posted 04-23-2005 03:06 PM         

Women are leading Conner Avenue Assembly into the future

Only one vehicle on the planet could serve as the flagship vehicle of “Viper Nation”—a virtual community of thousands of die-hard owners around the world—and this is it. The 2005 Dodge Viper SRT10 boasts an aluminum-block 8.3-liter V-10 engine, generating 500 horsepower and 525 lb.-ft. of torque (picture Tim Allen grunting here).

With all that power, the Viper SRT10 is ideal for the alpha male, and accordingly, 85 percent of Viper owners are men. So it might be surprising for some to find out that this testosterone-fueled car is built at a plant led by a team of women.

“I never would have guessed it,” said Tim Sutherland, proud owner of a Dodge Viper since 2003, and member of the Motor City Viper Club of America. Sutherland, a resident of Sterling Heights, Mich., was on hand at Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit, a.k.a. “The Viper’s Nest,” Feb. 25 for a plant tour.

Led by Plant Manager Sandi Bouckley and Operations Manager Arvis Williams, Conner is the plant with a woman’s touch that happens to turn out one of the hottest sports cars on the planet.

Bouckley and Williams aren’t the only women steering Conner either. Ten women altogether lead the plant’s various business activities: Mary Ann Miller is the Plant Controller; Anne Cooper is the Human Resources Manager; Sylvia Collins is the Manufacturing Engineering Systems Support Analyst; Sadie Bornett is the Assessment Craft Manager; Erin Reynolds is a quality engineer; Stephanie Baringer is an industrial engineer; Vasu Gupte is the plant’s Safety Specialist; and Carol Bator is the plant’s Ergonomic Specialist.

“When people realize that Conner is run by women, they’re surprised at first, but then they just see us as capable business people and car builders. And that’s the way we want it,” said Bouckley, who, in addition to running Conner, runs the Sterling Heights (Mich.) Vehicle Test Center and Pilot Operations in Auburn Hills.

The all-woman leadership was not done by design. “We kind of realized it after the fact. We don’t really dwell on it,” Bouckley said. “Although it does illustrate how the Chrysler Group is committed to seeing women advance in the executive ranks.”

For the last eight years, the Chrysler Group has been named as one of the top-100 companies for working mothers, and, since 1999, the Chrysler Group has seen a 74 percent improvement in the representation of women at the executive level, according to Nancy Rae, Senior Vice President—Human Resources.

“We’re proud of that progress and committed to improve on it,” Rae said. “And it isn’t just about numbers. I’m very confident that we have the best talent in the industry.”

There is a different vibe in the air at Conner, Bouckley said. “We’ve seen dramatic improvements in our plant’s performance, and the people here have passion and commitment for their jobs. Quality depends on the trained craftspeople at Conner. We owe it to our customers.”

Leann Geeter is Team Leader of Viper Final Assembly as well as the chaplain for UAW Local 212. “Our team of craftspeople understands that the bottom line is quality,” said Geeter, an admitted gearhead. “We try to be a shining light, so to speak.”

Osie “Moe” Moore is a craftsperson at Conner. This is the first time he’s worked for an all-woman team. “It’s wonderful,” he said. “Women bring a different presence. It’s more like a family.”

That feeling of family permeates the plant right down to the 13 hand-built Vipers that leave the line each day. As Collins conducts a tour, she points out the room where the “Vipers are fed and kept warm until they are shipped to our customers.” She added, “We don’t let our Vipers see the light of day until they reach the customers’ hands.”

OK, so there is a bit of maternal sentiment toward the cars that’s shared by some of the women at the plant—and some of the men as well. “All of us have a personal attachment to each car that leaves here,” Collins said.

Some of the credit for the leadership team’s success has to go to what are traditionally considered strengths of women in the workplace: relationship-building and team-building skills.

The women use these skills not only throughout the plant with co-workers and craftspeople, but also with fanatical Viper owners and enthusiasts who treat Conner Avenue as an automotive mecca. Many customers travel from across the country to pick up their new Viper. Conner is one of the only assembly plants in North America that has a customer pick-up program.

“Everyone in the plant knows our main focus is to keep our customers happy,” Bouckley said.

Viper fans might never guess that Conner Avenue is run by women, and if they’re anything like Tim Sutherland, they don’t care. To him, it’s the vehicle that matters most. “Owning a Viper was my lifelong dream,” he said.

(Left to right) Angie Dialo, Debbie Sloan, Heidi Mickelson, Joy Pelkey, Joyce Burt, Karen Marks, Lisa Fisher, Lisa Hardwick and Lula Sears.