Manufacturing Game Changer: LM Manufacturing
This article appeared in the June 2025 issue of MiMfg Magazine. Read the full issue and find past issues online.
From the first day a new employee is hired, the leadership team at LM Manufacturing in Detroit focuses on the whole person based on the company’s core values of Care, Commit, Connect, Communicate and Celebrate.
Because of their focus on these five Cs and on maintaining a holistic workplace that offers employees the resources they need to thrive, LM’s employee turnover rate is 50 – 75 percent lower than that of similar businesses. Poring into employees’ well-being creates a positive culture that encourages them to stay for the long-term, says Jimmie Comer, Senior Leadership and Development Specialist.
“Each plant is a community,” he says. “People are coming together and they’re sharing their experiences, all their skills, to provide for themselves and their families. It can’t be a clock-in and clock-out experience. It should be engaging. If it’s not, then how can we face the challenges that we all face to keep manufacturing in Michigan and to have the outcome we want to have for our teammates?”
Putting Employees First
LM Manufacturing — a Tier 1 JIT/JIS supplier providing automotive seats for the Ford Ranger and Ford Bronco — bases its five Cs on its Health, Wealth and Education (HWE) platform. Employees’ goals differ, and LM aims to give them the opportunity to meet them.
“From day one here, they’re acclimated to our mission statement,” says Comer, noting that it stems from the vision of their CEO, Sylvester Hester. “We speak with them about the difference between ‘job’ and ‘opportunity.’ We also provide training with job skills and soft skills, leadership, emotional intelligence, how to repair your credit, financial literacy — even sewing and cooking.”
Learning and Outreach
The training opportunities at LM have evolved into a program known as LM Learning Academy. Through the Academy, LM provides employees with learning opportunities that they have expressed interest in. Additionally, through its Love 2 Learn initiative, LM focuses on upskilling and reskilling so that employees can thrive in the age of automation and AI.
“We’re very passionate about promoting from within, so we’re actively engaging through focus groups and surveys,” Comer says. “It’s not unusual for a company to have an open-door policy but, for us, we don’t exactly wait for you to come into the office. We’re actively out there engaging with people across the board.”
LM also opens doors to local students through Manufacturing Day, job shadowing opportunities and internships. Hester’s vision and commitment to the five Cs and HWE concept culminates in a dedication to the workplace and a spirit of giving that is infectious.
“Whenever we engage with our customers, our teammates, the vendors and the community, it creates an energy that reflects our five Cs,” Comer says.
All of LM Manufacturing’s efforts combined reduce turnover, build the talent pipeline, help retain existing talent and facilitate positive outcomes for the local community and the manufacturing industry in Michigan.
Learn More About Our Gamechanger
Headquarters: Detroit
Web: lm-mfg.com
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