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Starting Up Tilbury
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The following story appeared in the Sept/Oct 1994 issue of White Triangle News. Harry F. Krauss was an employee of the Hudson Motor engineering department and a long time contributor to WTN.
The Inside Story
by Harry F. Krauss
Hudson had factories outside of the U.S. at London, England and Tilbury, Ontario plus assembling distributors in South Africa, Australia, Denmark and several other locations. In connection with the plant at Tilbury, Ontario, I'll retell a story told to me by A. E. McGhee, an electrical engineer at Hudson Engineering and an employee of long seniority. I have corresponded with Mr. McGhee this summer and will be meeting him later on. When the Tilbury plant first started Hudson production, everything went wrong. They were in a general farming area and most of their employees were from a farming background.
Now, the average successful farmer is a pretty good mechanic. He has to be. And he stays on the farm, repairs his farm machinery and does his farming thing. The fellow who just "can't cut the mustard" is the one who dashes off to some factory and tries for the weekly pay check.
Tilbury requested that Detroit send some men with know-how quickly. McGhee was one of the 15 that were dispatched in three Hudsons. The Canadian border guards can be pretty sticky when it comes to an American earning a dollar in Canada. . .The writer knows. . . One Sunday when planning to go for a ride in Canada, I forgot that I had a radio testing meter in the trunk of my car. . ."Where are you going? And why are you doing radio repair work in Canada? We have radio repair men in Canada, you know." Then like a dumb bunny, I wised off and said, "I certainly hope so�I don't want to keep running over here to fix your radios. . .I've got enough Yankee customers to keep me busy." WHAM! Entry refused.. .Yankee go home.
So, here are 15 American workmen who tell the custom officers that they are going to Tilbury, Ontario to show the workers at the Hudson plant how to put a car together. You can imagine the reaction. They are sent to the "Holding Area" where they phone somebody pretty important at Hudson in Detroit. A few more harsh words. . . 'There isn't any one at Hudson Motor more important than a Customs Officer"�Okay, Sir. Now a call to the Tilbury plant. "We can't get past customs. The officer here says you know how to run the plant and you don't need any help. You had better call Detroit and then call us back."
They sit for two hours and then Tilbury called back. "Tell the customs officer that we are sending 800 Canadian workmen home and they will not be called back to work until we get those men to help us to get going." The customs officer asked "How long is this going to take?" At this point I have only the word of Mr. Fred Runghe, and I don't know how he found out but the plant manager said "As long as we need them and it's none of your business." The plant was run- ning the next day and McGhees' crew went their daily for two weeks.
But, back to the export Hudsons. When a country has no auto factory and still has to have automobiles, naturally they import them but they try to get as many natives employed as possible. Most countries put on a good show for their voters. They list the things that are to be done by local workmen. Two electrical items to be in- stalled. So, the cigarette lighter, dome light lens and bulb were put in a paper sack and marked
"ELECTRICAL" and duly in stalled by their workers.
The sack marked "CONVENIENCE ITEMS" held assist straps and arm rests for the doors. "EXTERIOR TRIM ITEMS" held a deck lid ornament and hood ornament. The "SAFETY" sack had a rubber pad for the brake pedal.
And some politician's nephew becomes Chief Import Assemblyman at an appropriate salary. And if it were my country, I would want to be certain that the work was being done correctly and would appoint an adequate staff of inspectors�my relatives, naturally.
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Posted by SamJ Thursday, January 24, 2008 (01:39:45)
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