Huron Expositor, 2009-10-28, Page 13.w •..... .._ .
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The Huron Expositor • October 28, 2009 Page 13
Two -thousand manufacturing jobs in Huron
County lost in the last year, HMA president says
Gerard Critces,
It's a shifting economy and in
places like Huron County where
manufacturing was king, it has
been a year of great loss.
According to Huron Manufactur-
ing Association President Chris
Meier, about one-third of the man-
ufacturing workforce is gone as
employers trim the fat from their
organizations to weather the eco-
nomic storm.
All told, he said 2,000 jobs have
been lost in Huron County in the
last year alone.
"We couldn't have imagined even
one segment, taking a third of its
workforce and then wiping it out
in 12 months," he said. "But each
segment has dropped off."
Employers, he said, are sym-
pathetic where possible, keeping:
people for non -crucial jobs, even
at reduced hours. Job -sharing and
wage cuts have helped keep ex-
perienced staff around, and are
somewhat of a necessary evil. Ac-
cording to Meier, they have to be.
"Many people working 40 hours
a week are pleased to work 35,"
he said. "But any time four people
complain, that's one job gone."
Less jobs, however, mean more
people doing a variety of tasks.
The days of one person, one job are
over, he said.
"(As an employer) right now I only
want a guy that has 10 abilities,"
he said. "It has become very diffi-
cult for someone
in the industry
for . 10-15 years
who has found
themselves out
on the road.
"If you had a
job where you
only had one
step, you be-
came obsolete."
Whereas the
agriculture and
manufacturing
sectors would
bolster each
other when one
or the other
failed, Meier
said that is not
happening *this
time around and
what jobs remain are paying less.
"Every time there is a downturn
in manufacturing they have to go
to construction. They have to go to
agriculture," he said. "Wages are
not $30 or $40 an hour. It will be
$10-$15."
The bulk of Huron's manufac-
turers employ five people or fewer.
Meier. said he encourages small
business to specialize 'rather than
fold as markets dry up.
However, for business owners
nearing retirement or relocating,
it is sometimes easier to, close up
shop than struggle against the
economic grain.
"We're losing some of that his-
tory that we've built up over 20-30
years," he said. "People have that
mentality - `I'm . not hanging in
there, I'm throwing in the towel.'"
Enter the green economy. Meier
said a shift in the manufacturing
world toward the production of
wind energy and bio -fuels is in the
cards for Huron County, but peo-
ple need to get behind it.
"The green economy in our area
will be the wind resources, the so-
lar resources, the biofuel resourc-
es," he said. "We need the manu-
facturing base for that."
There is no shortage of oppor-
tunity for manufacturers to be
successful going green, he said,
however, there are some serious
misconceptions surrounding the
urgency to do so.
Even public infrastructure dol -
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lars are drying up, he noted, as
the last of the federal grant money
flows out from Ottawa in March.
However, Huron County is set
up to accommodate for the manu-
facturing shift, he said.
"We have a foundry to make
parts," he said. "We have a har-
bour here that is able to handle
shipments all over the world and
the U.S. We have a large landmass
and no big cities. Solar and wind
will fit."
However, he said there is a lack
of understanding not only between
the HMA and the county, but be-
tween sectors themselves.
Not -in -my -backyard policies are
restricting an industry that hasn't
had time to mature, he said. It will
take the cooperation of politicians,
municipalities and industry heads
to put Huron on the right track.
"We're not criticizing the county,
or the manufacturers," he said.
"We all want to get through this.
With good workers, good groups,
good people and good communi-
ties, we can compete."
Innovating, moving forward
and staying forward - Meier said
a switch to a green economy will
require flexibility from all sectors.
In the meantime, . businesses.,
will just have to hunker down and
bear through, recognizing a full,
economic recovery could take five
to 10 years.
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