Plant closing shakes small town

Detroit Free Press ^ | January 23, 2004 | DAVID LYMAN

[sarcasm]

GREENVILLE -- The first ripples of a looming economic tidal wave have begun to hit this community of 8,000 just 33 miles northeast of Grand Rapids.

At the center of the coming storm is AB Electrolux, the Swedish-based conglomerate that will close its 2,700-employee Greenville refrigerator plant in 2005.

[sarcasm]

ping

[Fledermaus]

Wait a minute. 2,700 employees at the Electrolux place and she only sells a couple of dozen donuts a week to the factory and only 15-20 people a day at her place?

Either her donuts SUCK or she's the stupidest small business person on the planet.

[Fledermaus]

But come springtime, when the plant closure is that much closer, will the girls be able to buy one of those $200 dresses? Or will this be the year that Mom drags out the sewing machine and makes one herself?

Boo hoo hoo. Poor mom will have to sew again. Maybe she should have bought a nicer sewing machine.

My mother-in-law still makes clothes for her grandkids because she likes to, not because she can't afford not to.

Boo hoo hoo. Boo hoo hoo.

[Fledermaus]

"I already pay more than $28,000 a year for insurance. I can't do that if business drops much," Elderkin says.

Then maybe you should whine to your worthless Michigan politicians that create crap laws that make you have to pay that ridiculous amount in insurance for a small business. And run companies like Electrolux out.

Oh, but it's easier blaming it on NAFTA, free trade, and of course, G.W. Bush isn't it?

[exnavy]

This is not to far from me, and since I work at a UAW shop, you should here the caterwalling dims complaining how W doesn't care and he is stripping America of jobs so that his cronies can get rich.

Then I ask what is it that Dimocrat Gov. Jennie Granholm, you know, the canadian gov of Mi., has done to stop this from happening? Having more fun than a guy ought to be allowed!!!!!

[kingu]

I'd lay good odds that the company had no problems with the wages, or the union, but they were driven south of the border by runaway health insurance costs. Well, that, and companies fighting to cut the last twenty dollars of profit out of a $400 object.

[harpu]

About a week ago, this story was previously posted but it's good to keep it up on the forum so Willie can give us his 'chicken little' scenario about U.S. manufacturing going to hell in a dumptruck.

[syriacus]

Willie can give us his 'chicken little' scenario about U.S. manufacturing going to hell in a dumptruck.

I wonder how Bush was supposed to tell a Swedish company that they must keep their factory open in a country that doesn't buy their goods.

Electrolux profits fall on weak sales, strong krona

STOCKHOLM, Oct 21 (AFP) - Electrolux, the Swedish manufacturer of household appliances, said Tuesday it expected weaker 2003 earnings after reporting a 38-percent slump in third-quarter net profit owing mainly to feeble sales in North America and the strong krona.

I realize Electrolux makes appliances other than vacuums, but I found this article, on vacuums made in the USA, interesting.

  American-made carpet should be cleaned by American-made vacuum cleaners Our Buy American Mention of the Week! by Roger Simmermaker October 6, 2003

It’s pretty easy to buy American-made carpet. The three biggest carpet-makers in the world - Shaw Industries, Inc., Mohawk Industries, Inc., and Beaulieu of America LLC - are based in Georgia and comprise nearly 75% of America’s carpet production.

But how easy is it to find an American-made vacuum cleaner? Three American brands that stand out are Oreck, Hoover and Riccar. Riccar is probably the least popular of these three, but their story is perhaps one of the most interesting because this company did something recently that is rarely heard of these days - move manufacturing from overseas back to America

About 18 months ago, according to John Kaido, senior vice-president of the floor care division, Riccar’s parent company Tacony Corporation moved its manufacturing facility from Taiwan to Missouri. Mr. Kaido admits that the company considered moving production to China, but they felt the quality wasn’t up to their standards, so they came back to America instead.

Some of their parts are sourced from China, however, which explains why their labels read "Made in USA with globally-sourced components." Also, of the many models under the Riccar and Signature brand names, only the upright vacuums are made in USA. For more information, check out www.riccar.com.

Hoover, which is owned by Maytag, is based in North Canton, Ohio and according to www.hoover.com three of the five Hoover plants are in that state. The other two are in El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico, so you’ll have to check the label if you don’t want a Mexican model. Hoover’s newest model - the VR2 - is stamped "Made in USA." Most Hoover vacuums are priced at $200-$300.

Oreck vacuums can be a bit pricier, but the company claims that quality is better than the typical brand. Oreck’s top model - the XL21 - costs $699 but comes with a 21 year warranty that includes the motor. The warranty also covers free yearly maintenance service at any of their 750 retail outlets. Other lower-priced Orecks come with 7 and 3 year warranties. Riccar and Hoover vacuums both come with a 5 year warranty. All Oreck vacuums, except the small car vac types, are made in USA.

About 18 months ago (around the same time Riccar moved production from Taiwan to America) Oreck’s motor supplier moved to Mexico, and since the manufacturer wasn’t owned by Oreck, there wasn’t a lot Oreck could do. But apparently Chairman David Oreck prefers American production since all Oreck-owned factories are located in America.

There are other brands of vacuum cleaners that are produced in America such as Swedish-owned Eureka and Sears’ brand Kenmore (assembled by Japanese-owned Panasonic). But why buy an American-made vacuum cleaner from a foreign-owned company when you can buy one from an American-owned company? By buying America-made and American-owned, you’ll be keeping both profits and jobs in America.

[Born Conservative]

Foster upped her $5 weekly savings to at least $15. But that money had to come from somewhere. And Foster had a simple solution. "I used to go out to dinner two or three times a weekwith my mom," she says. "Now I cook in all the time."

I wonder which restaurant she ate at 2-3 times per week for a total of $10???

[verity]

Is it relevant that Electrolux is overpriced?

[renosathug]

Prolly Mom paid.

[FITZ]

They sure are now --- just pieces of foreign made junk.