DETROIT - American industry spends millions of dollars a year on prevention of substance abuse, but Richard E. Dauch has a more direct method. He uses a bulldozer.
Many of the bars, party stores and crack houses that once surrounded his American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. complex in Detroit have disappeared since Dauch and a group of investors bought the giant automotive-parts supplier from General Motors two years ago.
The latest to succumb to his bulldozer was Happy's Bar. Like the liquor-selling establishments before it, Happy's is now a finely graded dirt parking lot.
American Axle has offered to buy a half-dozen nearby bars and party stores - in one case, for $500,000 - to eliminate the impact of alcohol and drugs in the workplace, according to a dozen interviews with UAW officials and owners of homes and bars in the area.
An unknown number of drug houses and hideouts for stolen cars, which also populated the turn-of-the-century industrial neighborhood surrounding the former GM complex, also have been acquired and bulldozed, according to the Detroit Police Department. American Axle, either directly or indirectly, has influenced the activity, said police and other sources.
SAFER AREA
'It used to be a terrible area,' said Donald Chalmers, patrol inspector for the city's 13th precinct, but 'it is definitely a safer place now. I wish we had more companies in Detroit that cleaned up their area like that.'
Steven Hoffman, the company's director of corporate affairs, declined to comment. Dauch, president and chief executive of American Axle, could not be reached. The company makes drivetrain systems and chassis parts and is 17th on the Automotive News list of OEM suppliers to the North American automotive industry. It employs 3,500 and is located on a 100-acre site.
The full impact of drugs on the Big 3 and their suppliers is not clear. But overall workplace statistics indicate that 15 percent of employees misuse alcohol or illegal drugs. The abuses result in lost productivity and high compensation costs.
American Axle's response to the threat is unprecedented by any measure, said Larry King, president of UAW Local 235. And the rank and file have not complained.
By all accounts, the Coney Isle Inn next to King's office is American Axle's prime acquisition target. Besides Coney dogs, the restaurant serves liquor. At 2 p.m. on a recent day, several people were at the bar while several others played pool. Two men at the bar wore American Axle shirts, although it wasn't clear what they were drinking.
American Axle's anti-drug strategy is a touchy subject with Coney Isle's manager. 'We're not for sale today, tomorrow or anytime,' said the manager, who declined to give his name or discuss any offers.
Coney Isle rejected a $500,000 buyout offer and is thought to be holding out for about $1 million, according to a source.
The offers are being presented by Paul Chamberlain, a vice president of Detroit-based Park Corp. The card he has left with business and home owners says he is acting on behalf of American Axle.
Wayne County (Mich.) records indicate he began buying property shortly after the Dauch team acquired GM Saginaw Division properties in March 1994. The deal included plants in Detroit; Three Rivers, Mich.; and Buffalo and Tonawanda, N.Y., which employ more than 8,500.
Dauch, 54, set the company on an aggressive growth path - North American OEM sales grew to $2 billion last year from $1.8 billion the year before. That Dauch is removing bars and other obstacles to productivity is not a surprise to those who know him. Moreover, he is a teetotaler, a source said.
GM, VW AND CHRYSLER
Dauch went to Purdue University in 1960 on a football scholarship and joined Chevrolet after graduation. He moved to Volkswagen Manufacturing Corp. in 1976 and to Chrysler Corp. in 1980. He became executive vice president of manufacturing at Chrysler in 1985.
Dauch retired from Chrysler in April 1991 at age 48. Now, he's turning around the former GM complex and its neighborhood.
His bar-razing is likely to be effective in cutting consumption among moderate drinkers, said Paul Gruenewald, a research scientist at the private nonprofit Prevention Research Center in Berkeley, Calif. The issue is important to industry, because even a small amount of alcohol impairs performance around heavy equipment.
Ann Grasso, a barmaid at Kelly's Bar, just east of the plant, can attest to American Axle's vigilance. A month ago, she said, a plant supervisor showed up at noon to observe employee drinking.
'When they got back to the plant, they were sent home for the balance of the shift,' Grasso said.
Nor is there any question in Sophie Bogucki's mind about American Axle's goal. She rejected a $37,000 offer earlier this year for her well-maintained home on Dequindre Street near the plant.
But VJ's Bar, a dilapidated building of similar size that was two doors from Bogucki's home, accepted an offer for substantially more, she said. VJ's is now a parking lot, but Bogucki is waiting for a better offer.
Before VJ's tumbled to the bulldozer, the Lumpkin-Faber Cafe was turned into a parking lot. Before that, the Hi-Way Shore Liquor Store was replaced by well-manicured plant landscaping.
Still waiting for an offer is Ted Skladanowski, whose Veteran's Market appears to offer little threat to American Axle. He keeps a few cans and bottles of beer at his shop. 'Tell them I'm waiting,' he said.
