Former BMW Exec Will Discuss Global Manufacturing

Allen O. Kinzer, the former BMW executive who launched the company’s South Carolina plant, will discuss his experience in global manufacturing on April 7 at Wake Forest University.

His talk, “Cross-Cultural Implications of Manufacturing in a Global Economy,” will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Carswell Hall, Room 111. The free and public event is part of the Critical Issues in Business and Accountancy speaker series sponsored by Wake Forest’s Wayne Calloway School of Business and Accountancy.

Kinzer is currently with the manufacturing consulting company, A.O. Kinzer and Associates, Inc., which he formed after retiring from BMW in 1998.

Kinzer was named president of BMW Manufacturing Corp. in 1992. He was recruited to help the company create its South Carolina manufacturing plant, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. Kinzer, who specializes in helping foreign auto companies launch factories in the United States, helped Honda set up four plants in North America before joining BMW, the article explained. Kinzer began with Honda as the company’s first American manager and advanced to senior vice president and general manager of the drive train division in Anna, Ohio.

He began his automotive career with White Motor Corp., a heavy-duty truck manufacturing company, and also worked with the diesel engine manufacturer, Perkins Diesel Corp.

For more information about the event, please call 758-5110.

Categories: Events, Speakers