DeWitt manufacturer, shuttle provider team up
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By Jennifer DeWitt | Friday, January 04, 2008 |
DeWITT, Iowa — Hoping to sharpen its competitive edge with the area work force, Guardian Industries will begin an employee shuttle — with assistance from River Bend Transit — to transport workers from Clinton to its glass manufacturing plant in DeWitt.
The new service, which begins Jan. 14, is the first employee shuttle project along the U.S. 30 corridor in this region for River Bend Transit, representatives said.
Guardian employees will be able to park their cars at two Clinton locations and then ride the River Bend bus to work. Park-and-ride locations have been established at Hy-Vee Food Store on South 4th Street and the Wal-Mart Supercenter on South 25th Street. The 15-passenger shuttle will run every 12 hours to match the shift schedule at Guardian. The shuttle can accommodate 30 workers initially.
The transit project is funded by a $30,000 Job Access Reverse Commute Program federal grant with a 50 percent match by Guardian, said Randy Zobrist, River Bend’s executive director. The $60,000 project has been approved to operate for one year by the Iowa Department of Transit Commissioners.
“Around here in the Quad-Cities, it’s tough to find good people,” said Doug Petersma, Guardian’s human resources manager. “You’re always looking for any edge you can to find good people and retain good people.”
Guardian manufactures glass products for residential and commercial applications. It employs 300 in DeWitt. Company leaders hope the shuttle will make them a more attractive choice among potential and existing employees.
With gas prices at a record high plus the cost of maintenance and insurance, he said “a company-sponsored work shuttle provides opportunity and choices on how an employee spends their money. And with us being in DeWitt, some people view us as a long ways away.”
The company and River Bend estimated that employees might save between $20 and $40 weekly by taking advantage of the park-and-ride shuttle.
In addition to employees who live in Clinton, Zobrist said the service could benefit workers in the Illinois communities of Morrison and Fulton. “They could drive in to Clinton and jump on the bus and reduce their commute times and expenses.”
He said the program is similar to one that River Bend runs between the Iowa Quad-Cities and Muscatine to transport workers to HNI Corp. “It was the success of that project that got Guardian Industries more interested in an employee shuttle,” he said, adding that the latest shuttle program has been in the works since June.
The HNI service, he said, began with about 35 to 40 riders in August 2006 and has grown to about 85 who ride from west Davenport to Muscatine. It serves HNI’s manufacturing and office employees, while Guardian’s is being offered initially only to its manufacturing workers, Zobrist said.
According to River Bend, the Guardian program will be free for employees for the first month. After that, they will be charged on a sliding scale with the company and the employees sharing costs depending on fuel costs. Guardian still will bear the majority of the costs.
Petersma described the program as a trial. “We’re assuming it will start slow but pick up as people see it is reliable.”
He said the shuttle project comes at a time when the DeWitt plant is undergoing a $40 million expansion, which is nearly complete. “We still need another 15 to 20 people to fully staff that,” he said, adding that the shuttle should help in recruitment.
Another added advantage will be that the shuttle will take some cars off the road and “benefits our region by improving air quality, reducing traffic congestion and improving highway safety,” Zobrist said.
Jennifer DeWitt can be contacted at (563) 383-2318 or jdewitt@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
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