In partnerships there are two types of partners:

1.    General partners are those who have an obligation of strict liability to third parties incurred by the Partnership. General partners may have a joint liability or a joint and several liabilities depending upon circumstances. The liability of limited partners is limited to their investment in the partnership.

2.    A silent partner is one who still shares in the profits and losses of the business, but who is uninvolved in its management, and/or whose association with the business is not publicly known.

One of my favourites subjects is on co-sojourners.

In the context of a highway, your co-sojourners can be other cars right there and then on that same highway with you.

But it could also be the person sitting in the same vehicle with you as you cruise down the highway of life.

Some of these co-sojourners come and go. Your paths cross for a fleeting moment in eternity, and then you continue on your separate journeys.
For example, the bus ride I took in China where I had a prostitute for a fellow passenger for 3 hours.

This can be likened to two different roads intersecting only at that one point.

Many times, you don’t choose your co-sojourners. But sometimes, you get the luxury of consciously choosing co-sojourners to ride with you on your highway of life.
Today I want to muse about this conscious choice, about choosing your co-sojourner.

Sometime back, I wanted to embark on a new business venture and I was seriously contemplating entering into a partnership with some people whom I guess I did not know very well.

I was about to choose these people to be my co-sojourners for a significant part of my journey on my highway of life.

As I went about doing my business and talking to potential partners and customers about supporting me in this new venture, some of the comments I received were like these :

“Huh? Sounds like a great business but why partner with them?”

“Be very careful of these people”

“I’d support you anytime Nic, but are you sure you wanna partner with them?”

“I know you Nic, and these people do not hold the same values with you”

These comments obviously made me reconsider and reflect on my new business partnership and eventually I decided not to go ahead with the business.

The last comment about values really struck me about business partnerships and choosing your co-sojourners.

If say you are a person of integrity, would you consciously choose someone who is sorely lacking in integrity to be your passenger in a 20-hours car journey?

Or to put it simpler, if you do not appreciate heavy metal music, would you sit in the same car with someone who insists on blasting heavy metal music for 20 hours?

If you think about it, we do choose our co-sojourners based on our perception of their values, that their values should be at least acceptable to us if not close to or same as our own.

Similarly, when you choose a life or business partner, this becomes even all the more important.

For these people will end up as very significant co-sojourners who will ride with you for a good part of your journey down the highway of life.

Come to think of it, I have ended my business partnerships prematurely before, just because of this.

I guess I have to learn to be even wiser by not starting business partnerships when values are obviously not the same?

What about you?

Master Precision Global will locate their new Southeastern manufacturing and distribution operations in the Tyger River Campus’ Accelerated Business Center, investing $7.25 million in this new operation to create 120 new jobs for the county. The 42,000 square feet operation will manufacture plastic/electronic assemblies, injection mold tooling and lighting innovations. This short term agreement will allow them to set up  their manufacturing line, train their employees and build their business base while they build or re-fit a facility.

Spartanburg County offers us the absolute best environment to be successful in South Carolina. Our goal is to make this a win-win for everyone. MP Global can grow and diversify our business while having a positive impact on the economics of the area. Setting up initially at the Tyger River Campus is a strategically powerful step for our organization. The available facility allows us to get MP Global operations up and running efficiently, grow our business, and train our workforce – all at the same time. Tyger River campus was a deciding factor in choosing Spartanburg County. --Bob Bronsink, Southeast Business Unit Manager of MP Global.

 MP Global is a medium-size company with a global scope of business. They have a broad portfolio of services and the proven capability to take product from concept through manufacturing and distribution. Currently MP Global has business activities in China, Mexico, and Michigan. For more information, go to http://www.masterprecision.com or contact Bob Bronsink, Southeast Business Unit Manager, (616) 754-5483, sales at masterprecision.com.

There are several individuals we need to thank who have lent us tremendous support during the planning phase of this project: Carter Smith, Executive Vice President of the Economic Futures Group at the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Mike Forrester, Director of Economic Development at Spartanburg Community College, and the S.C. Department of Commerce. These gentlemen and their teams have succeeded at piecing together a package of financial incentives that are of tremendous value to us and go a long way toward contributing to both our decision to come to South Carolina, specifically Spartanburg County, and our planned success of the project. We congratulate them for all of their efforts. -- Patrick Kinstle, Chief Financial Officer of MP Global

The Tyger River Campus Accelerated Business Center was a deciding factor in choosing Spartanburg County. They have business activities in China, Mexico and in Michigan. Funding from the Spartanburg County Council for the renovation of the old One Price Clothing building made possible the location of Master Precision Global in Spartanburg county. Read more at http://www.wspa.com/midatlantic/spa/news.apx.-content-articles-SPA-2008-03-19-0017.html

Shelly Banjo of the WSJ offers a nice piece on choosing partners for your new business. It is something many of us go through (I am just finalizing terms with a partner in my new venture). This article doesn't answer all the questions and there are a million permutations, but it has some solids. Think Gates-Ballmer, Brin-Page, Cuban-Wagner, Hewlett-Packard, Yang-Filo, etc.

Sign an Agreement
Once the decision is made to start a business together, it's vital to create a partnership agreement with help from a lawyer and an accountant. "Any partnership that operates without a written agreement is simply playing Russian roulette," says Leslie D. Corwin, chairman of the litigation business disputes group at international law firm Greenberg Traurig, based in Miami.

Shane's research (which was highlighted here) shows that firms founded by partners have higher rates of survivorship (meaning success), so having a partner appears to bring benefits. Moreover, there are a lot of difficult times during the launch of a new firm and having someone else battling by your side is a good thing.

Scott Abbey, instructor from Duke Energy, evaluates the RPT 213 class on Standardized Tasks: 
• taking, counting, & recording surveys
• use of Alpha and Beta Gamma Smear Counters
• posting & Radiation Control Zone (RCZ) construction
• control & storage of radioactive materials
• monitoring and coaching workers entering/exiting RCA/RCZ.

Duke Energy and Spartanburg Community College (SCC) have started a training program to qualify Radiation Protection Technicians. The RP Technician Program is a two year program consisting of 2 semesters of general education courses taught by SCC faculty, followed by 3 semesters of radiation protection courses taught by veteran Duke Energy INPO (Institute of Nuclear Power Operations) certified faculty. This program is accredited through SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) for the SCC courses, and through INPO for Duke Energy.

The RPT program is the flagship of the new Radiation Protection Department, which is a partnership between Duke Energy and SCC. Dr. Chipley Bennett is the RPT Department Head, and Dr. Larry McKenzie is the primary faculty liaison with Duke Energy.  Students earn an Associates Degree in Occupational Technology (AOT).

During the first internship the students work in an “assist” capacity on 5 basic tasks common across the Duke nuclear fleet. The second internship provides the students the opportunity to “perform” these tasks with the expectation that upon graduation they will be qualified as Junior Radiation Protection Technicians.

The current lab will be used until a new facility is built to house this program at the Cherokee campus at Gaffney.

Please contact the following for any questions regarding the SCC Qualification facility:
Ed Fritz, CNS Tech Training Mgr.  803-831-3260
Gary Hamilton. CNS Training Mgr.  803-831-3187
Henry Nicholson, CNS Sciences Training Supervisor  803-831-3478
Dr. Larry McKenzie, CNS RP Initial Training Instructor  803-831-3896

Please contact the following for any questions regarding SCC or the AOT RPT:
Dr. Chipley Bennett, SCC Science Department Head  864-592-4741
Dr. Joe Sidlowski, SCC Dean of Instruction  864-592-4171

Partners in the Upstate Alliance are Tri-County Technical College, Greenville Technical College, Piedmont Technical College, Spartanburg Community College, and now York Technical College. AdvanceSC funding comes from Duke Energy, which donates 50% of its profits on sales of power. The grants support economic development through training programs in the technical colleges, research and development of solutions in colleges and universities, and workforce preparation programs for high school students.

In the last three years, AdvanceSC has made $31 million available for local helping agencies, educational institutions and businesses.

Paul Clay of T.O.T.A.L. Ministries shared how AdvanceSC had allowed the ministry to reach 20% more people with heating assistance, individuals who have financial challenges due to illness, layoffs or disasters. Mandy Orzechowski presented slides showing Anderson Career and Technology students building engineering projects and working with robots. Oconee County was able to attract Borg-Warner TorqTransfer Systems to with grant money for the logistics of moving the company that will bring more than 90 new jobs to the county over the next two to three years.

The SC Technical College System in the Upstate is gearing up to teach a comprehensive curricululm in Fall 2008 called Tech Ready SC. Based on Mechatronics, a system of modular components that allow students to learn mechanical, electrical and robotics processes for advanced manufacturing, the curriculum is designed from actual job analyses. Since all the colleges involved will use the same curriculum, trained workers in the Upstate will be ready when the new high tech plants are finished, like Borg-Warner in Oconee County, and LSP, Inc. in Union County.

In addition, summer camp programs are planned for middle school and high school students to work with robots at the technical colleges for first hand experiences with engineering. Last summer 227 students attended these camps, which are designed to encourage students to prepare for high-paying jobs in advanced manufacturing plants that are efficient and competitive in the world market. The camps teach problem-solving and creative thinking as well as practical processes.

AdvanceSC, thanks a million!

Ray White, General Manager, EchoStar Communications Corporation

SCC’s Accelerated Business Center is designed to provide space for new or existing companies in Spartanburg County to:

• house temporary start-up systems
• jump start an expansion or relocation
• develop new products or processes
• train new or existing employees

Echostar, for example, tested 1300 people for pre-employment training while using part of the Tyger River campus as office and human resource. They were able to interact and observe people in classes who were committed enough to complete two weeks training without a promise of employment. Once the EchoStar location was completed, the employees were trained and ready to start working productively.

The Accelerated Business Center provides over 360,000 square feet of warehouse space and approximately 30,000 square feet of office space on highway 290 in Duncan, about a mile and a half from I-85 south of Spartanburg. Spartanburg County Council approved an appropriation of $1.0 million for capital improvements needed to enhance the accelerated business center. These renovations are scheduled to begin by the end of October to create flexible office space and academic classrooms. Over 600 students are currently attending classes. ReadySC, formerly the Center for Accelerated Technology Training (CATT), and the Work Investment Board (WIB) are points of contact for the Business Center.

“The Accelerated Business Center is incredibly versatile,” said Dr. Dan L. Terhune, president of SCC. “A collaborative relationship with CU-ICAR will allow us to explore opportunities that relate to Spartanburg County that may develop as a result of CU-ICAR’s presence in the Upstate.”

Plans for a Business Incubator are in motion to set criteria for helping startup businesses in Spartanburg County and to attract businesses which will create jobs for local citizens.

To further support the effort, the college is forming an advisory board for the business incubator composed of individuals with extensive background and experience with start-up companies. SCC is also partnering with the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce to provide professional services through their membership and are holding discussions with the University of South Carolina Upstate to provide pre-incubation business services, such as assistance with business and marketing plans for the individual businesses.

The collaboration will expand opportunities for Spartanburg County to increase per capita income and create high-tech, high-wage jobs for its citizens.

Registered Apprenticeship is college for the skilled craftsperson, leading to a strong foundation from which he or she may move into management, safety, human relations, and training. The apprenticeship concept dates back to the guilds of the middle ages, but the modern blended clasroom/hands-on structure saves time on the learning curve and is more effective than the old-fashioned pick it up as you go approach.

Some components of designing an apprenticeship program include:

• Comprehensive job-task analysis
• Job descriptions and job profile analysis
• Pre-hiring assessments
• On-the-job training plans and outlines
• On-the-job certification materials
• Technical procedure manuals
• Specfic workforce development
• Applications to track performance changes

Associates can be tested for capability and current skill levels. Pre-apprenticeship training brings current associate skills to levels that insure success in the apprenticeship program including reading for information, applied math, electrical and mechanical basics.

Crucial questions must be answered before any training program is designed and produced. We help you address them through:

• Skill Gap Analysis
• Job and Skill Matrices
• Content Analysis
• Needs Assessment services based on focus groups
• Face-to-Face Interviews
• Online Surveys
• Technology and Infrastructure Evaluation to asses readiness for e-learning
• Pre- and Post-Training Assessments
• Operational Consulting
• Assistance with creating internal e-learning training groups

According to Dr. Dan Terhune, SCC is training as many apprentices now as the rest of the colleges in SC combined. Contact our Customized Training Specialists Earl Penn (864-592-4185 / penne at sccsc.edu) or Charles Hayes ( 864-592-4233/ hayesc at sccsc.edu) to see if an apprenticehship program might benefit you.

Earl was born in Vicksburg, Mississipi, and has lived in 12 other states. An avid runner, he ran 13 marathons until he decided at 50 that he could better use his body for other pursuits. He met his wife of 29 years on a cruise, and was active in raising his children by coaching baseball and cross-country. Earl's sense of humor and down to earth attitude makes him a valuable asset to SCC C&CE.

AMTEC is offering the most innovative vision for school capabilities and for partnering with the manufacturing industry.” –Dennis Parker, Toyota Manufacturing Kentucky.

Formed through a planning grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), AMTEC partners across seven states seek to prepare highly-skilled technicians and engineers for the automotive manufacturing industry. Changes in manufacturing and global marketing require changes in training from theory through hands-on manipulation:

1. Flexible manufacturing lines are able to produce multiple products with minimum time and cost required for changeover.

2. Quick and profitable response to fluctuating customer demand can produce “lot size of one” runs while realizing the efficiencies and cost benefits of mass production.

3. Green factory practices reduce emissions and landfill waste by increasing recycling supported by specialized manufacturing and environmental technicians.
4. Increasing use of electronics and computers in vehicles impacts the design and manufacture of parts and components from suppliers.
These manufacturing changes require changes and improvements in the education and training system to help current and future workers learn the required skills and knowledge. Because of the changes in the way work is done, growth in the industry, and retirements from an aging work force, skilled and knowledgeable workers for the automotive industry are in high demand.
The industry demands that all parts of the system must be able to achieve the same levels of quality, be innovative and continuously increase productivity to deliver more value for less cost. As a critical supplier and input to the auto manufacturing industry, the education and training community must meet or exceed these same expectations.
All current and future workers within the auto manufacturing industry are now expected to be multi-functional, learning and applying an ever-larger set of skills and knowledge. They are also expected to produce more output through the use of technology, and accomplish a higher level of quality, with more frequent changes.

Skills and knowledge must attain a level of performance that significantly exceeds that of only a few years ago. Workers need to update to the skill standards of industry in order for both the industry and the individual workers to be successful.

Each college is developing workshops to create, test and deliver the training needed through hybrid web-based and hands-on systems to:

• align existing course with industry-driven needs
• serve as state of the art teaching and learning centers
• operate as research and development for new instruction
• share materials and teaching strategies to other schools
• promote articulation and collaboration among secondary and higher education
• use multistate partnership to reduce costs and improve delivery

College Partners include

Alabama - CARCAM
Indiana - Ivy Tech Community College, Evansvelle & Vincennes University
Kentucky - Kentucky Community & Technical College System,
Jefferson Community & Technical College, Bluegrass Community &
Technical College
Michigan - Macomb Community College & Lansing Community College
Ohio - Owens Community College & Cuyahoga Community College
South Carolina- Spartanburg Community College
Tennessee - Pellissppi State Technical College
Texas - Alamo Community College District

Manufacturing Partners include

BMW, Spartanburg, SC
Capital Area Manufacturing Council (CSMC), Lansing, MI
Ford Kentucky Truck Plant, Louisville
Ford Louisville Assembly Plant, Kentucky
Ford Lima Engine Plan, Ohio
General Motors, Warren, MI
PBR Knoxville, LLC, Knoxville, TN
Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), Independence, OH
Rieter Automotive N. America Inc., Oregon, OH
Toyota North American Production Support Center, Georgetown, KY
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, San Antonio, TX
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana, Princeton, IN
UAW-GM Center for Human Resources, Detroit, MI
Webasto Roof Systems Inc., of Lexington and Murray, KY

Spartanburg Community College is proud to be a member of this proactive educational venture.

Your business depends on a trainable workforce who can update their skills and learn new procedures quickly and efficiently. Interviewing pre-screened applicants saves your valuable time. You can then choose from the most qualified candidates because you aren’t trying to pan for gold in the gravel.

SCC-C&CE can help. The assessment center, housed at the SCC-BMW Center in Duncan, provides many types of assessments, from basic skills to pre-employment questionnaires to psychological profiles. Some tests can be delivered online at our center and the results emailed to you within minutes. Others can be scored and the results returned over night. Kevin Fowler (864-592-4190) is our testing administrator, and she can also deliver paper and pencil testing on your site.

Some tests available are the Bennett Mechanical, the Ramsey MechTest and ElectTest, which gauge general mechanical ability and understanding of industrial processes. The ERI (Employee Reliability Inventory) points out possible problems with job safety attitudes, trustworthiness, emotional maturity and long term job commitment. The Myers-Briggs type indicator is also available.

Basic Workplace Skills can also be tested with WorkKeys, either online or on paper at our center, or on paper at your location. Tests include Workplace Math, Reading for Information, Locating Information, and Business Writing. We can also offer remediation of basic skills through KeyTrain, which is offered online and can be accessed from an associate’s home, an on-site computer lab or at the SCC-BMW center.

Whether you need pre-employment testing, assessment of your workers basic skills, we will be glad help you at your place or ours. You can also call on us for help in assessing what you need to make your business run.

"This is a very good chance for us to partner with a very important neighbor," said Robert T. Geolas, the executive director of ICAR, after a news conference at the Tyger River campus. "Spartanburg Community College has a great facility here, and we look forward to letting some of our potential partners and prospects know about it and working with SCC to help bring people in."

As companies planning to move to Spartanburg County develop new products to market to the automotive sector, they will have the opportunity to prototype their production processes at SCC’s Tyger River campus facilities, ensuring efficient, high-quality production of their product before moving into their own facility. Temporary office space and administrative help with writing grants is also available.  EchoStar was the first partner with SCC at the Tyger River Center to train its new employees.

According Dr. Dan Terhune, president of SCC, "In the big picture, this has the potential to create hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs in the Upstate, and specifically in Spartanburg County," he said. "Our part will be providing facilities and support and training, so that these entrepreneurs can take these ideas and put them into production."

ICAR will promote the SCC Tyger River training facility, a 363,000 square foot facility
The company will also be able to train their workforce at our Tyger River Campus with experienced C&CE faculty before they begin commercial production mode. This proactive model presents a value-added experience for both new and expanding companies.
John Marburger, director of the president's office of Science and Technology Policy thinks CU-ICAR is very impressive, "This partnership between industry and university needs to happen around the country."

Other company research partners with CU-ICAR include Timken and Dale Earnhardt Inc. CU-ICAR is building on Clemson’s historical focus on engineering research and design with state of the art supercomputing and manufacturing technology. Funding for external research has tripled in the last ten years in collaboration with industry partners and other educational facilities with more than $225 million in commitments. According to Chris Przirembel, “CU-ICAR represents the ultimate public-private partnership, directly fueling a knowledge-based economy in South Carolina focused on automotive and motorsports research.” Many automotive and motorsports industries center along the I-85 Corridor, making SCC a central location for local industry research and development.

YouthBuild has five components:

• Construction skills, a high demand occupation
• Education for completion of GED
• Counseling and life skills
• Job placement and graduate services
• Leadership development

YouthBuild members have made a commitment to take their lives in a new direction and to be leaders. As they learn leadership skills, they will also be literally rebuilding the Spartanburg community by rehabbing buildings to create new affordable housing

During the first week, students will focus on classroom skills, and next week they will be on the construction sites for on the job training. Students are paid minimum wage ($5.85/hour) for classroom and work site attendance with bonuses for academic progress (moving up two levels in a subject area), demonstrating leadership in the Youth Council, and perfect on-time attendance each two weeks. Students may earn as much as $532 for each two week session, but pay is docked for infractions of rules and tardiness. New students will be added to the program if current students leave.

In addition to classroom and on the job training, the students learn leadership through the Youth Council, and life skills through the counseling component. The participants were selected from over 60 applicants who were not able to complete high school.

Terrill Brown, instructor for SCC Corporate and Community Education, teaches the construction skills component. SCC C&CE is proud to be a part of this community building program for at-risk young adults.