| Of
automobiles and awards
by
Paula C. Squires
Virginia
Business
August 2003
The next time you see a shiny new Ford pickup cruising
down the road, think Norfolk. That’s where Ford
Motor Co. manufactures many of its top-selling F-series
trucks. In fact, Norfolk Assembly is so efficient that
Ford chose the plant to roll out a new manufacturing
system designed to restore the automaker to profitability.
During a recent visit, Ford Chairman and CEO William
Clay Ford Jr. stressed how critical Norfolk is to the
company’s fortunes when he told workers: “Our
future is in your hands.”
We
profile the Ford plant in this month’s issue as
part of a package on Virginia’s growing automotive
industry. Come tour the factory floor with writer Garry
Kranz and photographer Mark Rhodes and see the gadgetry
and robots, which are doing much of the backbreaking
work on today’s assembly line.
While
the Ford plant is undoubtedly the Mack truck of the
state’s auto industry, Virginia is also home to
Advance Auto Parts, the country’s second-largest
retailer of automotive parts and we take a look at this
company as well.
If
the auto package doesn’t help you vroom through
the dog days of August, also in the line up is a story
on retirees who have chucked grass cutting. They’re
buying low-maintenance homes and paying monthly fees
that free them from the bonds of yard work. As baby
boomers move towards retirement, they’re driving
this and other trends in the building industry.
Also
in this month’s issue is Virginia Business’
annual statewide Site Selection Guide, which includes
profiles on businesses and localities as well as a look
at Virginia’s enterprise zones.
Rounding
out our package, we explore a new concept for Virginia
on the Ideas page. Guest columnist Hugh Keogh, President
and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, provides
an insider’s view on how the state passed a law
with bipartisan support that embraces long-range planning
as a strategic tool in setting both policy and budgets.
And
finally, forgive us for patting ourselves on the back,
but Virginia Business picked up two national
awards in the 2003 Editorial Excellence competition
sponsored by the Association of Area Business Publications.
We placed second in the category of “Best local
spin of a national business/economic story” for
a comprehensive report last August on Virginia’s
defense industry. Judges termed the depth of the package
— which included stories, photography and graphics
— as “exceptionally impressive” and said
the report helps readers see how connected our state
is in the ongoing war on terror. We also won second
place for a November 2002 cover titled “The Party’s
Over.” It relied on two familiar icons, Mr. Peanut
holding a package of Marlboro cigarettes, to draw readers
into a story on the demise of federal programs supporting
tobacco and peanuts. The result, judges said, was “a
playful cover with a hard-hitting story behind it.”
So
sit back, break out the lemonade or your favorite summer
cocktail and enjoy this award-winning magazine. Forget
about chores like cutting the grass. Maybe one day they’ll
figure out how to get the truck-building robots to do
it.
Paula
C. Squires
Managing Editor
psquires@va-business.com
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