Day Three:

We took a bullet train to the DaimlerChrysler plant in Stuttgart, Germany today. It was incredible timing given the news of the sale of Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management.

Forty-percent of the engines manufactured in Stuttgart are sent to North America. The plant manufactures international engine parts for a variety of automobiles. They can create hundreds of variations of different engines.

The plant employs 18,000 workers. From a labor perspective, there are numerous differences between the United States and Germany. The plant has two shifts, for example, and the night shift is completely voluntary with workers receiving a 20 percent pay increase for working the late shift. This is a huge difference from the United States. German manufacturers often send employees to trade school and pay for their education. About 85 percent of their employees come from these trade schools. Like most large manufacturers, DaimlerChrysler has its own trade school.

The German workforce is also quite "old." The average worker is 42. This is a very serious problem because they are struggling to attract young workers. This is due, in part, to the low birthrate. They have a special place designated in the factory for older workers to help them continue in the workforce. They are very proud to have had no layoffs since the 1940s, partially because of the voluntary approach to work.

There are also some differences with respect to union representation. The unions in Germany represent the entire workforce. They are very cooperative and work in parallel with the company's interests. Approximately 25 percent of the white collar workers are represented by a union and about 75 percent of the blue collar workforce is represented by the union.

A continuing theme we have witnessed is that there are very few women are in the workforce. The employees are asked to handle a number of jobs on rotation, including some manual, heavy labor. We only saw three women working in the plant during our tour.

DaimlerChrysler looks at "right-to-work states" when considering where to re-relocate in the United States. They feel that it is a very important component to consider when looking at expansion opportunities.

Most surprising is the fact that they don't use water at all in the plant. They use mineral oil instead to lubricate the engines. It's the same compound they have used since 1995. It requires a very elaborate vapor suppression system to prevent fires.

Many of the DaimlerChrysler representatives we met with today were unable to comment on the news and the pending deal. It was somewhat apparent, however, that the cultures of the two companies, Daimler and Chrysler, never fully blended.

We ended the day with an authentic dinner at a lovely restaurant called Wirtshaus in Frankfort. We had a traditional dinner of sauerkraut, sausage, pretzels, flatbread, asparagus and goulash. The delegates spent the dinner discussing the Chrysler news and the economic opportunities for our state. We were all incredibly impressed with the DaimlerChrysler plant.