WAUPACA COUNT POST

September 30, 2004

New Leadership at Waupaca Foundry

After 49 years with the foundry, Gary L. Thoe is stepping down Friday, Oct. 1, as president and CEO of ThyssenKrupp Waupaca Foundry.

David G. Adams has been named chief executive officer of the company, and Gary Gigante will be the new president and chief operating officer.

Thoe will continue as chairman of the Waupaca board of directors.

Jim Larson, the foundry’s executive vice-president, said Thoe will continue to be involved in the company in an advisory position to help with the transition.

"There’s a good chance people will see more of him rather than less of him," Larson said, regarding Thoe.

Larson said two executives have taken on Thoe’s responsibilities because the foundry has grown so large.

"One person can’t do both the administrative side and the operational side," Larson said.

Currently, ThyssenKrupp Waupaca operates three plants in Waupaca, as well as iron plants in Marinette, Wis., Tell City, Ind., and Etowah, Tenn. In 2000, ThyssenKrupp Waupaca purchased Stahl Specialty Co., which ahs two aluminum foundries in Kingsville and Warrensburg, Mo.

In 1968, Waupaca Foundry became a subsidiary of the Budd Company, based in Troy, Mich. Budd, in turn, became a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Automotive AG of Bochum, Germany. ThyssenKrupp has 126 plants and more than 190,000 employees worldwide.

ThyssenKrupp Waupaca is the largest foundry operation in the U.S. and recently reached a milestone of $1 billion in annual sales. It employs more than 4,5000 people at its six iron foundries and two aluminum plants.

"The decision was to add a person who could oversee the corporation and fulfill the communication and reporting aspects of the job with our parent corporation," Larson said. "That’s where Dave Adams comes in as the new CEO. He has experience with German companies and the automotive industry.

Adams is a 32-year veteran of the transportation industry. He spent the past 11 years at ZF Industries, a supplier of automotive drivetrain components, where he managed the company’s North American transmission activities. He most recently served as vice-president of business development for ZF North America.

Adams’ career includes management positions at Volvo Construction Equipment, CDI Transportation Modern Engineering, Rockwell International and the former Chrysler Corp. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from Michigan State University in 1977 and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1973. He received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Michigan.

Adams and his wife will be relocating to the Waupaca area.

Larson said Gigante will oversee all operations of ThyssenKrupp Waupaca’s six plants.

Gigante joined the company in 1981 as a metallurgist at the Marinette plant. He was promoted to plant manager in Marinette in 1986. Most recently, Gigante served as vice-president of manufacturing with direct responsibility for the three iron foundries in Marinette, Tell City and Etowah.

Gigante graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering. His career began with the Waukesha Foundry as a lab supervisor, welding engineer and assistant quality manager.

Gigante and his family reside in the Waupaca area.

Thoe started at Waupaca Foundry in September 1955, a few months after graduating from Iola High School. At the time, the foundry employed 25 people and was located in a cement block building near the footbridge across the Waupaca River from downtown. It poured about 2 tons of castings per day.

The same year Thoe started with the foundry, Clifford Schwenn took over the company. He had been an executive at Caterpillar Co. in Illinois and at the Brillion Iron Works. He proceeded to expand the business.

Among its early customers, the foundry made parts for Twin Disc Clutch, Rockwell Standard in Oshkosh, Continental Motors and Wisconsin Motors.

"Mr. Schwenn was a great salesman. He had so many friends in the industry that he could just call them up for business," Thoe said, adding that few of the new customers visited the plant and did not realize how small the operation was.

Schwenn purchased the old Fullerton Lumber Yard, where Plant 1 is currently located, and used the building to house the foundry’s offices, assembly, finishing and shipping departments.

In 1956, the foundry began using a new molding process for casting brake drums, truck axle parts and industrial equipment parts. One of the foundry’s new products that Thoe remembers was a cow watering bowl for Berg Equipment in Marshfield.

By 1957, Waupaca Foundry had grown to 50 people. It had also built the 4-ton cupola, which allowed it to increase production to more than 25 tons per day.

His first job, Thoe recalled, was hauling castings in a wagon from the foundry to the finishing shop. He said he was chosen for the job, in part, because he grew up on a farm and could operate the tractor that towed the wagon.

While working full time at the foundry, Thoe continued working on the farm for nearly 20 years.

"I’d haul my feed and grain to town in the morning. Jesse, at the feed mill, would grind it for me during the day and I’d haul it home at night."

Thoe later worked as a grinder and finisher, then he worked in molding after he turned 18. By the time he was 20, Thoe was a supervisor. He was promoted to Plant 1 manager in 1965, then manager of manufacturing, overseeing all the foundry’s plants, in 1974. He became president and chief executive officer in 1988.

Thoe stressed that the foundry’s success has been due to its work force and the community’s support.

"This isn’t a one-man show by any means," Thoe said. "I just happened to be selected to leadership."

Thoe said the Waupaca Industrial Development Corp. helped finance the foundry’s early stages of expansion.

"It wouldn’t have been possible without a lot of help from local people," Thoe said.

He also noted that employees have played a major role in the foundry’s growth.

"The company has been successful because we have a great team of people. In a single generation we’ve taken one of the smallest foundries in the world to the largest in the world," Thoe said. "You can have all kinds of good equipment and still not be able to succeed unless you have good, hard-working people with good technical skills."

Discussing his own experience, Thoe said Waupaca Foundry’s philosophy has been to educate and promote its own employees. Thoe attended a 14-week management course at Harvard Business School in 1979 as part of his preparation to become head of the foundry.

"It’s a lot easier to teach a good foundry man and give him an education than it is to hire a MBA and put him into the foundry," Thoe said.

Thoe noted the symbiotic relationship between the foundry and its employees.

"We’ve been able to weather several recessions without having to lay off employees or cut benefits. They rewarded us with great loyalty. We have a lot of third-generation people working for us. There are employees who have gone to college to get degrees and come back to work for us as engineers," Thoe said. "Waupaca’s turnover is just about nil. People come to work for us and they stay for their whole careers."

Thoe contrasted the method by which ThyssenKrupp Waupaca has grown with that of its competitors.

"All of our competitors were buying old foundries. They grew through acquisition," Thoe said. "We grew by building new, more modern facilities. Now, we have the ability to make better-quality products."