Some info from a manufacturing side
Well it's Dec 4th 2008
I am sitting here trying to balance incoming $$$ verses out going cash flow.
And this holiday falls in the middle of the week which complicates and gives us a snippet of what it would be like with out the USA auto industry.
My company manufactures and sells identification tools and machines for just about everything from golf clubs to space shuttles.
However w/o the auto industries continues flow of work we could not live on the other industries alone (I.e. a marking system for Smith & Wesson will work for 50 years as the product does not change each year like cars do).
Now with sales of cars & trucks down so much even the suppliers who used to work the 2 weeks of the holidays are shutting down as well.
So my company will not be able to ship to about 85% of our customers (about 600 orders each week).
Also most of my suppliers steel, switches, heat treat, computers and so on will not be open either so we won't get our materials.
My engineers won't have any customers to work on projects with.
So what do I do?
- Lay them off for 2 weeks?
- With zero going out the door for 2 weeks I will not have any cash coming in next month for 2 weeks.
- Pay them as usual with holiday pay and payroll, and have them work a few days on well government projects?
- Can't do this as I out lined above.
- Go to the bank and borrow float money?????
- What do I tell all the customers that are open medical computer and golf club manufactures?
- Maybe I can tell them to order double to take up the slack of what the Auto industry isn't?
- If they did I can't get vendors to stay open who supply me daily.
- Now here comes the $100K BCBS health insurance bill for the month for those workers who are laid off?
My best guess is 250 people will instantly be w/o income and will not be paying any income tax.
I am one of those owners who knows every employee and their family's. And usally over do it with Christmas gifts and finances.
This year I feel like the scrooge at Christmas time.
And I am just a little guy....one of those companies people say 'I had no idea so much work went into puttting a mark on something".
What some of you may or may not remember is, the big 3 as we call them have been cutting costs and automating and inventing and fighting tooth and nail for the past 20 years.
Anti lock, air bags, mass produced fuel injection & electronic engine controls, crumple zones, brakes wheels and so on. We get told it is law and go create. Once it is done they tell the imports to put them on.
Well I have a pretty big group of engineers and inventing is 90% of the cost to make a "me to" is 10%.
So hats off to our Big 3 and thank you for all you have done and hopefully will do.
And yes I put my money where my mouth is.
I have given each employee with over 5 years and a great record a Ford vehicle to drive and I replace it every 2 to 4 years.
I just checked and since 2004 I have personally purchased over 110 Ford vehicles and most of my employees are so pleased with Ford they have purchased Fords on their own for family use as well.
Last year I took a photo of our Fords parked all around my plant and mailed 2 copies to Alan M. never expecting a response.
I got a nice hand written letter and he signed with a thank you on one photo and mailed it back.
It ought to be interesting when I have to amortize engineering and manufacturing cost over the few machines we would build for medical equipment sporting bottling defense......I can confidently say everything would have to double or be supplied from someone else over seas where the their people & goverment support them.
Final thought.........with a huge drop in retirees will heavy retirement states go belly up?
I cannot comprehend what this country would be like without the big 3.
Tom
