By Johanna Knapschaefer, Contributing Writer

Casey Long has always had a fascination with computers and factories.

In August 1991, after earning associate degrees at a technical school in computer engineering and instrumentation, Long knew he wanted to use his technical skills on the job. When he saw an ad for a job with Advanced Technology Services (ATS), a privately held Peoria, Ill.-based company that trains skilled technicians in factory equipment maintenance, he applied and soon landed a job as a computer technician servicing a General Electric facility in his hometown of Wilmington, N.C.

"What really attracted me to ATS was the ability to work for a company that had IT focused in a factory - not just to work in some office complex," he said.

Today Long works as a facility and maintenance manager at Eaton Corp.'s Fayetteville, N.C.-based electrical-products division, a 700-employee facility with a $150-million-a-year output. Although he is an employee of ATS, he reports to work daily at Eaton Corp.'s Fayetteville plant, a manufacturer of leading electrical product brands - including Cutler-Hammer, Durant and Westinghouse - that relies on ATS as an on-site outsourcer for its production equipment machinery maintenance.

Similar to other manufacturers, Eaton Corp., an $8.1 billion diversified industrial manufacturer, could not find enough workers skilled in advanced technology to meet its factory maintenance needs. Unlike in the past, when factories relied largely on unskilled labor, automated factories today require employees with a wide range of high-technology skills to manage the entire manufacturing process from design and production to inventory management, delivery and customer service.

Eaton solved its skilled worker shortage by outsourcing its equipment maintenance with ATS. "Now we have a pool of specialized skills to draw on for projects and work needing to be done," said Steve Brooks, Eaton Electric's human resources manager. "The (ATS) pool of talent is much bigger than any one location could afford."

A white paper published last April by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM); the Manufacturing Institute, NAM's educational arm; and Deloitte & Touche predicts the need for 10 million new skilled workers by 2020, based on the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation of skilled workers. Such a shortage of trained personnel could undercut manufacturing competitiveness and weaken the nation's economy, it said. In addition, the report notes that the loss of more than two million manufacturing jobs during the recent recession and a slow recovery "masks a looming shortage of highly skilled, technically competent employees."

A 2001 NAM study of workforce issues, cited in the white paper, states that more than 80 percent of the survey manufacturers reported a "moderate to serious" shortage of qualified job applicants - a situation that imperils their competitiveness because it constrains their ability to meet or increase their output

To counter this trend, ATS recruits and trains people skilled in factory production equipment maintenance. Its 1,200 employees include workers trained as calibration experts, maintenance professionals, electricians, electronic technicians, mechanical technicians and technical support staff who work as onsite outsourcers for Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies, including GM, Ford and Boeing. ATS operates in more than 40 states, supporting the largest concentration of companies east of the Mississippi in the Midwest and Southwest.

"If you are making 100 widgets an hour, we figure out how you can make 110 or 120 widgets per hour by doing proactive versus reactive maintenance," Owens said.

Demand for its services has fueled corporate revenue growth of 20 percent annually since the company's founding nearly two decades ago. "This year we are posting a record performance fueled by interest in factory maintenance product," Owens said. "Suddenly people are becoming more comfortable with outsourcing their maintenance."

"People often look at (factory) maintenance as a cost center, but we look at how you can use your maintenance operation to increase the capacity of your plant or equipment to increase your throughput," Owens said. Small incremental improvements implemented in manufacturing plants across an entire operation can reap tremendous benefit, he noted.

ATS sets an annual cost reduction goal for customers who pay a fixed annual fee based on time, material and manpower estimates. If the goal is met, both sides split the savings; if not, ATS promises to cover the difference.

Eaton reported that ATS oversees the entire facilities management process at six of its plants in the Carolinas and Tennessee and has demonstrated measurable success in reliability, uptime and productivity, which in turn has helped the company provide better service and shorter lead times to its customers.

Brent Emmons, plant manager for Eaton Corp.'s electrical division, said that contracting with a company such as ATS that specializes in maintenance allows continuous improvement that the host facility might otherwise not be able to afford. Plus, he said, ATS helped shift the focus from reactive emergency repairs to preventive maintenance. The arrangement also frees the company to focus on manufacturing of its products rather than maintenance of its facilities and equipment, he said.

The number-one challenge for ATS is finding talented people to sustain future growth and fill its growing demand for skilled workers. Since it is difficult to find good people, Owens said the company prefers to grow its pool of talent by attracting students with technical talent at high schools, technical schools and junior colleges for skilled trade positions. ATS works with high school guidance counselors and parents to get students interested in manufacturing maintenance and sponsors their college education.

"Hiring young people like Casey who are capable and have the raw material has been a key ingredient to our success," Owens said.

And while ATS does not lock its trainees into coming back to work for the company, Owens said it tries to be the workplace of choice so they will return. In late September ATS had 100 job openings and was receiving 1,000 resumes per week.

The formation of ATS grew out of an internal technical support group within Caterpillar Inc. in the late 1970s, Owens recalls. It was formed as an extension of Caterpillar's maintenance operation to support the new age of automation. In 1985 the group created a business plan for Caterpillar management and proposed a business that could support manufacturing companies around the country, in addition to Caterpillar.

"Caterpillar Venture Capital thought it was a great idea and funded the venture," he said. In 1985 30 people left Caterpillar to form ATS.

In his 13 years as an ATS employee, Long has earned 15 industry certifications and expects to earn a bachelor's degree in business management in 2005. He has worked in about 25 manufacturing companies, troubleshooting technical problems with factory production equipment - problems that slow overall productivity.

In addition to honing his technical skills, Long has received training in "soft skills" - the business of dealing with customers.

"Our management program tries to prepare you for everything you might see in the factory and help you understand the folks you're trying to manage," he said. "You can fix and troubleshoot technical problems as well as handle interpersonal skills from conflict management to business skills such as financials. Long claims learning the financial aspects of business and manufacturing were a challenge for him. "We do complete profit and loss statements at our site," he said. "It's like managing your own checkbook; millions flow in and flow out."

Since ATS is not a brick-and-mortar company, it relies on skilled employees to help with start-up management at customer's manufacturing plants. While working as a start-up manager for five years, Long traveled coast to coast throughout the United States. In that position, he moved into the vicinity of the manufacturing plant he was serving for three or four months, hired local people to assist with maintenance and implemented ATS operational processes.

Later he took a job as a site manager for GE's IT division for 18 months before being named regional territory account manager in North and South Carolina. Three years ago he ceased roaming the Carolinas to become a facility maintenance manager at Eaton Electric, a job that allowed him to settle down and get married.

Aside from his passion for computers and factories, Long said he is happy with ATS' small-company philosophy based on people.

"I'm a people person, and working with people is what I like best about my job," he said.