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Show Progress2", ')() ndustry f( I ? : I : I ; 1 i By ANTON GARRITY Herald Staff Writer LEHI General Refractories in Lehi has learned how to grow and to survive without depending entire-f-; ly on Geneva Steel. The plant has been in Lehi since the mid 1940s. It was originally built during World War II to pro-- f vide brick for Geneva Steel during the war. After the war, US Steel bought Geneva and General Refrac-- J tories bought the refractory, said plant manager Steve Miller, "A few years ago this factory lived or died with Geneva. That's not the case anymore," said Miller. "Although Geneva continues to be a big part of our operation." When Geneva closed down in 1986, General Refractories some big decisions to make. ' had "At that point, the company decided to reenter the glass business (which they had been out of for 15 years)," said Miller. "So far we have been very successful." The amount of employees were doubled in 1989. Year in and year e out there had been 70 employees. Now there are 150 emfull-tim- . ployees. Today, General Refractories is a f : big supplier of silica brick, which is sold primarily to the glass industry. The plant is only one of five in the world to provide this product, said Miller. A second major product line is also a form of silica brick which is used to line coke ovens (such as those at Geneva Steel.) General Refractories is the only supplier of silica brick in the United States. Geneva Steel is still a major buyer of all types of brick, added Miller. "We also act as a warehouse for other plants (belonging to General Refractories,) and we're used as a ii distribution center for the products," said Miller. All the rock needed for the Lehi plant comes from its own mining operation in the Tooele County. It is only mined in the summer, so the rock is stockpiled to last throughout the winter. "Geneva Steel is looking at some changes this year, so we'll be looking to provide them their products," he said. "We're also looking to further expand in the silica iii hi ii VDril.iry HMH) 21 dependence upon Geneva Lehi firm grows with total i I in iiiiiwiiiiii i mill hi iim pi i nil hi ii ii mt mm mm xm mm' ii wwmmn area." The silica brick is mainly used to line tanks that melt down glass. The tanks are relined about every 10 to 15 years. As long as the glass business is big, the refractory business will continue to be big, said Miller. Any business which requires heat to make a product, requires a refractory. "A refractory is the basic of the basic industries," Miller said. A refractory is a heat resisting material which is generally supplied in the form of brick, but is not to be confused with building brick. There are other forms of refractories, such as special plastics, but because General Refractories works with a highly defined segment of the market, it deals strictly in the brick form. The process for creating the brick is a fairly simple one. Rock is taken and crushed and grinded to of an inch or particles smaller. It is then mixed with additives and some form of moisture such as water, said Miller. The material is pressed and formed mechanically or by hand, dried and fired in temperatures in excess of (Fahrenheit.) The product is then packaged and delivered. one-eigh- th 2,500-degre- Hvrh Photo Hrian Trofjaskis Jay Jensen operates a brick press at General Refractories in Lehi during a recent workday. SPEID iprogram helps its graduates gain experience needed to get job By SHARON M. HADDOCK Herald Staff Writer it's The adage holds true tough to find a job without work experience and without a job, it's difficult to get work experience. A new program in place in Utah County can help reshape that reality. Single Parents Economic Independence Demonstration (SPEID) is in its second year under the auspices of Mountainlands Association of Governments' Private Industry Council. SPEID places interns in various workplaces in the valley, gaining for them work experience and treating employers to a "free" employee for a short term. At the end of an internship, the intern either has a job or a letter of recommendation. The employer has the satisfaction of having assisted someone in need. In the intern is hired, the employer has had the opportunity to gauge the individual's capabilities beforehand. Jesse Getsinger is a finished product of that program. Getsinger was facing an uncertain future with a disabled husband and limited marketplace experience. As the sole support of her famiwork ly, she needed long-terthat paid better than minimum wage. "I was working part-tim- e at the Center for Personal and Career Development at Utah Valley Community College," said Getsinger. "I came, in contact there with Connie Barker who represents the SPEID program and it went from v...i t V Heber looking to business and tourism growth in '90s By SONNI SCHWINN Uirald Photo David Dahl Jesse Getsinger of Winding Technologies gained needed experience through the SPEID program. Through SPEID, she was put in touch with employers interested in placing SPEID interns and eventually worked at Winding Technologies in Springville. e emToday, she is a ploye at Winding Technologies in the purchasing department. full-tim- SPEID program a Rv SHARON M. HADDOCK Herald Staff Writer Utah County, the SPEID program is succeeding, says the local director, Connie Barker. interns currently Twenty-threstationed at 23 local businesses e are workinu toward In e full-tim- while building their daily. The emploers providing the internships are getting positive exposure to the program and gaming a extra pair of hands at the same tune, Barker said. In force in Utah Count v onlv Mine July 1. TO, five SPEID interns are now eniploed full-lim- "All they usually need is confidence," said Barker, business represent..tie for the Private In dustry Council of Mountainland Association of Governements. Interns can be male or female single parents or displaced Applicants need to hold a high school dipluina, be willing to hmne-maker- participate s. in training and to learn new skills. A displaced homemaker is any person who has been out of the labor force for a substantial number of years and who. because of divorce, separatum, death or disability of a spouse, must return to the labor market. ' For a lot of them it's frightening." said Barker. They're anxious to work and to learn but it is a scary step into that world after so long a time." Sl'EJD pays the intern a wae during internship with federal She likes the work, the challenge, the pay and her fellow employees. "This is better than I ever expected," said Getsinger. "I was offered the job only three weeks after I started interning, just before Christmas." Since Getsinger has two daugh- ters at home, the timing was good. situation win-wi- n funds granted to Mountainlands. The employer must only provide a position, some assistance from the management and the opportunity to learn. "These people are intelligent, capable, all they need is confidence," said Barker of the interns. Of the employers. "I'm finding them very supportive. They think it's a wonderful idea, a situation." Fur the taxpayer. SPEID is getting people off the welfare rolls and into productivity again, she added For more information about SPEID. contact Connie Barker at win-wi- n Companies piesently participat pre-form- s, She works five days a week, commuting from Provo to Springville and hopes someday to advance to the accounting depart-(St- e 24) SPEID, Page in the SPEID program include the American Bed Cross; Applied Manufacturing TechnoloInsurance: gies: Bascom Bonneville Billing & Collection: Career Guidance Center; Cash's True Value; The Daily Herald; Dan Pursor, M.D.; Enrich International; Fawn Whitney Catering; Geneva Steel; James G. ; Kinder-care- ; Clark, attorney-at-laI,ongview Fiber; Luggage Plus; Mt. States Steel; Murdock Health Care; New Outlook; ing Northwestern Mutual; Orem Locksmith; Prolitho; Protolab, PST; Sundance Institute; Traco Manufacturing; U.S. Benefits; Utah Vallev Regional Medical Center; ter; Valley L'VRMC-Women- 's Cen- Ambulanc e and Wind- ing Technologies. from a thriving agricultural community, supported by the surrounding mining businesses, and later by nearby oil development, to a seriously economically depressed community. Now he says he has no doubt whatsoever that Wasatch County is already beginninng to build once again toward prosperity. fall Herald Correspondent HEBER CITY Heber City Chamber of Commerce President Max Mawhinney stops working on the construction of the Heber Valley Heritage Hall and Visitors Center only long enough to eat meals and enthusiastically talk about all the things that have begun to happen around Wasatch County and his optimism that the future belongs to Wasatch County. The European-styl- e timber building, being constructed without nails using 16th century methods, under the supervision of general contractor Ernie Giles, was designed by George Olsen. Olsen donated most of his time. Heber City contributed $35,000 for the land. Most of the construction labor is being donated. And most of the money for materials has been contributed by businesses, civic organizations and individuals, not all of them local. The walls and beams are provided at a discount by Timber-haua Montana firm. Although the building and land is only costing about $150,000, Mawhinney estimates it will be worth about $400.-00- - there." Because Getsinger's husband is disabled, she qualified for the program that generally serves single parents. Through a work incentive program run by the state, she was paid $j0 a month plus her welfare for her clerical work at L'VCC. Ernie Giles Max Mawhinney 0. But what most excites Mawhinney is that the project has been a countywide cooperative effort. For a number of years the government entities and the citizens in the separate municipalities in the county have been at odls in nearly every issue they have fated. But .Mawhinney is confident that those days are gone and that their ability to work together on this project not only brought them together but proves his point. As another example, he points to the united countywide support for keeping the Heber Creeper Railroad, demonstrated at a public hearing in January. Hundreds turned out to express their sentimental desire for what they consider "their train." As the major tourist attraction in the Heber Valley, the Chamber played an active and important role in what appears to be a successful campaign to get the state to purchase and save the train. A lifelong resident of Heber City, Mawhinney has watched the count v Although the Chamber's main focus is on developing tourism, Mawhinney reports several businesses are interested in locating in Heber City's industrial park, which has stood empty since it was developed more than 10 years ago. Some have predicted that the Heber Valley is destined to become a bedroom community, but Mawhinney says it is important to bring in some industry that will offer jobs with good wages and benefits to local family providers. Mawhinney is ecstatic about the recreational development already planned in the mountains around the county, with the Heber Valley at the hub. With work on the Chamber's building waiting for his attention, Mawhinney couldn't go into detail about every facility, but listed the following which are scheduled for construction during the next several years: the State Park planned around the Jordanelle, north of Heber City; as many as five major planned recreational developments around Jordanelle, bordering the park; Brighton Ski Resort adding 1,000 acres in Wasatch County, with two double lifts above Wasatch Mountain State Park improvements at Strawberry Reservoir, including snowmobile and cross countn skiing trails that will be expanded to east of the Heber Valley; poisoning Strawberry Reservoir this summer and restocking it with game fish to make it a first class fishery for lxth summer and winter anglers; developing a blue riblxm fishery along the Prove, River, between Jordanelle and Deer Creek Reservoir, undisturbed by spring runoff, bike, equestrian, and hiking (See HF.l'.l.R. Page 2tl |