Steve Stewart.
Steve
Stewart (left) and Bruce Hoppe (right) cut the ceremonial ribbon to mark
the festive occasion.
Bruce Hoppe said, "I am extremely proud of our
group for reaching 7,000,000 man hours worked without a lost time
accident. Our safety record is the best in Copeland Asia, and is also one
of the best safety records in the whole Emerson Corporation worldwide.
This proves how much we care for each other and continue to look after
each other as one big family.
Bruce
Hoppe, MD of Emerson Electric (Thailand), presents alms.
"Our safety record demonstrates everyone’s
commitment and participation towards our safety programs, which are
consistent with the Emerson safety policy. I would like to commend the
plant safety committee and welfare committee for undertaking this
endeavor. As I said in our plant-wide communication meeting last week, ‘nothing
we do at work is worth getting hurt for.’ Our plant is one of the safest
places to be in - it’s safer than being at home, and definitely a lot
safer than being on the road.
Bruce
Hoppe and an assistant prepare to make offerings to the spirit house.
"Our achievement does not stop at 7 million hours.
We have to continue to work hard to achieve 8 million hours worked without
a lost time accident. As a token of the company’s appreciation for your
efforts, everyone will be treated to a free lunch at our cafeteria. We
also will have a Safety Fair in the cafeteria to further promote that your
safety is our first priority. Let this be an inspiration for everyone to
continue to make our plant an even safer place to work."
More
than 800 employees proceeded to the factory floor to witness a blessing
ceremony conducted by nine Buddhist monks, then donate dry goods to the
monks and participate in the religious service.
Steve Stewart added, "Looking after each other’s
safety does not stop inside the plant. We should be able to bring home
whatever we learn here, and make an effort to always look after the safety
of our family members. I am extremely proud of your accomplishments and
would like to challenge everyone to aim for the next 8 million and 9
million hours to come."
The celebration ended with a ribbon cutting ceremony, and a picture
taking event with the safety and welfare committee. The free lunch and
safety fair were also a great success with good food, games, and live
music performed by the talented Copeland-Thailand plant staff.
Scandinavian Village holds Swedish National Day celebrations
Hundreds join in revelry at their Bang Saen paradise
June 6 has been celebrated as Swedish Flag Day since
1916, but it was not until 1983 that it officially became Sweden’s
national day.
Otto
Krueger welcomes the beautiful Jenjira Kerdprasop-Haxholm the reigning
Miss Thailand World 2003 to the Swedish national day festivities.
The custom of celebrating the national day has taken
root and grown stronger from year to year. Today almost every town has its
own festivities with speeches, music and distribution of Swedish flags to
private persons and associations.
Jenjira
enjoying the Swedish buffet and still managing to stay so slim.
The biggest celebration takes place at Skansen, an
open-air museum in Stockholm, where some 15,000 people gather together
with the Royal family.
In the early 1900s, a wave of nationalistic sentiments
made Swedes long for a national day. But it was not until after World War
I, and as a result of private initiatives, that the Swedish Flag Day began
to be celebrated on June 6.
Otto
Krueger (2nd right) ensured that the guests had a great time at the party.
The date was chosen because Gustav Vasa had been
elected as the King of Sweden on that day in 1523, and it is also the day
when Sweden’s constitution was signed in 1809.
The National Day is still a working day in Sweden,
however, and June 6 in Sweden is anything but a "folk festival".
On the other hand, flagpoles are very common and on "public flag
days" many blue-and-yellow banners are seen fluttering in gardens and
from balconies.
This happy historical day was not to be missed by the
Swedes living in Thailand who, along with their families and friends,
gathered at the Scandinavian Village in Bang Saen where a celebration was
held.
Otto Krueger, the executive director of the exclusive
resort, played host to almost 100 people of many nationalities who
traveled to Bang Saen from Bangkok, Pattaya and many corners of Thailand.
Among the beautiful people was none other than Jenjira
Kerdprasop-Haxholm, the reigning Miss Thailand World 2003, who wowed the
guests with her beauty and charm.
Michael J. Baines, the restaurant manager and executive
chef, laid on a traditional Swedish buffet with all the trimmings
befitting a Viking wedding. Guests were seen going back to the buffet
often to get more of the delicious herring and salmon prepared the way
only Scandinavians can prepare them.
Other delicacies included the
"Wallenbergare", salmon pudding, meatballs in cream sauce and
the unique "Pytt i panna". There was a large choice of desserts
to satisfy that sweet tooth, and drinks flowed continuously - as it should
when the Scandinavians celebrate.
Pontus Almlof, the general manager, graciously entertained the guests
and had them all laughing happily when it was time to say goodnight.
Scandinavian Village Co. Ltd. was founded in 2000 as a
Thai private company. The purpose of the company is to build housing in
Thailand for senior citizens here, and then let them as membership living.
The company is 80% owned by the main investor SK.SA -
controlled by the Krueger family. People directly involved in the project
own the remaining part.
People without Thai citizenship suffer great
difficulties getting permits to own land in the kingdom. Through the
membership living, Scandinavian Village Co. Ltd. provides a way for these
people to live in Thailand.
Scandinavian Village Co. Ltd. is the first company in
Thailand to be granted the privilege to own land directly, under the
applicable BOI (Board of Investment) section, although the company is
fully owned by non-Thai citizens.
This is because Thailand wishes to have more visitors
who stay for longer consistent periods. Senior citizens are a sought-after
target group as they are not a threat to the local labor force. On the
contrary, they serve as a big asset as an aware and experienced group of
buyers who then can contribute to the development and prosperity of
already well-established local companies.
The fully developed pilot part of the Bang Saen
facility is able to accommodate some 500 residents and their guests.
The Morning After
Miss
Jenjira Kerdprasop, a champion archer in her own right, and former member
of the Thai National Archery Team, gives advice to students of the college
of Sport Science Burapha University.
Jenjira,
a picture of beauty and poise displays her expertise in archery.
Jenjira
gives tips on archery to Scandinavian’s Executive Director Otto Kreuger.
Thai-German Institute trains across borders
Sue. k
Thai German Institute (TGI) has gone one step beyond
the expected as the hub of technology transfer from Germany to Thailand.
The further cooperation of both countries took place when TGI’s
international trainers were sought after by the German organizations in
the region and Europe.
Thusita,
perfecting the team’s work on the wall.
With special request from GTZ in Sri Lanka, Malaysia,
and Germany, Walter Kretschmar, the German director of TGI, and Sue, the
communication and intercultural trainer, were invited to organize training
workshops throughout the region on "Customer Orientation and Business
Plan" and "Sales and Communication."
Who
said you cannot do business and have fun at the same time? Ralph, Carlos,
Susan and Marco can sure give a technical presentation in a relaxed style.
In March this year, participants from technical fields
in training and supervision from various institutes, as well as the GTZ
experts in Sri Lanka, and personnel directors, managers, trainers and
secretaries in Malaysia joined the two 3-day "Customer Orientation
and Business Plan" workshop seminars with topics including: Brain
Storming Tools, Presentation Technique, Customer/ Competitors Segmentation
and Needs Analysis, Development of Product/Market Matrix, Comparative
Competitive Advantage, Key Success Factors, SWOT Analysis, The Four P’s,
Making the Decision Papers, and Process of Professional Sales.
From
left: Dr. Carlos Jahn, Dr. Rudiger Mecke, Dr. Antje Orths, Dr. Oliver
Lange, Susan Gronwald, Ralph Seelmann Eggebert, Steffen Frolich, Kay
Matzner, Marco Schumann, Walter Kretschmar, Dr. Steffen Strassburger,
Daniel Reh, Heike Kissner, Hans Georg Schnauffer, Dr. Ina Ehrhardt,
Trainer Sue, and Dr. Eberhard Blumel pose for a group photo on their
completion day.
Following that, in May, Walter and Sue conducted
another training session in Magdeburg, Germany on "Self-Motivation in
Sales and Communication" exclusively organized for the Fraunhofer
Institute, the largest research center in Germany for all fields in
engineering and sciences, consisting of 58 institutes across Germany.
Fifteen participants from various departments joined in this fun-filled
but highly informative and interactive workshop.
Busy
brains at work with their coach, Sue.
The final presentation day covered various technical
fields the participants had worked on, including Virtual Development and
Training, Information Logistics, Logistics Systems and Networks,
Automation, Production and Plant Management, among others. Comments on the
training were very positive.
Yusoff
Md Sahir, the managing director of German Malaysian Institute proudly
receives his achievement certificate from Walter Kretschmar.
"We have seen great improvement in our
presentation skills, and learned a lot about preparation, including
focusing on Fact-Benefit-Evidence as the focus of sales. Moreover, it was
a great chance to practice and improve our spoken English in this
workshop," said Dr. Carlos Jahn, Logistics Systems and Networks.
Sopiah
Rosly proudly receives her achievement certificate from Walter Kretschmar.
"I like the fresh and interesting way of training
by Sue and Walter," said Dr. Rudiger Mecke, Virtual Prototyping.
"Sue did a very good job in leading us through the
training parts, creating an open and harmonic atmosphere, focusing on the
major points," said Dr. Eberhard Blumel, Virtual Development and
Training.
"Walter’s experience in Sales Industry was a
great contribution."- Dr. Steffen Strassburger, Virtual Development.
"You made a team out of a group of individuals within 3
days," said Dr. Antje Orths.
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