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An interview with WHMA's first chairman
Key players on WHMA's 1993 start-up team, (seated, left to right):
Fred Knaack; Mike Williams; Jamie Royce, Montello Products; and
Andy Larsen, C.A. Larsen and Associates. (Standing, left to right):
Maxwell Grant, Oak Hill Engineering; Loren Smith, Monona Wire Co.
(MWC); Tom Morris, Jr., T.M. Morris Mfg. Co.; and Bill Golden,
Leoni Wiring Systems.
Mike Williams, vice president of Unlimited Services, was the first chairman of the
Wiring Harness Manufacturers Association (1993-96), as well as one of its founders.
As a committee co-chair and lifetime board member, he continues to play an active role
in the association's growth and development. Here are his thoughts on WHMA's past,
present and future.
How did the Wiring Harness Manufacturing Association get started?
Fred Knaack, the publisher of Wiring Harness News, and I independently recognized the need for an association that focused on the issues and problems facing the wire
harness industry. Fred had contacted Andy Larsen, a trade association specialist, who had the
needed organizational skills to get things started. The three of us got together in 1993 and
set up a meeting with some friends in the harness industry. The meeting lasted about four hours and when it was over, we had our mission statement, a list of objectives, and money in the pot to make something happen.
What was one of the initial objectives?
One of our early objectives was to try and have some impact on the suppliers to our
industry. A common perception among harness manufacturers was that major suppliers
didn't see us as their customer. Rather they looked beyond us and saw our customers as
their ultimate customer, so we felt excluded. As an association we would have strength in
our numbers to begin networking with these suppliers, as well as each other, to develop
formal policies for material returns, exchanges, consolidating purchases, things like that.
In what ways is WHMA impacting the wire harness industry?
WHMA's Technical Guidelines Committee and IPC have been working together
for several years on the development of Acceptability Guidelines — a family of
standards that wire harness manufacturers ultimately will use to measure the quality
of their products. The first document covers manufacturing acceptability and inspection
requirements, and is due out this spring in time for WHMA's annual conference.
Another coup is the association's efforts to find a customized software package for
wire harness manufacturers that can handle financial functions as well as shop floor
control. Three promising candidates have surfaced, and because WHMA members
now represent a big enough market, software manufacturers have gotten excited
about finding a solution for our industry.
What do you get out of belonging to WHMA?
I get a feeling of confidence because I don't have to have all the answers myself.
We recently had a particularly vexing, technical problem with molding. One
phone call to Larry Chambly at USA Harness in Texas gave us the solution.
I feel like I have friends all over the country that I can call upon whenever the
need arises. At a Rotary club or Chamber of Commerce meeting everybody is
in a different business. At WHMA, all of the people are in my business, and that
makes the bonds that much tighter. Also, the networking opportunities have meant
a lot for my partners, several of whom are new to this industry. Because our
company is so active in the association, they've been able to jump in very quickly
and take advantage of relationships that otherwise would have taken them 20 years
to build.
In terms of the future, what role do you see WHMA playing?
I think WHMA is going to continue to be the social and the technical focal
point for small and medium-size harness companies all over the country, as
well as an effective place for suppliers to get a pulse on their market. All the
issues that are important to big businesses are important to small businesses.
We just don't have the financial resources to have a lot of in-house people do
these things for us. Through networking and the "best practices" seminars at
our annual conferences, we've been able to share experiences, problem solve
and learn more things than we ever could individually. I feel that WHMA,
with its membership now totaling well over 200 companies, will keep on
filling this corporate information role for all the harness companies in this size
range for a long, long time to come.
WHMA's
2001 Annual Conference
April 29-May 2
The Westin La Paloma Resort located in the Santa Catalina Mountains in
Tucson, Arizona
One of the high points each year for people in the wiring harness business is
WHMA's annual conference. This year the setting is picture perfect. The
Westin La Paloma Resort is nestled in the foothills of the Santa Catalina
Mountains in Tucson, Arizona. It boasts a 27-hole Jack Nicklaus signature
golf course; desert, canyon and mountain terrain; temperatures that hover
in the mid-80s, low humidity; and more sunshine than any other city in the
United States.
Here's a snapshot of some of the conference highlights:
What's new?
…Conference exhibitors present the latest and best technology in the industry.
Best Practices
…WHMA members share their experiences and expertise in building successful
companies. Said one attendee at last year's program: "It was great that these
harness houses were willing to open up about what they had to do to improve |
their operations. Their message hit home with a lot of us."
Preview of WHMA and IPC's Guidelines for
Acceptability of Wiring Harnesses
…Several years and a lot of hard work have gone into producing this first in
a series of documents — "Acceptance Requirements for Fabrication of
Cables and Wire Harness Assemblies." Attendees will be given a copy
of the finished product, prior to its release to the industry.
Industry speaker
…Richard Rubin, vice president Sales/Marketing and general manager
of Collectron International Management, Inc., provides an in-depth look at
what it takes to do business in Mexico. Later in the day, he will conduct a
plant tour of one the Mexican facilities that his company has helped set up.
Technology on display
…This comment by an OEM says it all: "The WHMA conference brings
together suppliers of components and equipment that are specific to this business.
You can go to the big trade shows and see these same suppliers, but they'll be
scattered among hundreds of other exhibitors. At the WHMA conference,
there's generally 60 or 70 suppliers, and you want to visit every booth because
each has something you are interested in seeing."
Fun stuff
…Bus trip to Old Tucson Studios — the real wild, wild west and backdrop
for many feature films and television series — plus dinner and a show at the
Grand Palace Saloon; a two-day golf outing amidst high desert terrain at the championship Jack Nicklaus signature course; and, of course, numerous"
time-outs" for attendees to kick back and just enjoy one another's company.
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