Denso associate develops more efficient process for company

Corey Bernard, center, is surrounded by friends, family and associates at Denso Manufacturing Tennessee at a reception to congratulate him for developing an improved alternator recycling process. Corey’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Bernard, and several family members joined him at the celebration.

Corey Bernard accepts the appreciation of Steve Fortner, a supervisor in Denso’s alternator area whose line supplied the parts to the vocational school.

Denso Starter/Alternator Division Executive Vice President Mick Yokoyama, right, presents an appreciation certificate to Corey Bernard, a client at the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center who developed a more efficient recycling process for an alternator component being contracted to the center.

Denso associates gathered for a reception recently to honor Corey Bernard, a William Blount graduate who has developed a better recycling process for Plant 101.

Bernard developed an initiative that improved an alternator recycling process, part of a special project at the local Tennessee Rehabilitation Center.

Bernard’s quality improvement helped reclaim the stator portion of an alternator when he developed a new method for salvaging the part. He modified a special tool to double the number of reclaimed stators to 100 per day. Afterward, he shared his new method with students for an even faster recycling process. The center, which has a nearly 20-year history of contract work with Denso, currently has two sub-contracts, both with the Starter/Alternator Division at Plant 101.

Steve Fortner, a supervisor in Denso’s alternator area whose line supplied the parts to the vocational school, personally thanked Bernard, saying he wanted to “recognize Corey as being the No. 1 stator reclaimer in Tennessee; I know because I have done it…and seen it done by others. We at Denso are always working towards being No. 1 in the world; and it is Corey’s way of thinking, working and training that helps enable us to achieve our goal,” Fortner said.

Denso Starter/Alternator Division Executive Vice President Mick Yokoyama presented an appreciation certificate to Bernard, who was joined at the celebration by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Bernard, and other family members. More than 100 Denso associates gathered for the presentation.