| It was the quality
of labor and the willingness of its workers to go the extra
productivity mile that earned Continental AG (formerly Siemens
Automotive) in Newport News an "America's Ten Best Plants"
award from Industry Week magazine in 1996. Officials at Canon,
Virginia, which makes copiers and printers, have raved about
the Newport News labor force since locating here in 1986. Canon's
Newport News plant has lower absenteeism than Canon's Tokyo
copier plant, and productivity at the Newport News plant is
so high that it exports laser printers to Japan.
Turnover and absenteeism are low among workers in Newport
News, generally. A 1996 survey by William R. Mercer, Inc.
found an annual turnover rate of 13.5% among a broad scope
of industries with a median of only 12.7%. Daily absenteeism
averaged 3.8%, with the median rate at 3.0%. Manufacturing
was represented by 32% of the sample.
Updated 04.04.08 |
site selection data > labor > quality 
