Put out the welcome mat

I came across this story earlier this week and was reminded just how important it is for metal fabricators to open their doors to the community, in particular elected officials and government bureaucrats.



In this case, Karen Mills, an administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), visited ALCOM Inc., a Waterville, Maine-based fabricator of recreational trailers and was energized to take the tale of this growing manufacturing company back to Washington, D.C. ALCOM is about to leave its 47,000-sq.-ft., rented facility and move to a newly constructed, 70,000-sq.-ft. building in Winslow. Part of the financing for this expansion is coming from a $1.14 million SBA loan, which is a small sliver of the millions of dollars provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.


ALCOM wants to grow its business from $12 million in annual sales to more than $30 million in the next five years. At that level, the company could add more than 50 employees to its roster of 65 today.



That"s the type of news that should energize a public official. Small businesses like ALCOM and other fabricating operations have the potential to generate the jobs that all public officials are looking to create. Unfortunately, it doesn"t occur on the scale that grabs headlines in the nation"s newspapers or that calls for a mention on the evening news.



On Wednesday I visited Sureway Tool and Engineering in Franklin Park, Ill., to grab some pictures for a story I"m working on and to chat with the company"s chief engineer. I pulled into the nondescript industrial park near O"Hare International Airport, driving slowly to avoid the many potholes in the road. I pulled into the fenced-in parking lot and walked past the nicely organized landscaping—a simple and very familiar walk that I"ve made close to 100 times during my writing career.



That familiarity ended upon walking into the office. Looking up, I didn"t see ceiling panels and bad fluorescent lighting. I saw a blacked-out ceiling with fashionable lights dangling freely in the open space. I saw walls painted in a variety of comfortable colors, not stark rental-house white. I saw modern office furniture and cubicles, not an odd collection of desks and chairs salvaged from defunct companies. I saw a shop floor that was brightly lit, nicely organized without being crammed, and pretty clean for being the middle of the day. I saw a modern manufacturing environment that would rival the hip office of a Silicon Valley start-up, minus the foosball table.



The chief engineer smiled when I told him that I don"t see too many environments like his company"s. Yeah, it"s nice to come to work here, he replied.



That energized me. That motivated me to share the story, and such a visit can help motivate elected officials.



Most people know that the wages associated with manufacturing are good. Most people, however, still think that these workers have to risk their lives in unsafe environments to earn these wages.



That thinking needs to change, and metal fabricators can help make that happen. Invite your local elected representatives to tour the facilities. More than likely, they are lawyers with little or no experience with manufacturing. If they see what manufacturing is today, they can believe it"s a meaningful part of this country"s economic future and worth supporting.

This is real manufacturing. Coming here makes me very happy, the SBA"s Mills told the local newspaper during her visit to ALCOM.



That"s one bureaucrat down, and about 499,999 to go.