Viking Range Corporation: Pride of the Delta
CL: Greenwood-Based Appliance Giant Heats Up Economic Development
BY NELL LUTER FLOYD
The Clarion-Ledger
Considered as much of a status symbol as the biggest BMW, Lexus or Mercedes-Benz, Viking ranges have served up jobs and heated up economic development in Greenwood for nearly 20 years.
What started with one man's quest to build a restaurant-style stove for the home is now a multi-million company that employs 1,200 people in Greenwood, has an annual payroll of $36 million and draws thousands of visitors annually to the Delta.
"Any town in the state would love to have a Viking range," said Greenwood lawyer Donnie Brock, chairman of the Greenwood Leflore Industrial Board and the Greenwood-Leflore-Carroll Economic Development Foundation.
"The only other Mississippi industry I can think of that would compare in terms of economic impact on the city and county is Howard Industries in Laurel."
While Howard Industries produces power transformers, ballasts and personal computers, Viking Range Corp. has taken on the kitchen.
The Greenwood-based company manufactures kitchen appliances that include ranges, cooktops, wall ovens, microwave chambers, warming drawers, built-in refrigerator/freezers, wine cellars, trash compactors, food waste disposers, ventilation systems and outdoor gas grills.
Viking has three manufacturing plants and a distribution center in Greenwood and last month broke ground on a fourth plant, a $10 million manufacturing facility for dishwashers. The plant is expected to be completed in 2007 and add 200 jobs, Brock said.
But Viking is more than manufacturing plants.
The company's corporate headquarters takes up a block of renovated downtown buildings that include a training center where distributors, dealers, builders and designers can see for themselves how a range can melt chocolate chips on a paper plate - without burning the plate.
They can also can visit a kitchen filled with ranges made by competitors and compare their performance with Viking and get a look in a nearby model showroom of how Viking appliances pair with various styles of cabinets.
"Seventy-five percent of those distributors, dealers, builders and designers have never been to Mississippi before," said Dale Persons, Viking's vice president of public affairs. "All of a sudden, they think, 'Holy smokes! Look at these facilities. It's not what I expected from Mississippi.' We invited them in to teach them how to sell the products, but it also gives them a better feeling about Mississippi."
Consumers, however, don't have to spend big bucks to give a range a try.
Viking has its own cooking school where hands-on classes allow each participant to test drive a range and a retail store sells Viking's line of small appliances such as its mixers, blenders and toasters.
Kim Pillow of Greenwood and her daughter, Mary Dudley Pillow, 9, recently browsed at the retail store. "She's taken several classes," Kim Pillow said of her daughter, who's completed classes with themes such as Valentine's, Halloween, Mother's Day and Easter.
The Alluvian, the Viking-owned boutique hotel, provides an option for an overnight visit for cooking enthusiasts as well as the business traveler. The Alluvian, with its signature scent of sweet tea, has a spa and a restaurant, Giardina's.
Viking is not only the largest employer in Greenwood but a major player in the Delta, where in recent years plants have moved out of the country, Brock said
Greenwood has lost more than 2,000 jobs in the last few years since Baldwin Piano went bankrupt and quit making grand pianos, and since National Picture and Frame Co., Rocky Manufacturing and Irving Industries took their manufacturing to Mexico, he said.
"We lost so much industry it was mind-boggling, but the jobs we lost were low-paying and had very little benefits," Brock said. "The new jobs we're bringing in, including Viking, are all well-paying jobs with all the benefits you'd expect if you worked at General Motors."
Beth Tackett, Viking's corporate human resources manager, said an experienced operator at one of the plants averages $10 an hour, plus the company pays for the employee's medical, vision, prescription and dental and life insurance, and long-term disability.
Employees receive an annual bonus - "the low end would be $1,000" - based on the company's performance, she said.
Employees can participate in a 401(k) plan with a 100-percent match for the first 3 percent an employee contributes and a 50-percent match on the next 4 and 5 percent contributed.
Employees receive a discount on all Viking products and can have a payroll deduction for Viking products, Tackett said. Employees get 10 days of paid holidays - "that's something not always doable in manufacturing" - in addition to paid vacation, she said.
An educational assistance program pays tuition up front for employees who want to seek a bachelor's or master's degree.
Employee turnover is low, Tackett said, and interest in working at Viking is high.
"We get over 6,000 applications and resumes a year," she said.
The cooking products plant where steel is cut, shaped and assembled into products is a place where workers take pride in the product they turn out, said Sidney Vassar of Greenwood, an assembly worker for 13 years.
"It brings a lot of international exposure to our city and travelers and from that comes revenue and that's good," he said.
His brother, Judge Vassar of Greenwood, has been an assembly worker for almost five years and describes the benefits, the quality of the work and employee relations as "nice."
"What more can I ask for?" he said.
Like the Nissan plant near Canton, the cooking products plant follows a Japanese manufacturing model that keeps just enough parts on hand for assembly.
It's more cost-efficient than stockpiling parts in a warehouse, said Mike Easley, Viking cooking products plant manager.
It takes about three hours to turn out a range ready for Otha Montgomery, an assembly worker, to test.
Montgomery makes sure the gas burners work and gives each range a once over before it moves on to be packed for shipping.
Just as the Nissan plant has attracted suppliers to the Canton area, so has Viking lured suppliers to Greenwood, Brock said.
Ryerson Tull, which furnishes all the steel for Viking, is located in the industrial park to be close to Viking, Brock said. He said another company - a major Viking supplier - has visited Greenwood to scout locations.
Brock said having a company such as Viking helps attract additional business to Greenwood. Viking uded its corporate jet to bring executives from Raybestos, north of Indianapolis, Ind., to Greenwood, he said.
Vaughn L. Grisham, director of the George McLean Institute for Community Development at the University of Mississippi, said he's not formally studied Viking's impact on Greenwood, but he expects it's similar to what he's seen in more than 100 communities in 32 states, Canada and Russia, where he's focused on keys to economic development success.
"It's extraordinary results in ordinary places," he said.
Viking has been a catalyst, using cutting-edge technology and resources in the community - and just as important has continued to grow its business and invest in the area, he said.
"A lot of places stop and don't continue to reinvest in the community," he said. "That doesn't make sense from a business perspective. It seems so obvious."
BY NELL LUTER FLOYD
The Clarion-Ledger
Considered as much of a status symbol as the biggest BMW, Lexus or Mercedes-Benz, Viking ranges have served up jobs and heated up economic development in Greenwood for nearly 20 years.
What started with one man's quest to build a restaurant-style stove for the home is now a multi-million company that employs 1,200 people in Greenwood, has an annual payroll of $36 million and draws thousands of visitors annually to the Delta.
"Any town in the state would love to have a Viking range," said Greenwood lawyer Donnie Brock, chairman of the Greenwood Leflore Industrial Board and the Greenwood-Leflore-Carroll Economic Development Foundation.
"The only other Mississippi industry I can think of that would compare in terms of economic impact on the city and county is Howard Industries in Laurel."
While Howard Industries produces power transformers, ballasts and personal computers, Viking Range Corp. has taken on the kitchen.
The Greenwood-based company manufactures kitchen appliances that include ranges, cooktops, wall ovens, microwave chambers, warming drawers, built-in refrigerator/freezers, wine cellars, trash compactors, food waste disposers, ventilation systems and outdoor gas grills.
Viking has three manufacturing plants and a distribution center in Greenwood and last month broke ground on a fourth plant, a $10 million manufacturing facility for dishwashers. The plant is expected to be completed in 2007 and add 200 jobs, Brock said.
But Viking is more than manufacturing plants.
The company's corporate headquarters takes up a block of renovated downtown buildings that include a training center where distributors, dealers, builders and designers can see for themselves how a range can melt chocolate chips on a paper plate - without burning the plate.
They can also can visit a kitchen filled with ranges made by competitors and compare their performance with Viking and get a look in a nearby model showroom of how Viking appliances pair with various styles of cabinets.
"Seventy-five percent of those distributors, dealers, builders and designers have never been to Mississippi before," said Dale Persons, Viking's vice president of public affairs. "All of a sudden, they think, 'Holy smokes! Look at these facilities. It's not what I expected from Mississippi.' We invited them in to teach them how to sell the products, but it also gives them a better feeling about Mississippi."
Consumers, however, don't have to spend big bucks to give a range a try.
Viking has its own cooking school where hands-on classes allow each participant to test drive a range and a retail store sells Viking's line of small appliances such as its mixers, blenders and toasters.
Kim Pillow of Greenwood and her daughter, Mary Dudley Pillow, 9, recently browsed at the retail store. "She's taken several classes," Kim Pillow said of her daughter, who's completed classes with themes such as Valentine's, Halloween, Mother's Day and Easter.
The Alluvian, the Viking-owned boutique hotel, provides an option for an overnight visit for cooking enthusiasts as well as the business traveler. The Alluvian, with its signature scent of sweet tea, has a spa and a restaurant, Giardina's.
Viking is not only the largest employer in Greenwood but a major player in the Delta, where in recent years plants have moved out of the country, Brock said
Greenwood has lost more than 2,000 jobs in the last few years since Baldwin Piano went bankrupt and quit making grand pianos, and since National Picture and Frame Co., Rocky Manufacturing and Irving Industries took their manufacturing to Mexico, he said.
"We lost so much industry it was mind-boggling, but the jobs we lost were low-paying and had very little benefits," Brock said. "The new jobs we're bringing in, including Viking, are all well-paying jobs with all the benefits you'd expect if you worked at General Motors."
Beth Tackett, Viking's corporate human resources manager, said an experienced operator at one of the plants averages $10 an hour, plus the company pays for the employee's medical, vision, prescription and dental and life insurance, and long-term disability.
Employees receive an annual bonus - "the low end would be $1,000" - based on the company's performance, she said.
Employees can participate in a 401(k) plan with a 100-percent match for the first 3 percent an employee contributes and a 50-percent match on the next 4 and 5 percent contributed.
Employees receive a discount on all Viking products and can have a payroll deduction for Viking products, Tackett said. Employees get 10 days of paid holidays - "that's something not always doable in manufacturing" - in addition to paid vacation, she said.
An educational assistance program pays tuition up front for employees who want to seek a bachelor's or master's degree.
Employee turnover is low, Tackett said, and interest in working at Viking is high.
"We get over 6,000 applications and resumes a year," she said.
The cooking products plant where steel is cut, shaped and assembled into products is a place where workers take pride in the product they turn out, said Sidney Vassar of Greenwood, an assembly worker for 13 years.
"It brings a lot of international exposure to our city and travelers and from that comes revenue and that's good," he said.
His brother, Judge Vassar of Greenwood, has been an assembly worker for almost five years and describes the benefits, the quality of the work and employee relations as "nice."
"What more can I ask for?" he said.
Like the Nissan plant near Canton, the cooking products plant follows a Japanese manufacturing model that keeps just enough parts on hand for assembly.
It's more cost-efficient than stockpiling parts in a warehouse, said Mike Easley, Viking cooking products plant manager.
It takes about three hours to turn out a range ready for Otha Montgomery, an assembly worker, to test.
Montgomery makes sure the gas burners work and gives each range a once over before it moves on to be packed for shipping.
Just as the Nissan plant has attracted suppliers to the Canton area, so has Viking lured suppliers to Greenwood, Brock said.
Ryerson Tull, which furnishes all the steel for Viking, is located in the industrial park to be close to Viking, Brock said. He said another company - a major Viking supplier - has visited Greenwood to scout locations.
Brock said having a company such as Viking helps attract additional business to Greenwood. Viking uded its corporate jet to bring executives from Raybestos, north of Indianapolis, Ind., to Greenwood, he said.
Vaughn L. Grisham, director of the George McLean Institute for Community Development at the University of Mississippi, said he's not formally studied Viking's impact on Greenwood, but he expects it's similar to what he's seen in more than 100 communities in 32 states, Canada and Russia, where he's focused on keys to economic development success.
"It's extraordinary results in ordinary places," he said.
Viking has been a catalyst, using cutting-edge technology and resources in the community - and just as important has continued to grow its business and invest in the area, he said.
"A lot of places stop and don't continue to reinvest in the community," he said. "That doesn't make sense from a business perspective. It seems so obvious."
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