GREENFIELD — After 30 years in the community, one of Hancock County’s largest employers is eager to continue sharing joy with the society in which they operate, corporate officials said.
Last month, Keihin North America — a branch of a global transportation industry manufacturer — celebrated its 30-year anniversary, said Robb Farris, a human resources manager with the company. Originally starting mass production as Indiana Precision Technology, Inc. in 1989, the business’s Greenfield plant was its first facility in North America, later opening up locations in Ohio, North Carolina, and even Canada and Mexico, he said.
Partially owned by Honda, Keihin is an automotive supplier with a corporate headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. They specialize in the manufacture of engine management systems.
At the Greenfield plant, the business melts magnesium and aluminum, and they also conduct casting, machining and assembly operations; it is altogether unique to do all of that under one roof, Farris said.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryIn the past 30 years, Keihin has made a significant effort toward offering its time and resources to help support its hometown, Farris said. Keihin strives to be an active participant in community organizations and programs; company executives made generous contributions to the Hancock County public library and donated lands to the local fire department, Farris said.
They also maintain corporate sponsorships with United Way, Hancock Regional Hospital and the Kenneth Butler Memorial Soup Kitchen, Farris added. As a Japanese-owned manufacturer, Keihin proudly contributed support toward the Sister Cities, Greenfield’s international exchange program with Kakuda, Japan.
For the majority of the last 20 years, Keihin has been the largest employer in Hancock County, still topping the list today alongside Hancock Regional Hospital and Eli Lily Co., according to research by the Hancock Development Council.
As of summer 2018, the organization employed more than 800 workers at its Greenfield facility alone, Farris said.
Keihin fosters an encouraging work environment, Farris said. It seems like every week there’s a bake sale or fundraiser of some sort going on in the office aimed at helping out a fellow coworker in need, Farris said.
Part of that business philosophy is modeled after a Japanese work environment, said Michael Kepner, a senior manager at Greenfield’s Keihin production department.
“In their culture, it’s employment for life,” Kepner said. “You nurture the people and they grow with the company.”
Kepner said he often gets strange looks when he mentions how he’s worked with the same company for 26 years, but at Keihin, that’s not all that out of the ordinary, he said.
There are five “joys,” in the company’s philosophy, Kepner said. They seek joy to the customer, to the suppliers, to the shareholders, to society and themselves.
“We try to live through those five joys,” Kepner said. “And sometimes joy to society gets lost when you get through the financials and everything else. But it’s important to us. And you can see it in this small community.”
Keihin’s employees sport signature white-collared shirts in the office and factory; it’s the uniform of every employee regardless of their position or salary. Kepner said he appreciates the recognition he gets from citizens whenever workers attend community programs or projects.
“People know who we are, we stand out a little bit,” Kepner said with a grin. “You feel like the community really appreciates that too.”
“This is where we all live,” Farris added. “It’s our community.”
