A journey that began in the back of a pickup truck almost 30 years ago paused in the same field Thursday. Yet all the assembled passengers expressed confidence that the monumental hayride is far from finished.
     The 25th anniversary of Logan Aluminum was celebrated in a tent on what had been the W.W. White farm. The changes to that former field in the past three decades were much in evidence. The sounds of heavy equipment could be heard in the background. The parking lot which provides spaces for the vehicles of over 1,000 employees lay behind the guests. A portion of the multi-acre manufacturing building loomed large over the tent.
     Former Kentucky Supreme Court Justice William G. Fuqua told the story of how he, Anaconda official George Rapp and Jim Catlett of the Southern Kentucky Industrial Development Association rode in the back of a pickup truck through that same field while the decision was being made on the site for a proposed aluminum plant. Ivy Leaguer Rapp was 
wearing a business suit while seated on a bale of hay.
     Anaconda had wanted land with a stream running through it, but nearby Spa Lake and a transmission line from TVA's powerful Paradise Steam Plant made up for it, Fuqua said. Banker Bob Kirkpatrick's plan for getting options on adjoining property facilitated the arrangement.
     "Anaconda didn't ask for one penny of incentives. There was no stiumulus package. As a result, they had no allegiances to answer," Fuqua said.
     When Kentucky's most business-minded governor ever, John Y. Brown Jr., made what he called "the most important economic announcement of my administration," he was surrounded by Logan Countians in the state capitol.
     The two men who have provided the face of Logan Aluminum for much of its existence to date, Fred Mudge and Mike Harris, were principal speakers at the event. Their successor, Randy Schumaker, served as host and master of ceremonies. Other speakers included the presidents of Associate owners, Arco Aluminum President Pat Franc and Novelis North America President Jean Marc Germain; Logan Aluminum Chief Operating Officer Dan Minwell; Dave Adkisson, president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; and Cold Mill Team Leader John Morgan, who had the unique honor of representing all Logan Aluminum employees in the ceremony.
     Schumaker said, "Logan's success has not come from our hands alone but through the collective and ollaborative contributions of many." He cited as collaborators Logan's owners, many founders and early contributors, customers, suppliers, community and government officials, and team members. "None of these stakeholders is more or less important than the other. There is a mutual co-existence whereby each part is dependent on all of the other parts to be successful."
    He noted successes that include over a thousand employees, supplying about 40 percent of the market, and a "legacy built on an innovative way of working which is so productive it has been studied by Toyota, Kodak, DuPont, Procter & Gamble, the Wall Street Journal and many, many others."
    That philosphy is based on the principle that all resources are management resources. "When more than 1,000 employes are engaged in understanding and solving problems, we can-- and have demonstrated that we can-- overcome even the greatest obstacles," Schumaker said.
     The architect of the Logan Team Process, Mike Harris, who served first as human resources manager and then as president and CEO, explained how the process was created and how it works. He said the concept was created through a team which included the plant manager of the Aroc Aluminum plant before it became Logan Aluminum John Gatlin, Dick Denis, Chris Wright, Bob Beisecker of Anaconda, Paul Berlfein of Arco, and Harris himself. Consultant Charlie Krone worked with Harris and other three days a month for two years.
     Key elements were the Selection System (only three of each 100 who applied for the original work force were hired); the team based system which divided the plant into four operating units which were semi-autonomous as the Star Concept; a skill based pay and progression system ("up or out, not job bidding or seniority system"); ability to operate from principles rather than rules and regulations ("trying to make responsible business decisions at the lowest possible level of the organization")' and training for acquisition and application of skills.
     The results have been impressive. Harris cited an investment of $1 billion in Logan County, going into a market without a single customer and with zero market share, only to become the low cost producer in the world and to supply 40 percent of the total U.S. can market.
     "Some time in the early 1990s I did an article for the Coil Connection reflecting on a book called Built to Last. I made the case that Logan is built to last, and has and will continue to do so in the future," Mike Harris said.
     Fred Mudge, who was the first president of the corporate island known as Logan Aluminum, discussed the contributions of Vic Torasso, Karl Gdovka, Rapp, Fuqua, Harris, and the board of directors. Mudge said the board "deserves enormous credit for their unusual patience of Job, yet demanding expectations as we moved through the protracted learning curve process of melding state-of-the-art technologies with employees hired purposely without aluminum experience."
     Mudge said failures were offset by successes. He credited pass schedule reductions, online annealing, low employment turnover, the wetlands, Spa Lake improvements, power peak scheduling with TVA, and improved maintenance management procedures. He also emphasized the role of the RJ Corman Railroad Company, which he now leads as chairman of the board.
     John Morgan told his story of being a tobacco farmer and college dropout who first helped build the plant and began work there on Halloween day in 1983. He was a part of the first 10 rolls of aluminum ever produced at the plant, was thrilled when the Hot Mill ran 30 million pounds in October 1987, and now is a team leader in Cold Mill 3 while the Hot Mill was running 184 million pounds this April. He talked about "consistent, continuous improvement. We walk the talk." Morgan also discussed safety awareness emphasized by Minwell.
     "Employees at Logan are well compensated, but I think the benefits we received are even better," said Morgan, who has earned his bachelors and masters degrees while working at Logan with financial assistance from the plant.
     Arco President Pat Franc compared Logan Aluminum to Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey in the movie It's a Wonderful Life. "We have seen what Bedford Falls would have been without George Bailey. What would Logan County have been like without Logan Aluminum?" he asked rhetorically.
    Novelis President Jean Marc Germain added some levity when he observed with a sly grin, " Logan Aluminum is committed to be the best, and you are very close to it. There always can be improvement."
    Reading proclamations were Logan Judge-executive Logan Chick and State Representative Martha Jane King. Representing Congressman Ed Whitfield, Michael Pape presented Schumaker with a flag which had flown over the U.S. Capitol. King has long been involved in scheduling truck traffic at the plant, and Russellville Mayor Gene Zick, who was present, is a retired unit manager at Logan.
     After a meal, invited guests were offered a tour of the plant. In keeping with Logan Aluminum's emphasis on doing everything the right way, however, the guests first watched a video on safety. At Logan Aluminum, nothing is left to chance. Speakers predicted that such insistence on quality will lead to the plant's still being viable and a world leader in another 25 years.