Dec - Holden Retiree

DECEMBER 2007
G8 Sails TO
US launch
HSPO saleS
record
MAKING
MO MONEY
Holden V8 Supercar DRIVERS’ Champion poster
NEWS
THE
FROM THE
CHAIRMAN’S
VIEW
In addition to the holiday festivities, December is a great time
of the year when we can look back on what we’ve done and
look forward to what’s ahead of us. A quick glance in the rear
view mirror of 2007 shows a long line of accomplishments
and strong progress toward GM Holden’s successful business
turnaround. VE Commodore continues its segment-leading
performance, praise abounds for our new VE Ute, and we’ve
launched the first boatload of Pontiac G8’s to North America.
This is a positive step forward, and I congratulate the entire
Holden team.
Where we’re driving to is even more exciting… Since
joining the Holden team, I’ve spent a lot of time working
with company leaders to develop our strategic plan that
plots the course for long-term success. Our vision is to
position Holden as “Australia’s own, competing and winning
on a world stage.” We can make this happen by building a
strong, viable business in our home market and strengthening
our contributions to Global GM.
As I’ve mentioned before, having a good strategy means
more than posting nice charts on the wall. It’s really about
developing actionable support plans, engaging everyone
in the organisation, and regularly measuring our progress.
This is just the first leg of a long journey toward building
a sustainable vehicle sales, manufacturing and product
development business. Action planning will be complete
by February, and I look forward to sharing more details
with you at that time.
Success for Holden boils down to the “three P’s:” passion,
product, and performance. I’ve always been impressed
with the level of pride demonstrated by Holden employees
over many years. Our challenge going forward will be to
reinvigorate this Holden spirit and passion for building world
class vehicles. Products like the fantastic new Sportwagon
will certainly build enthusiasm in the marketplace. However,
it’s imperative that we have competitive vehicles across our
entire portfolio, especially in Australia’s growing small car
segment. Performance in all areas of our comprehensive
plan will help us to achieve the goal. In the end, it will be
the collective efforts of team members like each of you that
make it all work.
The year 2008 is sure to be action-packed and exciting. In
addition to kicking off our long-term strategy for success, we’ll
reach a number of significant milestones that include Holden’s
60th anniversary, Commodore’s 30th, Monaro’s 40th, Holden
Vehicle Operations’ 50th, and GM’s 100th! That’s a lot of
birthday parties to celebrate. In the meantime, I wish you
and your families a very happy and safe holiday season.
Chris Gubbey
Chairman and Managing Director
BOARDROOM
Alan Batey
Executive Director Sales, Marketing and Aftersales
Not many would have thought we could have another year as
busy as 2006. But here we are at the end of 2007, and it is
fair to say it has been a huge year.
2007 has been the culmination of critical vehicle launches,
export announcements, exciting sponsorships and a nail
biting V8 series resulting in a fantastic Holden win.
We’ve launched numerous new models including the
highly anticipated VE Ute which has already picked up two
prestigious awards and has been praised for its design,
engineering and performance.
Our export business has been making headlines, and
we’ve made no secret that this is an essential part of our
business future. We are now firmly establishing GM Holden
as a serious global competitor.
But we must not take our eyes off the local market.
2007 has been incredibly competitive as the industry strives
to break one million sales for the first time. And with more
competitors than ever before, market share is something
we have to aggressively fight for. But, Commodore is set
to remain Australia’s best seller for a 12th consecutive year.
This is something we should be very proud of, particularly
in a year that predicted the end of large cars.
Other notable wins include Statesman, Caprice and
Captiva sales which continue to go from strength to strength.
HSPO also deserves a special mention as they are on track
to break an all time parts sales record. This is a fantastic
effort – congratulations!
So as the holidays approach, we must celebrate our wins
but also take time to focus on our priorities and how we as a
team and as individuals can contribute to a successful 2008.
That just leaves me to wish everyone all the very best for a
safe and enjoyable holiday period. Come back refreshed and
reinvigorated for a massive 2008!
Parts post record
The Parts and Accessories team at Dandenong
has recorded its busiest year ever handling a record
number of parts for the growing portfolio of GM Holden
products. Activity spiked in October when record sales
of $46 million were picked, packed and dispatched by
the Holden Service Parts Operations team.
Executive Director Sales, Marketing and Aftersales,
Alan Batey, said the continued growth in the after sales
market was the result of specific training and incentive
initiatives that strengthened the dealers product
knowledge and provided tools to help market parts
and accessories.
“Getting the basic marketing tools out to our dealer
network and establishing online connections for almost
50 extra dealers to HSPO has contributed to the huge sales
growth that we have experienced this year,” Alan said.
COVER PHOTO: Logistics Supervisor – Outbound Vehicles, Steven Hunter is one of the team members responsible for the timely shipment of the first of the
Holden built Pontiac G8s to the US for distribution to dealerships in readiness for the March launch. Go behind the scenes with Steven on page 10 and read more about
this exciting export program on page 3.
PEOPLE
PAGE NEWS
G8 sets sail for U.S. launch
The launch shipment of 1,500 Holden
built Pontiac G8s is now plying the
waters towards the port of Benicia,
California, USA. The left hand drive
fleet made up of seven colors is
scheduled to arrive on January 25
for timely dispatch to dealerships
across the country ahead of the
official launch in March, 2008.
The Pontiac G8 program has
been the fastest vehicle program in
GM Holden’s history with the first cars
in production at the Elizabeth vehicle
assembly plant just 12 months after
the export contract was approved. GM
Holden plans to build 30,000 of the VE
based Pontiacs for export next year.
Executive Director – Manufacturing,
Rod Keane praised the efforts of the
local team in producing the first crop
of cars and said the challenge now
lay ahead in continuing to build and
deliver quality cars for export.
“In any launch there are some
unexpected things you have to deal
with, and you see the best in people
in their standing up and responding
to these challenges,” Rod said.
“This program has been no
different in that perspective. The
really pleasing thing has been that
the quality of the car has been
outstanding. Our GCA (Global
Customer Audit) results for the
Chairman and Managing Director, Chris Gubby and Executive Director, Manufacturing, Rod Keane,
inspect one of the next export bound G8s
vehicle are exemplary. For this program
to be successful, we have to be able to
achieve everything in terms of quality,
cost and timing,” Rod said.
The G8 program spearheads a new
era in GM Holden’s history.
“We are moving to a business where
there’s balance between export and
domestic. We’ve always exported, but it’s
been, if you like, surplus capacity.
We are now in a situation where export
markets are where we are going
to see extra growth, so our future
is intrinsically linked to our ongoing
success in export. We have to make
that move without losing the impetus,
particularly on the domestic market,
that we’ve had in the past,” Rod said.
Board welcomes
new Director
Greg Tyus
General Director, Engineering and Product
Planning at GM Canada, Greg Tyus, is
preparing to take up his appointment as
Executive Director, Engineering at GM
Holden at the end of this month.
Greg has spent the past month working
alongside retiring incumbent, Tony Hyde.
Greg joined General Motors as a
cooperative student in 1979. He gained
engineering experience in GM North
America with a variety of assignments
including Senior Project Engineer, Design
Engineer and Assistant Staff Engineer
until his appointment as Engineering
Director, Closure Systems, in 2000.
From 2001 to 2003, he held
engineering director positions in
Body CAE as well as in engineering
architecture and specialty vehicles.
In 2004, he was appointed Director,
PEOPLE
PAGE Chassis/Powertrain, HVAC, Electrical
and Vehicle Assembly Engineering
with GM Canada where he remained
until 2005, when he was appointed to
his most recent role at the GM Canada
Engineering Centre.
Greg holds a Bachelor’s degree in
Mechanical Engineering from Kettering
University (formerly known as GMI)
and a Master’s degree in Mechanical
Engineering from Wayne State University.
Greg’s appointment coincides with
the retirement of Holden veteran of 39
years, Tony Hyde. Tony shares some
parting thoughts on Page 15.
NEWS
Blockbusters make history
Back Row, L to R: Jim Arzanov, Minh Trinh, Eddie Gomez, Chris Hookway, Jason Inglis, Sammy Koc, Ben Hooway. Front Row, L to R: Geoff Place, Scott Cruz
Jim Arzanov may not have been physically
on the stage, but there is no mistaking
where his heart was when the Holden
team was presented with the winner’s
cup at the 2007 TPM3 Australasian
Lean Forum in Sydney. Jim is the HFV6
Fabrication/TPM Area Manager and
number one fan of The Block Busters
– a 10 man, cross - functional team and
Holden’s first to compete at the national
forum that champions continuous
improvement in manufacturing.
Led by Senior Group Leader, Ernie
Perini the team included Geoff Place,
Minh Trinh, Murughan Jayaram, Henry
Puc, Jason Inglis, Eddie Gomez, Ben
Hookway, Chris Hookway, Sammy Koc,
Scott Cruze and Lawrence Lam.
The Block Busters’ project was to
reduce downtime and improve operating
efficiencies on Operation 60, a stand
alone machine that inserts main and
side bolts into HFV6 engine blocks.
Following the strict rules and 12 week
schedule set down by judges, the team
exceeded all targets. It improved overall
equipment effectiveness from 55 per
cent to an outstanding 98 per cent,
resulting in estimated savings of
$2.6 million over a six month period.
Their project was one of 19 considered
by the judges and one of three
presentations chosen as finalists.
Jim’s pride and excitement in his
team’s victory are palpable.
“It wasn’t about bringing home the
cup. It was saying that we had the people
who were proud and confident enough to
go out there and give it a go.” HFV6 Plant
Manager, Dennis Biasotto agreed.
“The results in terms of productivity
and plant improvement were outstanding.
But the main focus was the people
engagement and energising of the team.
You can see the energy and confidence
in everyone on this team,” Dennis said.
Jim was the obvious person to
step into the main mentoring role
while co-ordinator Ernie Perini was
overseas in the two months leading
up to the challenge.
“Over the past decade, I’ve been
to many forums and seen the growth
of those companies that had entered
the Aussie Cup and the journey and
the passion they had for continuous
improvement.
“The Block Busters had done an
outstanding job with the project and
the savings they had achieved.
They had shown a lot of development
and commitment, and we thought it
would be good to see how they would
go up against the best. Now we know.
They are the best!” Jim said.
Cash for contacts
Employees could earn $1,000 in
a recruitment initiative aimed at
attracting the very best professional
talent to salaried positions on the
GM Holden team. All employees
across the organisation are eligible
to participate in the employee referral
program by motivating friends or
other suitably qualified contacts to
enter employment at GM Holden.
Executive Director Human
Resources, Scott Sandefur, said
successful referrals would return $1,000
(less tax) to the referring employee after
their contact had completed his or her
three months probation.
“Many companies here in Australia
and in other parts of the world are using
similar programs to seek out and retain
the very best talent available in a highly
competitive market,” Scott said.
“We already have some of the most
talented professionals across the full
spectrum of salaried positions at Holden.
PEOPLE
PAGE This program aims to have them, and
employees in non-salaried roles, really
thinking about who they know and the
contribution they could make to growing
the GM Holden talent pool,” Scott said.
Enquiries about the Holden
Employee Referral Option (HERO)
can be referred to the Talent
Acquisition department or your
Human Resources business partner.
Full terms and conditions can be
found on Socrates – Australia.
NEWS
Safe road to state title
Wayne McCoy(centre) with Safety Supervisor in Plastics, Craig Hayter (left) and State Safety Manager, Jonathon Bates and the spill response unit
GM Holden’s Wayne McCoy is
South Australian Health and Safety
Representative of the Year. Judges
from SafeWork SA selected Wayne
from a field of candidates who are
championing safety initiatives in a
variety of work places across the state.
A mobile spill response unit is one of
a number of initiatives that Wayne and
his team in Plastics have to their credit.
The unit is fully equipped to identify,
contain and manage a spill incident
quickly and safely.
After just a few weeks in service,
the unit, equipped at a cost of
approximately $3,000, has already
paid for itself by minimising hazards
and reducing downtime.
Festival of cans wins hearts
While many of us are focused on
turkeys and wrapping last minute gifts,
Specialist Research Engineer, Andrew
Sansome is putting the finishing
touches on his own special Christmas
program. And, in the true spirit of
Christmas, Andrew’s project – the
Cans Film Festival, is all about giving.
“My parents and brother own a
DVD store and when I discussed
the concept of a Cans Film Festival
with them they thought it was a great
idea,” Andrew said.
Using the recognisable faces of his
brother and DVD store owner, Glenn
and local Salvation Army captain,
Colin Abram, Andrew has promoted
and won strong local support for his
cause. Honing his new found media
and public relations skills, Andrew
has secured publicity for his festival in
four community newspapers.
“During the festival, people have
been swapping a can of food for two
free weekly movie rentals. We have
managed to collect 500 cans and
Heinz has stepped in and matched
our 500 cans bringing the total to 1,000
cans,” Andrew said. All of the cans will
be donated to the Salvation Army for
distribution to needy families.
“It is a great result and just in time
for the busy Christmas period that is
always tough for struggling families,”
Andrew said.
Next year, Andrew plans to expand
the festival across Australia, so start
stockpiling those cans.
Andrew Sansome and
brother Glenn
PEOPLE
PAGE NOVEMBER SALES
GM HOLDEN OVERVIEW
INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
•Holden Commodore was the best selling
car again and helped to keep Holden in
second place behind Toyota.
•GM Holden remained in second place behind Toyota in the
November market that grew by 10.5 per cent over the same
time last year.
•Holden Ute and Rodeo sales were both strong,
and Captiva sales jumped 69 per cent over last
November placing it seventh in the top 10 sport
utility vehicles (SUVs).
•The SUV segment was up 16.5 per cent on November last
year with total sales of 17,702 vehicles. Compact SUVs drove
the growth and the Large SUV segment stabilised and grew
97 units over the same month last year.
•November saw a drop of 368 units in Holden sales
compared to the 11th month last year but year to
date brand sales are up 1,206 units.
•The Light Truck segment remained strong with Holden Ute
(up 45.2 per cent) and Mitsubishi Triton (up 38.2 per cent)
driving growth .
MARKET LEADERS
MARKET LEADERS
(NOVEMBER)
TOYOTA
TOYOTA20,956
20,956
TOYOTA
TOYOTA216,034
216,034
HOLDEN
HOLDEN12,498
12,498
HOLDEN
HOLDEN136,216
136,216
FORD
FORD9,219
9,219
FORD
FORD99,094
99,094
MAZDA
MAZDA6,363
6,363
MAZDA
MAZDA71,292
71,292
MITSUBISHI
MITSUBISHI6,273
6,273
MITSUBISHI
MITSUBISHI60,071
60,071
HYUNDAI
HYUNDAI5,145
5,145
HONDA
HONDA55,924
55,924
NISSAN
NISSAN4,905
4,905
NISSAN
NISSAN55,311
55,311
HONDA
HONDA4,790
4,790
HYUNDAI
HYUNDAI45,245
45,245
SUBARU
SUBARU3,225
3,225
SUBARU
SUBARU35,368
35,368
KIA
KIA2,009
2,009
(2007)
KIA
KIA19,144
19,144
00
5,000
5,000
10,000
10,000
15,000
15,000
20,000
20,000
00
50,000
50,000
100,000
100,000
150,000
150,000
200,000
200,000
HOLDEN CAR LINES
BARINA
Nov 2007 sales:
1,002
Nov 2006 sales:
1,081
2007 YTD sales: 11,645
2006 YTD sales: 12,715
VIVA
Nov 2007 sales:
497
Nov 2006 sales:
861
2007 YTD sales: 7,031
2006 YTD sales: 10,972
ASTRA
Nov 2007 sales:
1,406
Nov 2006 sales:
1,606
2007 YTD sales: 16,755
2006 YTD sales: 18,152
ASTRA twin
Nov 2007 sales:
Nov 2006 sales:
2007 YTD sales:
2006 YTD sales:
COMMODORE
Nov 2007 sales:
4,573
Nov 2006 sales:
5,238
2007 YTD sales: 53,654
2006 YTD sales: 51,643
STATESMAN
Nov 2007 sales:
137
Nov 2006 sales:
228
2007 YTD sales: 2,033
2006 YTD sales: 1,807
CAPRICE
Nov 2007 sales:
Nov 2006 sales:
2007 YTD sales:
2006 YTD sales:
UTE (inc. one tonner & crewman)
Nov 2007 sales:
1,538
Nov 2006 sales:
1,059
2007 YTD sales: 9,985
2006 YTD sales: 13,078
RODEO
Nov 2007 sales:
1,677
Nov 2006 sales:
1,492
2007 YTD sales: 17,275
2006 YTD sales: 17,163
COMBO
Nov 2007 sales:
Nov 2006 sales:
2007 YTD sales:
2006 YTD sales:
223
239
2,367
836
82
75
756
981
PEOPLE
PAGE top
131
63
1,284
869
EPICA
Nov 2007 sales:
Nov 2006 sales:
2007 YTD sales:
2006 YTD sales:
290
0
2,877
0
CAPTIVA
Nov 2007 sales:
Nov 2006 sales:
2007 YTD sales:
2006 YTD sales:
936
554
9,580
947
SAAB
Nov 2007 sales:
Nov 2006 sales:
2007 YTD sales:
2006 YTD sales:
109
100
1782
1549
NEWS
Lion’s share of the action
The GM Holden team proved winners
on and off the field pulling off its best
overall result in five years at the 2007
Corporate Games in Melbourne. The
sports ambassadors won three awards
in softball, AFL recreational football and
table tennis to see GM Holden finish in
second place behind ANZ in the Sports
Champions Awards.
Three GM Holden AFL recreational
teams notched up the lion’s share of
points with the red and white topping the
competition with 152 points. Meanwhile,
our two softball teams recorded a
combined total of 100 points towards
the overall result. The Lions were top
scorers among the GM Holden teams
with 80 points while the Cubs batted
their way to a total of 20.
About 275 lined up in the Lion camp
pitting their skills at various sports
including softball, AFL recreational
football, volleyball, beach volleyball
and table tennis. The teams competed
in the second largest division of the
competition against such companies as
Deloitte, Shell and National Australia
Bank. ANZ fielded the largest team with
1,257 participants.
More than 10,670 sports enthusiasts
from 324 corporations across the state
turned out to compete for individual and
team medals in 20 sports contested at
venues across the city over two days of
competition.
The GM Holden Lions Softball Team
Kelly Sandefur
Grant Mitchell
More awards for VE range
GM Holden’s acclaimed VE range
has taken out two Drive Car-ofthe-Year Awards. The VE Ute SS
claimed the honors for the Best Ute
in 2007 while the VE Commodore
was voted the people’s favorite,
picking up the People’s Choice
award for a second successive year.
Judges, charged with evaluating
44 nominated models over six days
and more than 20,000 kilometres,
complimented The VE Ute SS for
bringing new levels of
safety and driving dynamics
to a work-oriented segment.
This is the second award
for the newly released Ute
and comes on the back
of winning News Limited’s
Carsguide Reader’s
Choice Award. Sydney Morning Herald
Motoring Editor and Drive Car-of-theYear judge, Josh Dowling, said the
Holden SS stretched the boundaries of
what utes were designed to do.
In the People’s Choice Award, almost
50,000 readers chose from the 44 Drive
Car-of-the-Year 2007 finalists to vote
the VE Commodore as the most popular
new vehicle.
The VE Commodore
range has now won several
awards including:
Winner
MOTOR Bang For Your Bucks
(VE Commodore SS)
Winner
News Ltd Car Of The Year
(VE Calais V)
Winner
Drive.com People’s Choice
Award 2006
(VE Commodore SS V)
Winner
Voted No.1 Large Car by car
buyers using Carsales.com.au
(VE Commodore)
PEOPLE
PAGE FEATURE
November was a particularly hairy
month at GM Holden, and it had
nothing to do with volatile markets
or the booming Aussie dollar. It was
all about men sporting moustaches
and beards in support of Movember,
the national campaign to raise
awareness and funds for men’s health
programs. Across the company,
women also threw their support
behind the campaign and helped with
promotional and fundraising initiatives
that raised $XXXXX.
Executive Director, Corporate
Affairs, Alison Terry, congratulated
everyone who helped to raise
awareness of important men’s health
issues, including depression and
prostate cancer.
“It’s been fantastic to see the
great level of support for Movember
throughout the company since the
start of the challenge. We’ve certainly
seen a wide variety of moustaches;
the good, the bad and yes, perhaps
even the ugly – but all for a great
cause,” Alison said.
New South Wales Zones’ District
Manager Rural Sales, Stuart Martin
certainly identified with the outcasts
when guests at the Country Dealer
Council Christmas function were so
unimpressed by his mo that they paid
him $75 to shave it off.
Elsewhere, it was a very different
story with employees, like HEO’s
Fred Martin, raising more than $1,000
for the cause.
Health professionals, including a
general physician and a psychiatrist
working with the Employee
Assistance Program, presented
informative lunchtime seminars at
various locations during the month.
Calibration specialist from the
Proving Ground, Rolf Glenk, shared
his personal battle with depression with
employees who attended seminars
at HQ191 and Holden Service Parts
Operations at Dandenong.
“I became involved because after
my last episode with depression I
realised that there is so much stigma
attached to this illness and that is
stopping people from seeking help.
By telling people about my experience,
I hope I can help people to overcome
that and let them know that there is
hope; you can recover, there is help
and treatment available,” Rolf said.
“I think it’s terrific that a company as
big Holden is putting itself behind this
kind of thing. If you talk to my wife, or a
PEOPLE
PAGE lot of women, they will tell you that their
partners had to be bleeding out of their
eyeballs before they would go and see
a doctor or health professional. I was of
that ilk, but now I am into having regular
check-ups, regularly going to my GP and I
see a psychiatrist as a maintenance issue.
“It took me a while, but I got to a
place where I was quite comfortable
talking about it,” Rolf said.
FEATURE
Xmas ‘07
In South Australia, Social Club
Secretary, Don McLeod, used his
recent diagnosis with prostate cancer
to urge other men to have regular
check-ups. Don, who is preparing for
surgery in January, credits a simple
blood test with his early diagnosis.
“I have been having regular checkups for things including cancer since
I was 48. You can’t bury your head in
the sand. It’s there, and it’s as big as
breast cancer in women and it kills a
heck of a lot of guys, mainly because
they won’t go to the trouble of getting
themselves checked. It’s just a simple
blood test,” Don said.
PEOPLE
PAGE PEOPLE
Steven Hunter
whodoesthat?
Logistics Supervisor – Outbound Vehicles
When did you start preparing for
the first G8 shipment?
We started planning the vessel schedule
for the G8 launch in July this year and
building a complete logistics plan in
September. There is a lot of hope riding
on this export market to provide for GM
Holden’s future, so we wanted to ensure
that the vehicles where delivered on
time and in the right condition.
How did you feel as boat set sail
on November 28?
A little relieved after all the work that
has gone into this shipment by so
many people at Holden. The biggest
challenge was managing capacity and
throughput constraints in the Logistics
pipeline. However, this was just the tip
of the iceberg. We have three more G8
shipments in December and around
another 30,000 cars to ship in 2008.
How long have you been in this
role, and who do you work with?
Five years working in Logistics and
two years in my current role. We have
a team of four administration staff
onsite, including myself, who have all
participated in the G8 Launch, as well
as senior management representation
in Melbourne. There are two teams of
drivers on site which includes Global
Purchasing employees as well as returnto-work employees on rehabilitation
who are responsible for the movement
of vehicles on site at Elizabeth
What are your duties in a nutshell?
We are responsible for the management
of vehicles from Production to delivery at
both domestic and export destinations.
This includes working with both internal
departments and several business
Steven Hunter
partners, such as shipping lines,
transport companies, freight forwarders,
port processors and others.
What’s required to get cars from
plant to ship?
Vehicles are delivered and returned
from HSVi (Holden Special Vehicles
Individual), where export preparation
is completed. They are then delivered
from the Elizabeth compound to AAT Wharf
at Outer Harbour. Our freight forwarder
releases the vehicles for shipment
where they are then marshalled for
shipment and loaded 24 hours later.
What’s the most stressful
aspect of your job?
Ensuring forecasted shipments are
achieved. A critical element of the
position is to ensure the maximum
numbers of vehicles are delivered in
any one month to ensure the best
financial result for the company.
What’s the worst thing that
could go wrong?
There are too many to list!
Graduate finds favour
Michael Brown
Graduate Engineer, Michael Brown,
received the annual RS Components
Prize from Flinders University for his
final year honors project inside the GM
Holden Body Shop. The project was
based on simplifying control systems on
the metal finish line and was part of a
broader skills set that brought the former
part-time employee a full-time position.
Director of Manufacturing and
Facilities Engineering, Geoff Marshall,
welcomed the appointment of another
PEOPLE
PAGE 10
talented graduate in electricals
and electronics.
“We recognised Michael’s abilities
early and were more than happy to
welcome him aboard as a full-time
employee.”
“Michael’s analytical approach and
research of the automations software,
hardware and protocols enabled
the system to be simplified, resulting
in improved uptime and reduced
mean time to repair,” Geoff said.
PEOPLE
me
AND MY CAR
Max Vescovi
Max Vescovi’s Absinth Yellow 1975
GTS Coupe is just one of the dozens
of pristine exhibits at this year’s Show
and Shine employee vehicle display at
Fishermans Bend. Already voted Best
GM Car back in 2005, Max’s car stands
a good chance of adding another trophy
to the five already in his cabinet, although
he acknowledges the quality and number
of entries is increasing each year.
Max, a repairman and inspector
on the Trim Line in Plant 16 at Holden
Engine Operations, had a frightening
start to his love affair with the Monaro.
“Back in 1984 as 19 year-olds, a friend
and myself wrapped one around a pole,
and they had to cut the roof off to get us
out. I doubt we would have survived if
Jarrod Barwick
we’d been in anything else,” Max said.
Fortunately Max, his friend and the
other passenger, Sandra who he later
married, recovered from the accident
to share their love of cars. Max, Sandra
and son Harley, 15, will soon be
loading the coupe onto a tandem trailer
and heading to Canberra to try their
luck at the Summer Nationals. They
are confident the flawless resprayed
duco, new black interior and 327 (420
hp) Chevy motor that is powered by
high compression aviation gas will sit
comfortably in this year’s line up.
“We went up just for a look last year
and there weren’t many entries like this
one so I’m pretty sure they’ll like it up
there,” Max said.
Moto man wins gold
Senior Quality Engineer, Jarrod Barwick
added a second gold medal to his
collection after competing in the moto
trials at the recent Australasian Masters
Games. Jarrod, who works in the new
model group at Elizabeth, successfully
navigated his way over and around
the obstacle course set to test the
competitors’ skills.
“Moto is a low speed event that relies
on control of the motorcycle and yourself
by using the suspension, the motor, the
clutch and your body weight position.
Basically, it involves control of the
motorcycle as opposed to speed, and
the competitor who puts his feet on the
ground the least wins,” Jarrod explained.
About 40 enthusiasts competed
across all Moto classes, but only three
PEOPLE
PAGE 11
lined up for the 35 year-old class taken
out by Jarrod.
“The Masters Games is promoted
as a bit of fun. I’ve been riding for a
long time and to be honest getting the
state title and riding in the Australian
championships in my early years was a
much bigger thrill because I was riding
against people of equivalent ability,”
Jarrod said.
And while there’s plenty of riding
still to be done by this 35 year-old, he’s
wasting no time sharing his love of the
sport with the next generation.
“My three year-old son has already
got his first bike – with training wheels.
I don’t push him, but I support him and
obviously make it as safe as possible,”
the proud dad said.
PEOPLE
onthemove
Martyn Cray and Dan Ryon
Martyn Cray, currently Plant Manager,
Sweden Operations, is making the
move to Melbourne to head up Engine
Operations at Fishermans’ Bend.
Martyn will take over the reins from
current Plant Manager, Dan Ryon who
will end his three-year assignment Down
Under and return to the United States
to take up his new appointment as
Plant Manager at the Bay City, Michigan
Powertrain Plant.
Executive Director – Manufacturing,
Rod Keane welcomed the appointment
and praised Dan’s contribution to
GM Holden.
“I’ve worked with Martyn for the best
part of five years and I know him very
well. He has a wealth of knowledge about
engine manufacturing and I think he
will continue to help the business move
forward,” Rod said.
“Dan has been a pivotal player, firstly in
the introduction of the HFV6 plant and its
complex start up with a whole lot of new
technology, and secondly in helping the
engine plant through some difficult times
over the last few years with changes in
Family II volume. In that regard, I think we
owe him a great deal of thanks and wish
him well in his new assignment,” Rod said.
In other moves around the company,
Alison Burton will replace Warren Turski
as Director, IS&S Compliance. In her
new role, she will be responsible for
IS&S Sarbanes Oxley, Export, Audit
and ILM Compliance. She will also lead
Corrective Action reviews and be the
IS&S coordinator for GoFast. Alison
joined General Motors in 2003 as a
Business Systems/Internal Control
Analyst in Port Melbourne, Australia and
is currently the IS&S Security Manager
for GMAP. Alison graduated with a
Bachelors degree in Business Systems
from Monash University and received a
graduate degree in Commerce from the
University of New South Wales. Alison
is a Certified Information Systems
Security Professional.
Finance has seen a number of
executive movements in the last quarter.
Andrew Gay, currently Controller, Sales
and Marketing, has been appointed
Finance Director MFG, Capital & Special
Projects with GMAP HQ. Andrew will
move to Korea for his new appointment,
which begins in the New Year. He will
be replacing Steve Merchant who
repatriated to the United States last
October. Andrew will now be reporting
to Joe Peter, GMAP Vice President
& CFO. Andrew has held a variety of
roles since commencing with Holden
in January, 2001.
Replacing Andrew, Mathew Cooper
is appointed to the position of VSSM
Controller. Matthew will also retain
PEOPLE
PAGE 12
his Internal Control/SOX Remediation
activities and the Dealer Audit Team
will report into this role going forward.
Mathew joined GM Holden as Manager
General Ledger in October 2002.
Mathew has held various positions in
Finance including an ISP assignment
with GM in Shanghai most recently.
Tim Bradfield is also headed overseas,
having been appointed to the position
of Regional Internal Control Manager
based in Shanghai. He will report to
Daniel Smegal. Travis Wild will replace
Tim as the Business Risk Manager.
In December, Chris Collison returned
from GM Japan to assume the newly
created role of Operations Controller
reporting to Andrew Terry. Chris began
his career with GM Holden in January,
1992 and has spent the past three
years as the Chief Financial Officer,
GM Japan. In this new local role, Chris
will have responsibility for Engineering,
GPSC and Holden Engine Operations
and Holden Vehicle Operations
Financial Control.
Jason Wyatt has become HVO
Controller and is now based in Adelaide.
Jason joined Holden in the position
of Financial Accounting Manager.
Prior to this, Jason gained extensive
financial and management experience
with Reuters PLC, Morgan Stanley in
London and KPMG in Melbourne. He is
a qualified Chartered Accountant, and
has a Bachelor of Business (Accounting)
from RMIT. Megan Gourlay has replaced
Jason in the position of Financial
Accounting Manager.
Andrew Holmes will now be the Global
RWD Program Engineering Manager for
the Chevy Camaro Convertible. Andrew
was previously part of the Holden
Engineering organisation as the Vehicle
Systems Engineer for Chassis and
Powertrain Integration.
Travis Hester has been appointed the
Midsize Regional Chief Engineer within
the Pan Asia Technical Automotive
Centre (PATAC) function, having
previously held the role of Assistant
Program Engineering Manager for the
Zeta Architecture whilst on assignment.
Travis has held a number of roles within
the Body group of Engineering since
joining Holden in 1996, and also spent
time as Technical Assistant to former
Chairman and Managing Director,
Denny Mooney. Travis has most
recently been on assignment in Warren,
Michigan and transitions to his new role
which will be based at PATAC, GM’s
Engineering joint venture in Shanghai.
GLOBAL
GLOBAL
Celebrations as GM enters
its second century
As it prepares to enter its second
century next year, General Motors
invites all global employees to
participate in celebrations to
commemorate its past and share
its plans for the future. GMnext is
an interactive platform to share insights
about GM, to build relationships and
to change the way people perceive
GM and its products. Components
include the Employee Blog and the
Generations of GM Wiki. Employees
will be able to submit their own
personal recollections, anecdotes
and GM related stories that the
general public will enjoy after the
GMnext.com web site goes live
on Thursday January 3, 2008.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Rick Wagoner launched GMnext
on December 13. His introductory
message can be found on the global
Socrates home page.
Cadillac for Australia
General Motors’ flagship Cadillac
brand will enter the Australian market
in 2008. Making the highly anticipated
announcement today, GM Holden
Chairman and Managing Director
Chris Gubbey officially confirmed
Australia as the next step in Cadillac’s
global expansion. “We are excited to
have Cadillac coming to Australia,”
Chris said. “Cadillac is undergoing
a brand renaissance and global
expansion driven by dramatic design
and technical innovation. With cutting
edge design, serious performance
and luxury appointments, Cadillac
will appeal to Australian prestige car
buyers and quickly establish itself in
a segment traditionally dominated by
European brands.”
Agreement For Largest Hybrid
Fleet in the World
General Motors and Dubai Roads and
Transport Authority have announced
an agreement for an evaluation
program that will bring hybrid vehicles
to the Middle East. The agreement,
which includes a comprehensive
local market evaluation of GM’s all-new
Chevrolet Tahoe Two-Mode Hybrid
and the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid, could
eventually lead to one of the largest
fleets of hybrid vehicles in the world.
The accord is groundbreaking because
it demonstrates the common goal of
General Motors, Dubai RTA and the
Government of Dubai to reduce their
impact on the environment in a region
that is rich in oil resources.
Plant Begins Production Of
2-Mode Hybrid
General Motors’ Baltimore Transmission
Plant has officially begun production of
the auto industry’s most technologically
advanced hybrid transmission – the
only hybrid transmission designed and
built in the United States by a major
automaker. The 2-Mode Hybrid
transmission will debut in the 2008
Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid and 2008
GMC Yukon Hybrid, the industry’s only
full-size hybrid sport utility vehicles.
GM Daewoo Opens Cheong-Na
Proving Ground
GM Daewoo has opened its new
Cheong-Na Proving Ground in Incheon.
The 477,443-square metre site houses
a vehicle proving ground and research
and development operations. The
22,530 square metre laboratory and
office space will include six laboratories
and a garage. When fully operational,
2008 Cadillac CTS
PEOPLE
PAGE 13
more than 400 people will work at
the new facility. GM Group Vice
President of Global Engineering, Jim
Queen said the Cheong-Na Proving
Ground’s advanced vehicle labs and
road system would help GM Daewoo
further improve the performance,
drivability, quality and reliability of
its products. GM Daewoo engineers
will be linked to GM’s global network
of engineering facilities around the
world, leveraging know-how and
exchanging data and test results.”
GM Uzbekistan Joint Venture
A Win For Chevrolet
GM has joined with UzAvtosanoat to
assemble and distribute Chevrolet
cars in the central Asian republic of
Uzbekistan. The joint venture, which
will be called GM Uzbekistan, will
extend Chevrolet’s rapid expansion
in Eastern Europe and Asia.
Sales of Chevrolet models in Europe
have increased 32 per cent year-todate, with 328,000 units registered
through September. Chevrolet is on
track to reach the 450,000 unit mark
this year, a more than 30 percent
increase over 2006.
The GM Uzbekistan manufacturing
plant, situated in Asaka, Andijan
Province, 350km from the Uzbek
capital, Tashkent, has a total
manufacturing capacity of 250,000
units which, over time, is to be fully
utilised for producing Chevrolet cars.
The first three Chevrolet models,
Captiva, Epica and Tacuma, will be
assembled from semi knocked down
kits starting immediately, with other
carlines to be added for assembly
from completely knocked down kits
and full scale production over the
next three years.
SERVICE HONORS
40 YEARS
John Connell
November 27
35 YEARS
Radosav Soldatovic
October 01
Ioanis Bakalis
Rod Keane
November 27
Bill Fitch
October 06
Graeme Hughes
November 24
October 27
Peter Rankin
December 04
October 03
Terence Ryan
November 10
Graeme Lane
November 21
Dale Matthews
December 12
Garry Hasson
November 23
30 YEARS
Davide Santillo
20 YEARS
Phil Aspinall
October 06
Russell Cole
October 20
Robert Gersch
Lindsay Coghill
November 11
Brian Kneebone
October 06
Roger Hoskin
October 20
Lee Baker
November 03
October 27
Man On Chi
November 11
Robbie Setterfield
October 06
Dom Romeo
October 20
Andrew Symes
November 03
Darren Jackson
November 17
Jeffrey Howard
October 06
Denise Christiansen October 26
David Shimmin
November 03
George Kapitelli
November 23
Damian Dixon
October 06
Roy Green
October 27
James McCusker
November 04
Colin Witt
November 24
Steven Burlinson
October 06
Robert Hall
October 27
Russell Brown
Novemebr 09
Darren Maguire
November 24
November 10
Antony Poole
October 13
Sean Doherty
October 27
Len Hansen
Simon Agius
December 01
Christopher Lucas
October 13
Phalrith Prom
October 27
Michael Rowberry November 10
Andrew Hynson
December 01
Craig Oxenham
October 13
Shayne Sonneman
October 27
George Klunyk
November 10
Terence Sage
December 08
David Cubberley
October 16
Robert Le Raye
October 27
Adrian Oliver
November 10
David Mather
December 08
Mark Brown
October 20
John Cindric
October 27
Gary Jeffery
November 10
15 YEARS
Craig Reimann
October 06
Albert Clothier
October 20
Josef Egyud
November 03
Brian Keley
November 24
David McHugh
October 06
Christos Gatsis
October 20
Corey Bishop
November 03
Letitia Otto
December 01
Darren Philp
October 06
Allison Dally
October 31
Robin Stevens
November 10
Shane Neilson
December 08
Monika Wowczuk
October 06
Damian Cornish
November 03
Matthew Gray
November 10
Jason Thorley
December 14
Frits De Bruin
October 06
Julian Ciesluk
November 03
Philip Romeo
November 17
Gerald McCarthy
October 06
Craig Faulkner
November 03
Alan Snelling
November 24
Peter Winstanley
October 12
John Hancock
November 03
Alan Norris
November 24
Andrew Terry
October 01
Dencil Jayaweera
October 27
Jayantha Rathnasara November 10
Brian Smith
November 25
Ross Hancock
October 01
Deen Sherifdeen
October 27
Khai Hien Nguyen November 10
Mahesh Mahadevan November 29
Simon Renton
October 06
Fung Ming Ho
October 27
Ralf Kopec
November 11
Robert Chestnut
December 02
10 YEARS
Victor Christiansz
October 06
Michael Tasevski
October 27
Allan Perkins
November 11
Adrian Constable
December 05
Gary Lord
October 06
Peter Flajnik
October 28
Alfonso Ocon
November 17
Maria Smale
December 08
Slavisa Ilic
October 22
Andrew Kanikula
November 4
Timothy Johnson
November 17
Terri Grein
December 09
Sheryl Caldwell
October 23
Patrick Gagliardi
November 4
Trish Boschin
November 17
Craig Porritt
December 15
Gail Hughes
October 24
Scott Gunton
November 5
Hung Huy Dang
November 24
Greg Lake
December 15
Huy Ba Ngo
October 27
Martin Pipunic
November 5
Mahinda Ratnayake November 24
Christine Kent
December 18
Nedeljko Radovic
October 27
Tony Hay
November 10
Dung Van Vo
November 24
Keith Shepherd
December 27
Simon Biggs
October 27
Rob Kobec
November 10
Adam Lahm
November 25
Upali Liyanaratne
October 27
Jose Batres
November 10
Rajesh Prasad
November 25
The quarterly publication of People Magazine presents some space pressures when dealing with the volume of valued
employees celebrating service milestones. In some instances, it has not been possible to acknowledge every 10-45 year
service anniversary. Where the number of entries must be reduced to fit available page space, our policy is to limit the years of
service categories in favour of the longest. We apologise to employees who celebrated between 25 and 45 years of service in
July, August and September who, due to a proof reading error, were omitted from our last magazine. We are pleased to include
them on page 15.
PEOPLE
PAGE 14
SERVICE HONORS
45 YEARS
Uwe Lau
40 YEARS
September 10
Joseph Woodward September 27
Jack Baldassari
August 21
Robert Sewell
September 19
35 YEARS
David Hewlett
September 15
25 YEARS
Tony Sylvester
David Smith
Michael Ioannou
David Neale
Paul Williams
Peter Dubyna
Rob Brydon
John Quinn
July 05
July 05
July 29
August 08
August 08
August 08
August 08
August 11
Leslie Milkins
Mike Ellis
Elizabeth Cabi
Tom Bui
Michael Williams
Daniel McGee
Gerard Crameri
Lesley Desmond
August 15
August 17
August 22
August 24
September 02
September 05
September 05
September 13
July 05
July 05
July 06
July 06
July 06
July 13
Glen Campbell
Raymond Durling
Gordon Aitken
Wayne O’Brien
Raafat Tawadros
Paul Hutchinson
July 20
July 20
July 20
July 27
August 02
August 03
Trevor Williams
Gregory MacKey
Graham Allen
Peter Hughes
Warwick Moreland
Sharon Hart
September 15
September 19
September 19
September 19
September 19
September 20
25 YEARS
Reshat Hussein
Ian Butler
Theo Nikolettos
Van Bui
Stephen Gask
Mark Murray
John Diquinzio
Graham Whibley
Marek Krawczak
Gabriello Zollo
William Khuu
August 04
August 10
August 10
August 10
August 11
Lion gives way to
birdies and eagles
people
People is published by Corporate Affairs for
employees and retirees of GM Holden Ltd.
People is printed on chlorine-free 50% recycled paper.
CONTACTS
Executive Director – Engineering,
Tony Hyde will have more time
to work on his single figure golf
handicap following his decision
to retire after almost 40 years of
service to GM Holden at the end
of this month.
Throughout his career, Tony has
been involved in many of Holden’s
most respected programs. From
Torana and Gemini, through to the
first Commodore and the ground
breaking Monaro, Tony has been
instrumental in shaping automotive
history in Australia. Capping off his
career with VE and WM as the best
Editorial office
191 Salmon Street, Port Melbourne
Editor
Kate Arnold Graphic Words Pty Ltd
Corporate Affairs
Bill Grotz 03 9647 1395
Layout and Design
Wellcom Group Limited
Photography
Fineprint Productions
Simon Stanbury
A General Motors Company
programs ever coming out of Australia,
Tony has successfully guided and led
Engineering with passion and pride in
the product.
Tony’s career kicked off in July,
1968 as a Technical Report Writer in
Experimental Engineering at Holden.
Since then, he has enjoyed three
international assignments and various
leadership roles in the Engineering
arm of the organisation culminating in
his appointment to Executive Director,
Engineering and Design in 2000 and in
2002, his appointment to the HSV Board.
Best wishes Tony for a long and
happy retirement.
Print Management
Stream Solutions
PEOPLE
PAGE 15
GM Holden Retirees Club
President
Ian Samuel 03 5956 8431
Secretary
Leo Mahoney 03 9802 4121
Social Club contacts
David Huckel
Holden’s Sports and Social Club
(Victoria) 0421 047 374
Don McLeod
Holden Employees Social Club
(Elizabeth) 08 8282 8384
MOTORSPORT
Holden drivers dominate
Holden seized the 2007 V8 Supercar
Championship with Toll HSV Dealer
Team’s Garth Tander taking out a
thrilling final round at Phillip Island.
Garth’s victory gave his team a
second consecutive Teams Award
and Holden its 10th Manufacturers
Championship since the V8 formula
was introduced in 1993.
Adding more silverware to its already
impressive awards tally, VE Commodore
dominated in its debut racing season,
winning 25 of 37 individual races and
eight of 14 rounds.
Going into the Dunlop Grand Finale,
Garth trailed Ford rival Jamie Whincup
by a mere seven points and in a nail
biting finish the pair, following the
final’s first of three races, went into the
season’s last day all tied up.
Victory in Race 2 gave Garth a slim
seven point advantage heading into the
year’s last race.
The decider saw Garth, the Holden
Racing Team’s Todd Kelly, Jamie
Whincup and team-mate Craig Lowndes
all involved in a see-saw battle with
the potential for the result to go either
way, but with Garth surviving the
intense pressure to secure his maiden
championship by a mere two points.
Tander accrued enough points to win
the round, his fourth for the season, with
HRT’s Todd Kelly second.
HRT’s Mark Skaife celebrated his
200th championship start at Phillip
Island, joining retiring veteran John
Garth Tander does a victory ‘dance’ after taking out the V8 Supercar Championship at Phillip Island
Bowe, the late Peter Brock, Glenn Seton
and Dick Johnson as the only drivers to
have surpassed the mark.
Mark rounded out the season which
saw him surpass Peter Brock’s all-time
championship victory tally earlier in the
year at Eastern Creek with a competitive
fifth place finish.
“When I started out 20 years ago, I
never envisaged those sort of statistics,”
Mark said.
“200 is a nice milestone and it seems
that it’s taken no time at all to get there.
Garth Tander
inthepits
Like every driver,
winning the V8
Supercar Championship
has always been a
dream and goal, but
the reality of finally
achieving it hasn’t really
sunk in as yet.
Since winning
Bathurst seven years
ago, I’ve wanted to win
the title – tick another
box, and that’s why I
moved to the Toll HSV
Dealer Team.
In the three seasons
I have been here, it
“V8 racing being what it is, there’s
highlights and lowlights, but there’s
been some special race moments over
the journey. I guess 2007 has been a
memorable year, what with the 38 wins,
20 year and 200 round milestones.”
The Phillip Island weekend also
saw Holden secure championships
in another two categories, rising star
Tony D’Alberto winning the Fujitsu V8
Supercar ‘development’ series and
Perth’s Grant Johnson winning the
Yokohama V8 Ute Series.
Toll HSV Dealer Team driver and 2008 V8 Supercar Champion
has won two championships and to win
mine with them – for team manager Rob
Crawford, my engineer, Matt Nilsson,
and every single person involved behind
the scenes – is a great feeling.
This year’s result is true indication of
the calibre of the team, considering how
it was able to fight back from the lows
of Bathurst and Tasmania, where a few
mistakes handed our rivals the points
lead, and from qualifying at Phillip Island
where we dug ourselves out of the
biggest hole.
Our victory also clinched another
important title, the Manufacturers
Championship for Holden. For me
personally, that was a great thrill having
PEOPLE
PAGE 16
been given the opportunity to race
V8 Supercars with Holden and Garry
Rogers Motorsport in 1998.
It has been a big year for the Lion with
the racing debut of the VE Commodore,
its on-track success testament to the
hard work and development that went
on behind the scenes by everybody
at Holden, the Holden Racing Team,
Walkinshaw Performance and all
Holden’s V8 Supercar teams which
contributed to the program.
Asked by the press to describe in
one word my feelings when the title
was clinched was difficult, ‘unbelievable’
the first, ‘elation’ perhaps the most
appropriate.