Retooling Mobility Businesses with Voltava Executive Director of Operations Craig Leek

Welcome back to the mobility table brought to you by Gem.

I'm Bernard Swicky, VP of Mobility and Research at Gem and the Detroit Regional Partnership.

And I am Jeanine Gantt, Mobility Growth Officer for the Global Epicenter Mobility,

and we are really happy to have you here at the mobility table. This is really a table where

everyone is welcome to join and be a part of this revolution towards advanced mobility in the

corporate region, and it's really a global kind of thing because Detroit has always been the home

of automotive and manufacturing and all those great things associated with that. But this new

revolution is changing things a little bit, and we're seeing lots of transformation and transition

to something new. So we're super excited to have this table, and I'm happy to see you again, Bernard.

Good to be back, Jeanine. All right, and today we're going to be talking about a little bit of

some of the cool things that Gem does in terms of moving to other mobility sectors, helping these

Detroit region companies actually embrace the fact that we have cross flows to other mobility

sectors that we didn't in the time of traditional vehicles with traditional powertrains. This is

now an opportunity area, and we've got concrete examples of this happening in the region. So

it's very cool to be talking about that today. Yeah, well, it is cool. And one of the things that,

you know, we did when the Global Epicenter of Mobility was created as an initiative here in

Detroit was to say, how do we take all the amazing automotive assets that we have and look at how we

transition them to advanced mobility, right? I mean, because we talked about this before, I think,

in another episode, we talked about the fact that the automotive industry really created the middle

class in the United States, right? And it really created a tremendous opportunity for folks here

in Michigan and in the Detroit area. And the idea of Gem was to say, how do we continue to do that?

How do we move that idea forward so that we make sure that everyone has an opportunity to create

economic prosperity? And, you know, one of the big pieces of Detroit, I think when folks think

about Detroit is manufacturing, right? I mean, we've been manufacturing some of the major automobiles.

And heck, not just automotive. This town has gone through furniture, shipbuilding, you name it,

you know, sitting on top of salt mines, you know, so industry wide and sort of industry agnostic.

And I feel like right now with this transformation that's happening with electrification,

automation, you know, that is a once in a century, maybe opportunity to capitalize on, you know,

frankly, the way that I describe it is, can Detroit be to boating shipbuilding? What it has

been to automotive? Can Detroit be to the aviation sector? What it has been to automotive? You know,

and I know right off the top of the bat, we're never going to be, you know, the Detroit of 1960

something or 50 something where, you know, we had the base laboratories doing ground research all

the way up through manufacturing, that full vertical integration, you know, that's just not how the

world works, right? And so part of that is, what does that look like today? You know, what is today's

version of being home to such a fantastic industry? And what does it look like when we then go out

and start serving some of the other mobility sectors, you know, boating, you know, aviation,

all of those things come to mind, but they're there now as opportunities to such a greater

degree than they were before. Air, land, sea. Those are Taylor Swift lyrics, yes.

Are they really? Yes, there's a new one. I love it. I know, I just happened to know that.

I love that you know that. We always have random information and I appreciate that you know that,

right? Sometimes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But you know, as I think about how this ecosystem is

emerging, right? We think we've talked about this, you know, if you come to Detroit, it's so different

than it used to be, like so many different new players who are in this ecosystem with us now,

right? But we also have some that have been around for a while. I mean, you know, we're still the

home of Ford. We're still the home of General Motors. Stilantis still has a presence here,

as many of the other large automotive manufacturers as well. And then your tier one,

tier two suppliers are here as well. You know, a lot of the old folks in the names that we've

known for you, old folks, they probably wouldn't appreciate that I'm calling them old folks,

but you know, the old guard, as my mother would say, that have been around for a while.

And, you know, the question is really, you know, how do they take advantage of

this new rebirth? What's happening in Detroit? No, and Janine, you know, it's interesting,

one thing that you just said, I think was really important, you said we're still the home of Ford,

still the Ford of, you know, that still implies it's not a given anymore, right? And I feel like

for so much of our lives, we just thought Detroit was always going to be what it has been this whole

region, this whole state, frankly, you know, but now with the advent of this incredible Chinese

competition with the globalization of so many product platforms, more and more of the work in

this entire mobility sector is being done by global companies. And we cannot take that for granted

the same way that we used to. So, you know, as much as it kind of breaks my heart, but you using

that word still the home of actually is meaningful. You know, we're still the motor city, right? So,

we think it might be the electric motor. It might be the electric motor city or the mobility city.

You know, I read an article a couple weeks ago in cranes from Glenn Stevens, who was with Mish

Otto, and you know, you're talking about, you know, the competition and, you know, the idea is if we

don't look at how we really fully step into this space, we will be left behind, right? I mean,

we've got to transition. We've got to change. I think you'll still see, as we've seen, many of

the kind of traditional manufacturing and automotive and ice and those kind of things. But we've got

to, as a region, we have to change. We have to look at where those opportunities are. And that

includes our workforce and making sure that our workforce is ready and upskilled for these new

opportunities. That includes our supply chain and includes our manufacturers. So, I'm excited

because I know today we're going to be talking to Detroit Manufacturing Systems and I don't know

if you've had an opportunity, Benari, but I took a tour there. I have indeed. Isn't it the best?

It's fantastic. Like, when I went, I don't know, I kind of got goosebumps, frankly,

a couple of things because it is a plant that's in Detroit in the neighborhood. I mean, still in

the community of Detroit. And when I went into this space, I've just felt like that Detroit

grit. You know, we talk about Detroit grit and I felt that there. I felt the energy. I felt the

productivity. I felt community and family there, if you can imagine that at a at a manufacturing

plant, but I felt all those things when I was there. Yeah, no, no. And you're absolutely right.

It is a different vibe because over the course of my career, I've been to many a plant that's,

you know, in the middle of a field where everyone has to drive in from an hour away,

and it's kind of a moon base where we make things, right? And that's not what we're talking about

today. Yeah, we're talking about a company that's really in the community, you know, both being

served by and serving that community. And it's a lovely symbiotic thing. And it really tells,

I think, so many stories, not just a mobility story, but also a Detroit and a Detroit region

story that we're doing it this way. This is this is much more of an us, our way of taking that

approach. I don't know folks know, but you know, in Detroit, you know, we kind of have a saying,

like it's, you know, it's Detroit versus everybody, right? Like, we want people to come to Detroit,

we want people to build in Detroit, we want people to come and prosper in Detroit.

But there's a certain vibe that we have in Detroit, right? I mean, it does come from the

history of automotive. But as we transition, we want to maintain that, right? Because we think

that's uniquely who we are. And as I think about Detroit manufacturing systems, I'm so excited

to talk to them today. They're transitioning, right? I mean, so they still have the traditional

manufacturing piece to it. But I think they've been really smart in terms of how they are looking

at the opportunity that's in front of us. So, you know, I'm looking forward to talking to them.

And let me say this, because I think, you know, folks may wonder, well, how do you all have this

perspective? The work that we do through the Global Epicenter Mobility really touches on

so many different parts of the advanced mobility ecosystem, right? So from supply to research

and development through our testing and improving facilities that we're working with,

through innovation with our partners at Tech Town, through verified industrial properties.

So say a manufacturer wants to come into the region, we get your property, right? Like we

could actually identify property for you that's been vetted and so forth through our verified

industrial properties. Well, and to your point earlier about talent, the largest pillar is talent,

right? None of those things happen without the right people. Right. And that's that's that sort

of key lubricant, the glue that keeps it all together as the people. We do have talent. We do

have talent. It's the largest, yes, yes. And it's the largest pillar, right? Which I think

I always use as a highlight in terms of whatever else you're doing. It will not get off the ground

without the right people to make it happen. Absolutely. And wasn't there some statistic

about the number of engineers we have here in the region? Like we have one of the largest number

of engineers per capita. Indeed. Kind of like Copenhagen has bikes, we have engineers. We do,

we really do, right? We really do. So we have the people, right? We have the statistics that can

wow you in terms of number of engineers or number of significant trades. But we've also got the

sort of glue that keeps it happening in terms of the degree programs, the curriculum at the

educational institutions, or, you know, the professionals at those institutions who can

design something custom based on a new technology, a new trend, or just a new need from an individual

company, which, you know, for me, I take that as the definition of what we mean when we say ecosystem.

Right. It's not just what's there on paper. It's also the totality of it all sort of being held

together. You know, I would encourage folks to listen to the other episode we did around our

social network analysis, because it really does talk about an ecosystem in the stakeholders and

the nodes and how those things are connected together and how one informs the other, right?

So if a new technology is coming out, we need to then make sure that that information is being

shared with our educational institutions, right? So they can begin training and developing curriculum

so that the young folks who are coming out are ready for these new opportunities, right? So

that's a big deal as you think about retooling a region or an industry. How are the folks being

upskilled and trained and ready to take on these new jobs? Manufacturing plans are not like they

used to be. And we'll talk a little bit about that with our guests, but, you know, AI, automation,

all these new kind of technologies are coming in. And it's a pretty cool thing to be to see,

but we also need to make sure that people are comfortable and prepared and ready for these

opportunities. So again, I'm super excited about our guest who's going to be coming in. I believe

he is an expert. I like to say he's an expert in what he knows, but he's a really great guy to talk

to. Craig Leek, who was with Detroit Manufacturing Systems, is getting ready to join us. And, you

know, he's a big manufacturer in Detroit, and how they're taking advantage of this emerging

ecosystem and hopefully to be able to offer some advice for some of the smaller to medium-sized

manufacturers. I think that's a big thing. We work a lot with small and medium manufacturers,

as you know, right, through our partnership with University of Michigan and the Economic

Growth Institute. They're really doing some transitioning, but I think it's always great

for them to be able to hear from folks who are who are actually doing it. They have some great

clients like your big, you know, Fords and GMs and Stalances. No, DMS, you know, they really

embody so much of this transformation in one company. So I think it's going to be a great

conversation. Exactly. All right, let's bring on our friend, DMS. So we're here with our guest,

Craig Leek. Good morning. And, you know, we've been having a conversation this morning,

and I will say this, we've spent a good deal of the morning talking about traditional legacy

manufacturers and Detroit Manufacturing Systems, and then just had a conversation with Craig who

said, yeah, but wait, because why? What's happening? Well, we are in the midst of a transition and

acquisition as we are acquiring Android Industries, and it's going to double the size of who we become,

no longer in Detroit Manufacturing Systems, but we're going to go by the name of Voltava.

Oh, about Voltava. Voltava, the old LTVA. Yes. And I think what it does is it really

reflects where we're going and what our overall mission is going to end up beating. Okay. So it's

still manufacturing, still contract manufacturing for Big Three, but we'll be taking on additional

customers. We currently have a large footprint with Ford Motor Company as we do interior.

And you're still going to be taking, you're taking a tremendous leadership role there with

Ford. I'm going to be, I am. Okay, thank you. The executive director of operations

on the Ford side. Okay. I have a significant experience with Ford, 30 years with Ford Motor

Company in a lot of different roles, primarily design and operations. And I will definitely

take that relationship into consideration as we move forward. Fantastic. One of the things

that we talked about that was really important about your company is your base in Detroit. So

will you continue to see yourselves in Detroit? I'm going to be in Detroit. Okay. I'm going to be in

Detroit, inner city Detroit, artesian and schoolcraft, right in the neighborhood, as you all mentioned

earlier. And what we are going to do is we are going to expand the reach of our culture.

I'm not saying that Fultava is going to make sure that everyone assimilates, but what we've done

and what we bring with our energy and our culture overall is contagious. It really is. You're

exporting some of that Detroit vibe, you know, to the overall region. We have to, which we have

to. And it pays huge dividends at the end of the day. And me being a boomer, who's been in the

automotive for over 40 years, it was quite a transition for me. But what I think about when

I talk about our culture is, why hasn't it always been this way? You know, I'm from the old school

where it was just do the job. But once you let people know that they're seen

and that they're noticed for their performance and doing a good job, then they take pride in it.

Whether you're the person that's cleaning the offices or whether you're the person who

works in the office, you know. But as we go forward to and we talked about electrification,

we talk about AI and things like that, there's a lot of different things that are going to

factor into who we are and who we are going to become. When we think about electrification

specifically in retooling, as that's the theme, I'll give you an example. Two years ago,

we retooled from the Ford F-150, which we make the instrument panels for as well as the center

council. We retooled a all-new hybrid line that is going to build the Ford Lightning,

which is an all-electric Ford Lightning. And when we started that thing, we were so excited

because Ford said, build it. We need 35,000 of these a year. Let's make this happen. And as soon

as we started building it, they said, you know, this thing is really taken off. We're going to need

about 165,000 a year. So we expanded the line. We used AGVs, which are the next mode of how

manufacturing works because of its flexibility. And these are automated ground vehicles. So we're

talking about kind of a robotic way of delivering things to the supply line, which I love. And

this is a great example of a legacy Detroit company evolving, doing things in the world

class leading ways. And AGVs are not new, but how they are implemented for their flexibility,

that's what we're moving towards. And we were able to retool that line for volume

in just a matter of months. Instead of tearing the whole line up out of the concrete and

expanding it, we were able to do that just simply by pulling up the tape.

We got that going. And then we found that that 165,000 a year really wasn't able to materialize.

I was going to ask that question, like how, you know, because as we think about how things

have not materialized as perhaps we've projected, I mean, Bernard has done some research around,

you know, future mobilities and, you know, working with S&P Automotive and really coming

up with numbers in terms of what production would look like in between tariffs and, you know,

the tax credits gone away. A lot of component constraints as well. But it wasn't so much about

the tariffs either. You know, there's range anxiety and things like that as people are trying to

adopt electrification. So there were a lot of things working against that particular

model. But what it did is it taught us a lot about manufacturing and the flexibility around it and

how you retool and the types of things that you have to take into consideration as you do that.

Craig, I have to say I've kind of made peace with the fact that for the rest of my career,

I will be in a mixed world, right? Where we have, you know, one foot in the

selectrified world and one in the sort of traditional ice world. But I'm curious, you know,

all right, to make that work, we need flexibility and we need adaptability. But then that also

pays dividends because I know, for example, we talked about the fact that you're now building

boats, for example, right? And so because of that dual world flexibility, I'm curious,

does that flexibility then give you additional opportunities for things like new mobility

sectors getting away from, not getting away from, but adding to the cars, the sort of traditional

model lines that you've always had. Well, I'm glad you asked about that because

in addition to Voltava, what we've also done is what we call more of an innovation center

in our smaller company called Kinetic, K-I-N-E-T-Y-C.

Oh, I've seen your team out and about. I've seen your team out and about in the ecosystem,

hanging out. We love it. They're great people. We love it because what that does,

that helps us be somewhat of an incubator. And it also gives people who are trying to,

who are startups and need someone to build the things that they want to do.

It gives them a space. You mentioned the electric boats that we're doing with Voltaic.

We're doing a small ATV. We're going to build drones, or our building drones, I'm sorry.

We have a small neighborhood electric vehicle that we build, which is kind of cute. It's

like a golf cart, but it's, you know, for like the villages. I love that. Yeah, brilliant.

Land, sea and sky. And it's a really cool little vehicle like that. And all of this

really started with us getting into electrification with a company called Inductive,

where they ask us to build for them an inductive charging system. So it's sort of like the

inductive chargers that you put your phone on and it charges. Well, what this does is it does

commercial vehicles. So there's a ground unit that we're building, and then there's the unit

that actually goes on a vehicle. So as you ride over this particular charging port,

it's charging your vehicle every time, every stop that you make, for instance, airport shuttles,

or high lows and things like that in a commercial space. So you don't have to always plug it in

and charge it overnight. Every time it runs, it's charging. So let me ask you a question. I mean,

what was the mindset of, so Bruce Smith is the CEO found, not founder, but CEO of Detroit

Manufacturing Systems and owner. What's the mindset? I mean, I'm not asking, I know you're

not Bruce, but I mean, this idea of how do we, how do you get to the point where you're like,

yeah, let's open ourselves up to all these kind of new opportunities.

Well, you know, Bruce is a talent that comes along once in a lifetime. And

you mentioned earlier about being agnostic about what it is that we can do. Because if you think

about what industry really shows, there's an opportunity for everybody to do anything that

they want as long as they put in that type of investment. And Bruce said, you know,

let's diversify. We don't just have to do automotive. There's a lot of opportunities.

There's people out there that need things built. We're agnostic. We're a contract manufacturer.

You have a lawnmower that you think you want to start up that's remote control,

and you're working out of New Lab. Right. Right. Somebody's got to build it for you. Why don't you

let us do that? That's, that's kind of where kinetic, well, no, that is where kinetic comes in.

Well, and I've heard a lot of folks, founders that I've talked to, the startups that have come,

many that have come into Detroit from other places, have come in because we have the ability to

manufacture, right? So once you have your idea and you need someone that can manufacture,

that has the experience that Detroit is that place, because we talked about this, the assets that we

have. The ecosystem. Yeah. The ecosystem has the ability to, you know, to make that happen.

Well, where it also comes in as a factor is the design for manufacturability. I know what it is

that I want to build, but I don't know how to design it so that it can be built. We offer that as

well. It would be really nice if I knew exactly how to build this lawnmower or ATV. And then once

I start to build it, what opportunities do I have for volume? So as we do kinetic, kinetic will build

five, six thousand a year, if that's what you want. And then if you want something larger,

you bring it over to Voltava. We'll find a space for you. We'll build you five thousand a week

because we have that ability to scale to what it is that your requirements are.

So I know we've got to wrap up here soon. I'm sorry. And I love talking to you. I love talking to

you. Please come back. Please come back. But what excites you most? I mean, you said it yourself.

You're like, look, I've been in the industry for 40 years and my wife is like, are you retiring?

And you're like, you know, so what? Why not? What excites you about what's happening here?

How things grow and how we are able to help grow. We have a large mindset. So what excites me the

most is what's next? What can we do next? Yeah. And Craig, would you say, is there more potential

to open up a little bit now that things are electrified? You know, is there a greater chance

to do, you know, a boat or a drone or another type of vehicle than there would have been

when it was, you know, much more of a traditional engine transmission automotive world?

Yes. And that's where Connecticut comes in. Exactly. Because we said there's got to be

other things that we can do out there. And again, that whole diversification and assembly.

Yeah. No, and I think there are so many cool examples and lessons there for other Detroit

companies, right? That's the reason for this podcast is, you know, this entire region is an

ecosystem, but we are doing things that can be replicated. And I love having you as kind of

an example to follow for, you know, both the companies that have the potential to do it,

but also, you know, the educational institutions, that whole ecosystem can adapt based on these

really neat developments that you're talking about. Well, what we bring, and I won't belong,

logistics. It's not just enough to build it, but getting the parts in, shipping the parts out.

We were born out of a logistics company. We have engineers, as you mentioned, we have a lot of

engineers, industrial engineers, manufacturing engineers, electrical engineers, design engineers.

And then last but not least, as you mentioned too, we have labor. We have people that are

motivated to work. And when you put all of that together, that's the perfect formula.

And I think when you put all that together, that's the Detroit grit that we talked about.

So look, regardless of you changing the name, that the Detroit grit will stay.

Absolutely. That's our heart.

Yeah, that's your heart and bringing those values into new spaces. And we're so excited

that you stopped by to talk to us today. And I'm speaking for Bernard and myself,

that we want to come on a tour and see that electric boat that you're building,

which sounds pretty cool, and maybe put it out in the water sometime.

Yes, you would love it.

Yeah, thank you so much.

Obviously, thank you so much.

Great, thank you.

We're going to wrap up. This has been an amazing episode of the mobility table.

And we're looking forward to having some more guests join us.

And we look forward to seeing you all here on the next episode.

Thank you.

Retooling Mobility Businesses with Voltava Executive Director of Operations Craig Leek

About this episode

electrification

automation

vertical integration

mobility sectors

General Motors

Stellantis

tier one suppliers

tier two suppliers

advanced mobility ecosystem

Detroit Manufacturing Systems

Android Industries

Big Three

contract manufacturing

Ford Motor Company

retooling

Ford F150

instrument panels

Ford F-150 Lightning

AGVs

automated ground vehicles

range anxiety

ICE (internal combustion engine)

inductive charging system

electrified vehicles

logistics

design engineers

electrical engineers

manufacturing engineers

industrial engineers

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