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Dell Plant Holds Promise of 1,500 Jobs

Posted on: Monday, 3 October 2005, 18:00 CDT

By Gillian May-Lian Wee, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Oct. 2--WINSTON-SALEM -- Charles Allison doubted he could return to factory work.

During his seven years at an auto parts plant, layoffs were so common, he was unsure he would have a job by the end of the day.

So in February, Allison quit and enrolled in college to study business.

But when Dell began hiring workers this summer for a $100 million computer manufacturing plant in Winston-Salem, he applied.

Now, Allison is one of about 350 production workers at Dell and sees himself as part of America's gleaming new wave of manufacturing -- high-tech, sophisticated and specialized.

At the 750,000-square-foot plant, he tests computers as they come off the assembly line to make sure the parts work.

His base salary is $28,000 a year -- or $538 a week -- roughly equal to his old pay. That's also 27 percent lower than the weekly average wage in Forsyth County last year.

But the job isn't about money; it's about his future.

"It's worth taking the base salary for now -- the opportunity is there to grow," said Allison, 31, of Greensboro, between glances at a Dell representative in an interview the company arranged at Forsyth Technical College.

When Dell opens its largest U.S. assembly plant this week, the computer giant will bring high-tech manufacturing to the area -- and the promise of 1,500 jobs over the next five years.

For many, Dell represents hope in a community hit hard by the loss of manufacturing, textile and farming jobs.

But to others, the beige building with the bright blue Dell logo is a symbol of "corporate welfare" -- a plant financed by $279 million in state, county and city incentives.

Dell, which plans to produce 15,000 to 20,000 computers a day, has declined to talk about the criticism. So did Allison.

But Winston-Salem has given the computer maker a rousing welcome. While counting down to its arrival, downtown buildings hung "Welcome Dell" banners. A hospital ran blue water through its fountain. Krispy Kreme, a company native to Winston-Salem, sprinkled Dell blue on its doughnuts.

"They've met, or exceeded every expectation I had," said Bob Leak, president of Winston-Salem Business Inc.

The Dell opening comes at a time when the community is at a crossroads. The area is home to RJ Reynolds Corp. and Sara Lee Corp. who employ thousands in the region.

But Winston-Salem has lost more than 5,000 manufacturing jobs in the past five years.

Textile mills -- once the lifeblood of this area -- have been shuttered. Other jobs have been shipped overseas. Some people have been desperate to find work.

When Dell began taking applications, thousands -- including Allison -- applied for jobs within the first 48 hours.

He passed five interviews over three weeks in July before he was hired.

Allison said he looked at Dell because it was a growing, high-tech company.

And that was important.

After graduating high school, Allison worked several years as a Pizza Hut manager in Greensboro. He was enrolled at Brookstone College when he was hired by Dana Corp., which makes car parts for Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler Corp. and General Motors Corp.

Allison continued with college and earned a degree in software accounting in 2000. He decided to stay at Dana because of the money, but he could see the handwriting on the wall.

After being laid-off and rehired twice, and seeing hundreds of his fellow workers lose their jobs, he enrolled at Guilford College in 2002.

Three nights a week, Allison continues to work on his degree at Guilford College. In May, he will complete a double major in business management and information systems with a focus on human resources and finance.

His background prepared him for a finance career, but the opportunity to wear different hats at Dell is critical, he said.

"You have good people, good management," he said. And he doesn't regret taking the job.

He's being considered as a team leader and won awards during a recent training stint at a company plant in Austin, Texas, near its Round Rock headquarters.

"So many people want to work for Dell it's ridiculous. If you wear that name-tag anywhere, you'd get attacked," he said.

PC Industry Analyst Robert Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates Inc. in Wayland, Mass., believes Dell is making a long-term commitment in Winston-Salem because the company wants to assemble computers close to its East Coast markets. The Carolinas, with its relatively lower property and labor costs, are "as good as it gets," he said.

"The question to ask is, whether that money will flow to the residents of Winston-Salem?" Kay said. "At what point will the community make money? It will, but it's not a slam dunk in the community." But the region's economic developers like Leak have welcomed Dell, which has brought three suppliers and more jobs to the area and also spurred retail and residential development.

Allison wants to rise through the ranks and become a high-level Dell executive to make his mother proud.

He remembers his mother, Debra, 51, knitting socks at Burlington Industries earning $4 to $6 an hour while raising Allison and his two brothers, Elton and Christopher. The boys took turns getting new clothes and shoes.

They grew up in the rough Burlington neighborhood of Glen Raven, where people fought because money was tight. His father wasn't around, so growing up, Allison leaned on a neighbor 15 years his senior for advice. Every afternoon, they would sit in a nearby park and play basketball. His mentor, who Allison wouldn't identify, taught him not to mix with the wrong crowd and stay focused on school.

"It helped make me want more out of life," said Allison, wearing a navy blue Dell T-shirt and khakis over his 5-foot-8, 195-pound frame. "It helped me become a man by not having as much."

The Allison boys were buoyed by the encouragement of their mother and relatives who hoped that one day the brothers would succeed. His oldest brother Elton, 33, is trying to start a detailing business in Charlotte. His younger brother Christopher, 29, is an IBM manager in Raleigh.

Charles Allison's greatest fear: failure, a word he says he loathes.

"Life has been difficult," he said. "Everything I touch isn't going to be a miracle but it's not because I'm not going to try. I'm going to try every time."

Dell said it's common for motivated workers to rise quickly.

Pat Gregory, a section leader at Dell, said the company plans to produce more than 100 team leaders in the next 14 months. About 95 percent of them will be internal hires, who could see their pay increase from $10 to $14 an hour to $20 hourly.

"We want people who are excited in their jobs -- you want to retain good employees," Dell spokeswoman Donna Oldham said. "We encourage their growth."

Gregory also is part of the new crop of Dell workers in Winston-Salem. The Tennessee native who's worked at the computer maker for 6 1/2 years recently transferred from Austin. She helped hire new employees in Winston-Salem, and has been impressed by the quality of the workforce.

Colleen Murphy joined Dell this summer. She had taken a severance package in July 2004 after 17 years with Proctor & Gamble.

Murphy, 45, a Greensboro native who works in the control room, likes Dell so much she hopes to retire from the company. She also plans to hand an application to her 19-year-old son, one of four children.

"They treat their employees well, with a strong dedication to that company," she said.

Allison agrees.

He lives about 15 miles away in Greensboro with his wife, Toni, a support specialist at LabCorp of America. They enrolled their son JaQuayle, 5, in private school to give him a better start than his father.

"When my son gets asked who's your hero, I want him to say, his father," he said.

DELL WINSTON-SALEM:

--Workforce: 350 employees, more than 600 by year-end, and a total of 1,500 in five years.

--Dell will bring in parts from its supply chain, which sources globally, to assemble desktops.

--A computer can be assembled at the plant in 66 minutes.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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DELL, RAI, BTI, BATS, SLE, DCN, F, DCX, 7663, GM, PG,

Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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