plus 3, 'Future lies in growing the green economy' - Delaware Online

'Future lies in growing the green economy' - Delaware Online
Dollar Thrifty CEO steers company back on track - Tulsa World
Toyota president battles car crisis - Tulsa World
Automobiles : DOMESTIC AUTOS - Frederick News-Post

'Future lies in growing the green economy' - Delaware Online

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 12:43 AM PST

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The Chinese get it.

From President Hu Jintao's speech at the United Nations last fall, in which he spoke about reducing China's "carbon intensity," to Premier Wen Jiabao's role in December during the Copenhagen negotiations, we can see that they are out to win the clean energy race.

Today, the Chinese can see that other countries are on the brink of creating a brand new market, a global market for clean energy technologies, and they want to dominate that market.

We in the United States have that same opportunity. But we must act now and act boldly.

We possess a great asset: the American people. We are the most innovative, dynamic society the world has ever seen, and if we put our minds to it, we can lead the world in green technology.

Already, Delaware is leading the way.

Fisker Automotive will hire hundreds to build plug-in hybrids at the Boxwood Road GM plant. Bluewater Wind is leading the way in developing offshore windpower. Bluewater's Delaware Offshore Wind Park could be the first offshore wind farm in the United States. Newark's WhiteOptics LLC is developing a lighting product that will increase energy efficiency by 50 percent.

University of Delaware's alternative fuel programs, DuPont's seaweed-based fuel alternative and solar technology, and W.L. Gore's fuel cell technology are at the forefront of their fields. ILC Dover is developing advanced materials, while Newark's CMI Electric, a solar panel seller and installer, has a banner on its Web site that says "WE ARE HIRING -- APPLY HERE." We need more of those five words and we will, if we continue to focus our efforts toward a green economy.

We must invest in education to produce more STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) students, start a green bank, and create federal R+D programs like the ones that produced Cisco, Google and SAS.

Green technology is not just an environmental movement anymore; it is a wise financial investment and a linchpin in ultimately putting Americans back to work.

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Dollar Thrifty CEO steers company back on track - Tulsa World

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 12:43 AM PST

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The depths of a recession would seem an especially difficult time to pull your company back from the brink of bankruptcy, but Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group's leaders and employees have done just that.

Not only was 2009 a rough year for the U.S. economy, but DTAG's industry — travel — was among the hardest hit.

At times, CEO Scott Thompson probably felt like a movie action hero racing his car the opposite way on a crowded expressway. Competitors were flying by, with potential collisions avoided by just a whisker.

When Thompson and I talked last summer, he indicated he could see the exit sign for DTAG's road to recovery, but it was still a few miles away.

Last week, though, the Tulsa car-rental firm officially swerved around the last oncoming car and sped down the off ramp. The company's financial report — record profits for the fourth quarter and strong earnings for the year — was proof the company had successfully dodged disaster and now was headed in the right direction.

"I can honestly say that we're back," Thompson said last week during a personal interview.

That's good news for the 700 DTAG employees in Tulsa, who survived some deep layoffs only to pull together and save the company.

Thompson, who took the helm at DTAG in October 2008, was effusive in his praise of those workers. He also noted that he and chief financial officer Clifford Buster were the only two members added to the officer team during the turnaround. The rest remained company veterans.

"What's really great is that all of this was done by the people who were here," he said. "They are reaping the rewards of their work."

Thompson's energy and enthusiasm undoubtedly played a key role in motivating that team. Even when the company was in dire straits, I found the CEO to be unwavering in his optimism and determination.

Talking to the press, some CEOs retreat into a drone of corporate-speak, carefully weighing each word and not offering much detail beyond wanting to "maximize shareholder value."

Thompson, however, is an anomaly. He talks rapid-fire and laughs frequently, even joking that he was going to ignore his accounting department's pleas not to round DTAG's 2009 earnings of $99.4 million up to $100 million.

But make no mistake. Thompson, who founded and ran retailer Group 1 Automotive in Houston before moving to Tulsa, is responsible for forming, or at least approving, the strategies that got DTAG back on track.

Some of those accomplishments included diversifying its fleet, which previously was dependent on troubled Chrysler; lowering its operating costs; and significantly strengthening its balance sheet.

That last item included raising more than $19 million in a secondary equity offering last November. By then, DTAG already was picking up speed, and some investment analysts questioned Thompson about why he needed more cash.

"I'm a conservative guy, and I wanted to run a stronger balance sheet," he said. "I told them, 'I've been to the cliff once; I don't want to go there again.' "

Thompson sees 2010 as a transition year between DTAG's caution-flag laps and the unfettered fast track ahead. By 2011, he said, it's possible the company could begin growing employment.

That would be good news for Tulsa, which doesn't have a lot of big corporate headquarters operations anymore. DTAG's presence is estimated to have a $100 million impact on the local economy, so any growth in tax-paying staff would be welcome.

Thompson's engines already are revving just thinking about it.

"If we can make this much progress in a recession, I don't know what we could do in a good economy," he said.

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Toyota president battles car crisis - Tulsa World

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 12:36 AM PST

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TOKYO — Akio Toyoda's appointment as the president of Toyota last June was full of promise. The grandson of the automaker's founder, he was expected to boost morale for the rank and file and help steer the company through a brutal slump in the auto market.

Eight months later, he is being criticized as slow and indecisive as Toyota Motor Corp. grapples with the worst crisis in its 70-year history — global recalls ballooning to 8.5 million vehicles over four months.

Toyoda, 53, said Thursday that he plans to testify at a U.S. congressional hearing next week about the automaker's recalls in the United States.

The announcement came two days after he said he wouldn't and follows an onslaught of criticism from both the Western and Japanese media about his reluctance to go to Washington.

Toyoda will testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee next Wednesday.

"I am hoping our commitment to the United States and our customers will be understood," Toyoda told reporters. He said he intends to explain steps the company is taking to improve safety.

Toyoda was criticized for being absent as the recalls surfaced in the U.S. in October. He did not speak publicly on the crisis until January, when he was cornered by a Japanese TV crew at a conference in Davos, Switzerland.

No stranger to the U.S., Toyoda earned his business degree at Babson College in Massachusetts after studying at Japan's prestigious Keio University. He has headed Toyota's joint venture with General Motors Co., New United Motor Manufacturing, in Fremont, Calif., in the late 1990s.

Despite his experience in the U.S., Toyoda's English was jumbled and halting during his first press conference.

Josephine Cooper, Toyota's group vice president for public policy and government and industry affairs, said Toyoda may bring a translator when he testifies before Congress next week.

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Automobiles : DOMESTIC AUTOS - Frederick News-Post

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 12:36 AM PST

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