Photo By Keith Hayes | Robert Charles "Chip" Schwartz has worked his way up to plant manager at Marine Corps...... read more read more
BARSTOW, Calif. - Robert C. Schwartz is the new manager for Production Plant Barstow, but you can call him Mr. Schwartz ... or Chip.
“Chip” Schwartz spoke recently about being selected for the top job at PPB aboard the Yermo annex of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., and discussed, among other topics, how he wanted to be known at the plant.
“I’m listed as Robert C. Schwartz in the Global, but I’m ‘Chip’ on the sign on the front of building 573 and I’m ‘Chip’ here to everybody who knows me. ‘Chip’ is a nickname for (my middle name) Charles,” he explained.
Schwartz was hired for the job of plant manager when former manager Ed Shimko moved on in late August.
“I’m a ‘homegrown’ promotion,” he said, having lived and worked in Barstow for the past 18 years.
“I think Barstow is a small, unpretentious blue collar town. I like it,” Schwartz said. “You’re a couple of hours from everything. I live in a nice neighborhood up by Barstow Community College. I have wonderful neighbors and a stable neighborhood.”
He spent one of his six years in the U.S. Air Force at the former George Air Force Base in Victorville, mustering out as a staff sergeant (which is an E-5 in the Air Force) and has worked for the government ever since.
“Since ... July of 1997,” he elaborated, “my career has been either in the Calibration Labs or in Building 573 in different capacities.”
Schwartz came to the plant manager job with a thorough understanding of what that means.
“I run a business here. We know how much we spend on utilities and materials. We pay all of the people here out of our revenue,” Schwartz said. “We know and understand very clearly where all of our money goes and how much we spend. We get no appropriated funds from Congress.”
He also knows how much Barstow residents depend on PPB for their livelihood.
“Currently I have approximately 1,150 people working here and we’ll do about $240 million in revenue this year,” Schwartz said. “I want the base to continue as a relevant supplier of ground Marine Corps weapons systems at a cost and quality that keeps us competitive with other repair depots, and remain an employer in the local area.”
With that in mind, Schwartz explained his management goal, “I want to control costs and I want to adhere to schedule requirements. We want to break even by recovering our costs on our expenses plus whatever investment we have to make on new equipment.”
Schwartz is humbled by the promotion as well as the duties he has taken on as plant manager. “I’ve derived a lot of benefit from my time here and I hope to return some of that back. I want to be perceived as fair and honest, keeping in mind that our core mission is to provide ground combat systems back to the Marine Corps.”
| Date Taken: | 09.24.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.25.2015 12:45 |
| Story ID: | 177222 |
| Location: | BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 136 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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