Wanda English Burnett, Editor

The people of Ripley County made it easy for Belletech officials to choose the Versailles Industrial site as the location for their facility, a factory that will assemble windshields for the Honda plant in Greensburg.

It was a tough decision to choose between sites at Osgood, Sunman, and Versailles, because according to Mark McIntyre, vice president of Belletech, “Everyone was so great to work with.” Several factors come into play when a company is looking for a site. The fact that the Versailles site was “shovel ready” was a big factor.

McIntyre said their company actually looked at many areas in the state and even at one at Harrison, Ohio, since they began the search in March of last year.

After visiting with Ripley County officials, mainly representatives of the Ripley County Redevelopment Commission (RCRC), McIntyre realized the rural, farming community would provide a good employee-base, or associates, as he refers to them, to choose from.

“I’m from a small rural community and I know the values of these people,” McIntyre told the Osgood Journal in an exclusive interview last week.

Barry Lauber, president of the RCRC was pleased with Belletech coming to the county and said, “Ripley County wins regardless of the chosen site.”

The goal of Belletech being in operation in May of 2009 at the Versailles site is an aggressive one. “We’ve been working very hard already and hope to have a construction company secured by Friday (September 12),” noted McIntyre. “We hope to break ground by the end of October.”

The company is not new to Honda or the people of Bellefontaine, Ohio, where they have had the same type of facility since 1985. There they employ 200 associates to provide windshields for the Marysville and East Liberty Honda facilities.

Belletech has a strong drive “to be the leader as the highest quality, most efficient assembly corporation in the world, constantly improving ourselves and our business,” according to their company philosophy.

They are committed to exceed their customers’ expectations while having a strong commitment to environmental awareness at the same time. There are four core values Belletech recognizes: exceeding customers’ expectations, continual improvement, promote teamwork involving their associates, and foster responsible corporate citizenship.

McIntyre stressed, “The associates really are the company.” They plan to eventually employ around 100 people at the Versailles site with the sky being the limit for future growth.

What qualifications does one need to work for Belletech? It’s simple, according to McIntyre, who said, “We can take hard working people and train them to be very successful in our organization.”

He further noted that a great personality and someone who gets along well with others, are all qualities they’re looking for. A high school diploma or GED and the willingness to work hard could be the criteria to a career with the company.

Belletech has been in operation for over 20 years at its Ohio facility where they showcase a workforce with a 99.6% attendance rate with a less than 5% turnover rate. The pay scale is “somewhat above the areas’ average wage,” according to McIntyre.

The company provides training and development for its associates allowing and encouraging them to be a part of the company through problem solving, decision making and teamwork skills. Their website notes, “sophisticated robotics and integrated systems are used in the production of automotive glass assemblies, component sub assemblies, and plastic injection molded parts.”

Lauber said he toured the Ohio facility finding it to be a “first class outfit.” He noted it was “impressive” and Ripley County is indeed pleased to welcome Belletech.

The Ohio facility, a 100,000 square foot building, sits on 26 acres. They are especially aware of environmental issues and have been so “before green was popular,” according to McIntyre. They are constantly looking for ways to reduce the use of chemicals, eliminate waste and of course, recycle.
Lauber said the RCRC is looking forward to partnering with Belletech citing ideas for aesthetics at their new facility on 13 acres at the Versailles Industrial Park just south of Versailles on US 421.

There have been a lot of people working “behind the scenes” for quite some time to make this endeavor a reality, according to McIntyre. He, along with Teresa Cummins, senior manager for sales and production control with Belletech, have been working closely with Lauber and DeeDee Benkie who both serve on various boards and organizations to promote economic growth in the county.
“This is huge for us, I’m so pleased they (Belletech) chose Versailles,” noted Benkie.

An official announcement will be made today, Tuesday, September 9 at 3:30 p.m. at the site by Governor Mitch Daniels. Other local officials will also be in attendance.

McIntyre noted that updates on the facility, along with where and how to apply for positions with the company will be published in the local newspapers.