Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 2003)
September 4, 2005 Page 3 Tribal business ioerislies m hard times Spilyay Tymoo. Warm Springs, Oregon "Big changes bring big profits to a small business. ' By Shannon Keavcity Spilyay Tymoo When the lunch bell rings, employees at Warm Springs Composite Products don't waste ' any time filing back onto the pro " duction floor. "' Punctuality is important here and excuses for being late aren't taken lightly. Production must go on. " "A person being even one ''minute late can hold up an en "'tire crew," explains Jake Coochise, sales marketing man "' ager at the enterprise. '' A generous incentive fee ' tacked on each hour for punc ' tuality keeps employees coming in on time. Eighty percent take - advantage of this incentive. But it wasn't always that way. CEO Duane Darnell remcm "' bers when only 25 percent of the employees were utilizing the incentive program. Darnell's communication with the employ ees revealed some reasons the incentive program might not " work for them. Some changes were made ' and success soon became evi- dent in the numbers of employ ees taking advantage of the pay incentive. "You can encourage respon sibility and that's what will ulti mately change things," explains . Darnell. It's this type of approach that has been largely responsible for " the financial success Composite V Products has seen in recent 'years. '' 1 1 Darnell believes a good work environment will reflect itself in the success of the company. The company, a manufac turer of the composite boards Warm t -( By Shannon Kearenj , Spilyqy Tymoo Residents of the Warm ' Springs Reservation live 30 '" years less than the average U.S. "'citizen. '"' 1 With an average life expect ancy of about 47 years, a tribal ''member faces a thirty percent "'chance of dying in an accident. Chances are it will be a mo ' tor vehicle accident. Chances arc it will involve ' ''alcohol. ' And chances are a seatbelt ''will not be worn. ' Between 1991 and 2000 ' accidental death was the lead ing cause of death in patients 'at the Warm Springs Health and Wellness Outer. ' Of all accidental deaths ' nearly 63 percent of the cases " were documented as being re lated to alcohol use. Local Chamber i ')) Shannon KMirny ' Spilyay Tjmoo , . Recently a group of local in- dividuals finalized and adopted ' a charter for an official Warm Springs Chamber of Com merce. Now plans are being made to open by Sept. 4, as new mem bers and the board wait for 501 (c) (6) non profit status for the organization to be approved by both the Tribal Council and the state. The seven members ami the board will meet ai the museum 1 . . " T """"""" " y J j Hi) ,-iV a m j mM - "" t m - t ic3rirt rr. "SKkVfl '2' '-. : A'7. used as a component in com mercial fire doors, is a niche market, said Darnell. The com pany needs reliable people who are trained and ready to go, he said. Not long ago, high turnover among employees inhibited this need. "I remember when I started working here seven years ago, we must of went through one hundred employees a year," says Coochise. With a staff of 30,' that was an average of about four and a half months per employee. But now, employees are stick ing around. Springs tackles its Eraimber one Idler A- ui Rue 9i fparpA rpsidrnts in About 22 nercent of the lo A A " . (" " -' A majority of the accidents were car accidents. Of the car accidents, a shocking 72 per "Otrgoal is to support all businesses that are conducting themselves on the reservation. " Gerald Danzuka President WSCC the second Wednesday of every month. The first meeting is scheduled for Sept. 10, 6 p.m.-8 p.m. The chamber will also have a small office in the future tourist in Marlon LeClair, an employee at the company for the last six years, doesn't plan on leaving anytime soon. He likes the ver satility of the job, the good pay, and the hours. Employees at the enterprise work four-day weeks and 10-hour days. Employees also multi-task and never stay in one position for too long. This takes the monotony away, from the; job ajid gives employee a deeper understand- ing and investment in the final product, explains Coochise. Evan Cochran, an employee for the last year, thrives on the many options offered on the cent involved use of alcohol, Only four cases in a 10-year period clearly did not involve of Commerce to formation center that will open up on Wasco Street, off of I lighway 26. Pamphlets and other promo tional materials for local busi nesses will be provided to pass ing visitors. A location for another office to address other matters is be ing sought. "Our goal is to support all businesses that are conducting themselves on the reservation," explained Gerald Danzuka, the newly elected presidc-nt of the Chamber of Commerce. Danzuka estimates tribal Evan Cochran, a floater and an employee at Composite Products for the last year, cuts the fire-proof boards that the company in. Happy with his job, Cochran hopes to stick around for a , while. Shannon KeavenySpilyay production floor. He says he doesn't get bored. He also likes the pay, his fellow employees and the work envi ronment. "Everything has been opened up and our horizons for the business have expanded," he says. Coochise feels the best thing about working at the company is the unique industry and its high demand. -l i He says having employees cross-ttain helps them learn ev- erything about the product, cre- ate responsibility for a good product, and ultimately gives the employee more satisfaction. alcohol. Only two cases were docu mented as having worn a seatbelt at the time of death. When this information was released in a 2002 mortality re port put together by IHS, Warm Springs had already be gun to tackle its number one killer. Montell Elliott, a Warm Springs Health and Wellness Center medical secretary who focuses on health prevention, is using a one year fellowship for community outreach and education on key issues involv ing auto accidents. Although a seatbelt law was passed in 1999, Elliott recently formed a Seatbelt Coalition. More residents are already wearing their seatbelts. In a recent informal survey, 60 percent of Warm Springs drivers and 35 percent of Warm Springs passengers wore their seatbelts during the day. members own 110 small busi nesses. "Many of those businesses are cottage industries and some arc off the reservation," he said. Participants hope to establish a legitimate voice for private businesses with a local focus between businesses and tribal government, neighboring com munities and throughout the state. Danzuka envisions forming strong links with the Oregon Native American Chamber of Commerce (ON ACC) in Tigard and the National Native Ameri At Composite Products ev eryone is empowered to have an opinion, explains Darnell. Before a purchase is made, operators of the machinery can take a look and let them know what they need. Valuing employ ees and addressing their needs has played a part in the success of the company. "One factor in 'growing' a business is 'growing' your own people. If you aren't, you can't operate," explains Darnell. Composite Products, an en terprise since 1991, has worked itself up from the bottom. In 2002 the company took in record profits and was able to give back nearly $500,000 to the tribe, a thirty percent increase from the $350,000 the year be fore. In the last year alone produc tivity rates have increased by 20 percent with the same amount of employees. A large chunk of the company's growing profits were invested back into the company to improve products, existing processes and to help the com pany become more efficient, A key factor in the company's success has been their openness to change and their commitment to protecting jobs while creat ing more job opportunities for tribal employees. Because Composite Products manufactures a speciality prod uct, they had only 3 or 4 steady clients. "This made us very uncom fortable," says Darnell. Efforts to expand that cus tomer base have increased job security for employees, an es pecially difficult feat in light of the hard economic times on a national, state and tribal level. 1 'The dbrhpany wVSfff' interna- tional to expand their customer base and now has a business in the United Kingdom. They also ship to Asia and have done busi ness with Saudi Arabia. But, as feared, residents in rural areas wear their seatbelts less. Simnasho was surveyed and only 35 percent of the drivers and passengers are wearing their seatbelts. "I think we will see less ac cidents in the next decade be cause already more people are wearing their seatbelts," said Nancy Collins, Warm Springs sanitarian safety officer. Still, the numbers need to go higher. The coalition's goal is to in crease seatbelt usage on the reservation 70 percent by 2007. Safety Bear is visiting ECE and the elementary school and teaching kids the importance of using their seatbelt. With the greatest impact of accidental deaths affecting children, adolescents and young adults, individual age groups are being focused on. open this can Chamber of Commerce (NNACQ. "Through them we hope to establish a voice on Capital I lill and establish additional funding through legislation," said Danzuka. A Chamber of Commerce would help small businesses es tablish creditability in the eyes of officials and address small business needs in the commu nity. The Chamber of Commerce board will address issues that have a consequence to more than two businesses, said "We now have good interna tional resources and contacts," says Darnell. Also, efforts are being made to develop a larger variety of products. One goal for the com pany is to become a ready to assemble supplier. "That means we want to do all the work for our customer," says Darnell. Currently, the company is working on three to four other products. Some examples are a fire rated door jam system and fire style rail door components. The company is flexible on the size of its product, which enhances their chances of get ting into other markets, Specialty orders are welcomed. In the last year, a Chief Fi nancial Officer position was cre ated. As products and the cus tomer base expand, more jobs opportunities are sure to open ' up. A future plan will qffer fur ther education for employees. The company will pay for their books and tuition and offer a flexible schedule to accommo date their workers. "We're not offering a four year degree but we'd like to wet their appetites for a further edu cation," says Darnell. A four-year degree would then be covered by the tribe. If a worker is inspired to pursue a four-year degree because of their efforts, Coochise sees it as a service to the tribe. "If they return to the reser vation or not, it will still benefit the tribes," says Coochise. Employees used to be a little bit suspicious of all the change but now, as they see the positive results, they embrace the change, says Darnell. "You can't compete anymore " selling' something in your back yard. If you are afraid of change, you're going to die," ex plains Darnell. "If you build, they are going to come," he added. About 22 percent of the lo cal motor vehicle accidents deaths involve infants less than a year old. Twenty per cent include the ages of one to 14 year olds. Based on these figures, Elliot started a child safety seat installation clinic in the ECE parking lot. Every third Thursday of the month, parents can receive car seats, booster seats, and learn to install them safely. At one clinic Elliot discov ered 10 out of 11 car seats were installed incorrectly. Pre venting incorrect car seat in stallation is one way to save lives. Elliot sees a national trend in accident prevention as health care costs rise. "With less accidents, we will need to spend less money on healthcare," she noted. Set SEAT BELTS on 7 month Danzuka. The organization intends to educate and involve the public on key business issues by obtain ing radio spots on KWSO and having a column in the Spilyay Tymoo. I 'ices for individuals to join the Chamber of Commerce arc $25 per year. "I think the chamber has a good chance and the sooner we get going, the better," said Danzuka. For more information, con tact the Warm Springs Small Business Center.