TO SPARK THE WIDE WORLD

foreign hello overseas operator I'm calling the Champion spark plug company in Toledo Ohio Upton England Margaret Woods over 3000 miles away in Detroit Mary nopar works at the same job at an identical machine [Music] he's been with champion for three years [Music] good morning this is Champion Belgium speaking the production planned in Belgium and the plants in Australia New Zealand South Africa and Venezuela and Windsor Canada and develbus is champion and magnaflux both worldwide and baron drawn steel the ceramic plant in Detroit and Port industry Toledo all of this is the Champion spark plug company all of this and much much more [Music] to sparked the wide world this was the goal and hope of the two Stranahan brothers when they set up their small shop in this building in Toledo more than 60 years ago from those early days to the present a quest for excellence Champions International ignition and engine performance Conference held this year in Mexico City resided over by the director of Automotive Technical Services at this conference unique in the automotive industry the participants discussed topics which they themselves select which man hears what is said in his own language this conference draws presidents managing directors Chief Engineers from the world's major engine manufacturers oil and additive companies and of course the major manufacturers of ignition parts prominent topics for discussion exhaust emissions and the new rotary engines the Mazda built in Japan one of the very first production line cars to use the Revolutionary Wankel rotary engine no Pistons no rocker arms but twin rotors which use two spark plugs per chamber Champion Engineers began testing spark plugs for the rotary engine 10 years before the Mazda went into production result a new Champion spark plug type is approved by Mazda in Japan Champions vice president research and engineering our job is to come up with a spark plug that performs well under a variety of local driving conditions all over the world for Champions recommendation must be correct for owners in the United States Market and equally important to owners Driving In the Heat of South America the mountains of Mexico and the bitter cold of Northern Canada Around the Clock tests continue on all kinds of engines from lawn mowers and Outboards to multi-hundred horsepower plants of racing cars information gathered and evaluated to ensure the right design the right engineering specifications The Quest For Excellence begins here while engineering and Technical service groups in Belgium England and other locations solve specific local problems major worldwide research is conducted at headquarters in Toledo the largest most modern research and engineering center in the industry interested in statistics in this room designs for all Champion spark plugs over 450 production types and their component parts well over 5000 are maintained for Champion plants worldwide the production of a Champion spark plug begins at Baron drawn steel a champion subsidiary and supplier of tens of thousands of different Precision steel parts used by industry this Precision producer of Steel bars and coils must meet the demands of champion shell manufacture with steel drawn to critical tolerances and annealed precisely [Music] in five ceramic plants production of insulators begins with the delivery of Highly refined aluminum oxide the process in each worldwide location is identical grind the desired particle size spray dry and form in an isostatic press my name is Shirley green I've worked for Champion my husband's been working for Champion for three years I met my husband at Champion we had our romance at the machine we talked at work and pretty soon we began to see each other after work and it just grew then we got married I intend to stay with champion until I retire my husband plans on doing this thing that will be in about 25 years ended up in England and Chaffee I like to see the blanks turn into a it's a job that keeps me going all the time which is what I like I don't like to be idle hanging around [Music] I always try and do the best I can my name is I have worked in Champion three years I work at Rotary block tamper machine I have many friends working in Champion like my job because Champion is a very good Factory and they help me in all my studies I am starting mechanical technique at the polytechnical national and constant their jobs sheens standards of quality I like where I can get Champions because I found out that the conditions are very good the pay and the hours and the cleanliness of the place and safety being a married woman suits me I worked in a few places but not under the conditions awaken champion I'm here till I get pensioned off I hope [Music] on the field the champion team after hours activity in Toledo and Upton [Music] champion these two teams are the best of the league we have an art group several fine artists my name is Marilyn Willis I have learned to Champion five years on what is called final inspections it's the very last process to see if there's any scrap cut out or if there's anything wrong with them before they're packed and sent out inspections and tests designed to maintain high standards of spark plug and engine performance regardless of locations out here there's uh three inspectors and we're inspected so they're watching over us all the time I've worked in an office before but this beats it all money wise and everything combined I love it 17 of all Champion employees are concerned primarily with quality control to ensure that the 500 000 outstanding men Distributors jobbers and dealers who sell Champion spark plugs everywhere in the world receive products identical in performance and reliability result Champion spark plugs are specified as original equipment by more than 450 engine manufacturers throughout the world [Music] a product may be vastly superior but without imaginative advertising and sales promotion it may never become successful at corporate headquarters advertising campaigns and Merchandising programs are constantly being created to keep the name championed before the public a program that originates in the United States or England may also be used to Great advantage in Mexico or one of the other 155 marketing areas where Champion advertising appears but wherever it originates it is designed for one purpose only to support the champion marketing teams wherever they may be [Music] specialists champions [Music] the champion racing program a proven winner here's Champions coordinator of racing racing provides an interesting and exciting way to prove performance of a spark plug win more than 34 Indianapolis 500s and an impressive number of world drivers championships as we have in even the most severe Skeptics are convinced wherever the racing fraternity gathers to put their product and reputations on the line You'll Find champion [Music] fastest spark plugs in the world the blue flame sponsored by the natural gas industry in one year alone Champion equipped Vehicles won more than 25 National and World Championships [Music] but Champion is much more than manufacturing advertising and marketing worldwide as its people are members of many communities so too is the company itself engaged in a variety of Civic and community activities within the United States alone Champion gives financial support to more than 200 educational Civic and charitable organizations this building which houses Toledo's Community Services was made possible by champion the time and talents of champion people are available to youth organizations such as the scouts and Junior Achievement and to teach the unskilled create programs for the underprivileged this Auditorium also made possible by Champion makes the Arts more accessible to the entire Community [Music] Champions tuition Aid programs make continuing education possible for its employees and for their children through the National Merit Scholarship program foreign each year eight famous race drivers members of Champions highway safety team whose main assignment for the company is to speak to high school students about safe driving this continuing Public Service program of Champions has won the Grateful acknowledgment of parents law enforcement agencies and the editorial support of more than 50 of America's leading newspapers [Music] [Applause] safety in another sense magnaflux Champion subsidiary and worldwide leader in non-destructive testing systems measures steel for strength and durability and checks heavy construction welds and buildings such as Chicago's 100-story John Hancock building and the Sears robot building frames of giant jetliners and jet engines wherever human life depends on structural safety you'll find magnaplex world leader in non-destructive testing the Devilbiss company another champion subsidiary is an international leader in advances in spray painting technology both liquid and dry powder processes the velbis is also a leading worldwide manufacturer of medical equipment such as the ultrasonic Doppler and products used in the treatment of respiratory diseases [Music] the sound is the heartbeat of an unborn 10 to 12 week old child monitored by the ultrasonic Doppler also used to locate blood flow problems in arteries and veins de vilbus a leading manufacturer of medical equipment and spray paint technology Paints the big ones and champions Sparks them [Music] [Applause] [Music] the sky over Toledo is no different from the sky over any other industrial city today one of the major problems facing peoples everywhere is that of air pollution one of the most important topics discussed at the international ignition conference in Mexico City Champions Automotive Technical Services Department in collaboration with industry leaders has long known that engines overdue for tune-up and or improper maintenance can increase unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide emissions by as much as 200 percent or more a special public relations program was released to make motorists aware of this information on the assembly line gap setting is important but in an engine it is critical loss of engine power economy and unwanted emissions may result under the direction of the technical services department 14 mobile service Laboratories each staffed by a regional engineer bring the latest maintenance information and tune-up techniques to Automotive technicians throughout the United States nearly 60 000 mechanics a year attend Champions cleaner air clinics by updating the knowledge of the man who Services cars cleaner air clinics are a positive step forward in the reduction of air pollution Champions Technical Services training schools are located in Toledo Santa Ana California Windsor Canada Mexico City feltham England Yokohama Japan and Brussels Belgium these classes are available without charge through the entire automotive service industry another Aid in helping Automotive technicians keep Pace with the latest ignition information from engine design to Federal requirements to spark the wide world that was the objective of the Stranahan Brothers today a spark plug made in Toledo or any other Champion Factory in the world will fire any engine anywhere in the world [Music] Champion has grown from one small plant and 24 employees to a multinational firm the importance of the individual has never been lost it remains a company where people are accessible and where progress is made on a person-to-person basis the people who make up the champion family may have hundreds of different skills but their success lies in sharing a single objective excellence this is another employee his job the highest level company decisions immediate and far-reaching he is Robert a Stranahan Jr president and chairman of the board there is a great deal of satisfaction in providing jobs and opportunities for our many Champion people and in strengthening the world economy through the coordinated efforts of a great many talented people we have managed to grow and prosper year after year and meet the exciting challenge of competition in World Market with very vital and necessary products in Europe we see the two-car family and in Japan great and continuing industrial opportunity in Central and South America we have consistently improving economy and further along the vast potential of Asian Africa here in the United States of course the demand for spark plugs in various markets particularly marine and recreational has shown steady growth year after year worldwide there are over 240 million registered cars trucks and buses ten years ago this represented one car for every 30 people today worldwide there is one car for every 20 people these expanding World Markets are a continuing Challenge and opportunity and all of our people in the developers company the magnafus corporation and baron drawn Steel stand ready to meet this challenge continue the growth of champion and to spark the wide world with Dependable quality products [Applause] [Music] foreign foreign