Manufacturing Council
Andra Rush
Andra Rush
Chair and CEO of Rush Trucking Company
President and CEO of Dakkota Integrated Systems
Chair, President and CEO of Detroit Manufacturing Systems
Andra M. Rush is chair and CEO of Rush Trucking Company, president and CEO of Dakkota Integrated Systems, and chair, president and CEO of Detroit Manufacturing Systems.
As head of Rush Group, which operates DMS, Dakkota and Rush Trucking, she leads the largest woman-owned business in Michigan, and one of the largest Native American-owned businesses in the United States.
In 1984, she borrowed $5,000 from her parents and used her credit cards to launch Rush Trucking Company with one van and two pickup trucks.
Today, RTC transports goods for Fortune 100 companies across the U.S. and Canada with 850 tractors, 1,450 trailers and 800 employees.
Rush launched Dakkota Integrated Systems in 2001, providing service to original equipment manufacturers by managing the complete assembly and sequencing of integrated automotive interiors through a joint venture with Magna International Inc. Dakkota has been recognized for supplier development and diversity by the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council. The auto supplier, which employs 2,200 highly trained team members, was named 2013 Supplier of the Year for quality and world-class manufacturing by Chrysler Group and earned the Supplier Quality Excellence Award in 2014 from General Motors.
President Barack Obama acknowledged Rush during his January 2014 State of the Union address for creating manufacturing jobs in Detroit with the June 2012 opening of Detroit Manufacturing Systems – the first such plant opening in the city in decades. In about a year, she and her team of production and supply chain experts launched five production lines and eight injection molding machines with joint venture partner Faurecia, and hired and trained 700 people, most living in Detroit. The plant’s workforce continues to grow, increasing to nearly 1,000 employees by January 2015, to meet the needs of customer Ford Motor Company.
Rush is a member of the U.S. Manufacturing Council, which regularly advises the U.S. Commerce Secretary on matters related to government policies and programs and their impact on the U.S. manufacturing sector. The advisory panel also seeks to identify and propose solutions for industrywide manufacturing issues.
An active member of several organizations, including Business Leaders for Michigan, Detroit Economic Club, Detroit Regional Chamber, Downtown Detroit Authority and United Way, Rush also has served on supplier advisory boards for Chrysler and General Motors.
She was honored in April 2015 by the Michigan Women’s Foundation with its Women of Achievement and Courage Award and inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in October 2014 for innovative job creation and manufacturing ingenuity.
Rush holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and is the proud mother of three sons.
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