SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL PRSRT STD P.O. Box 398 U.S. POSTAGE Springfi eld, IL 62705 PAID SPRINGFIELD, IL PERMIT NO 209 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED PAGE 3 PAGE FOR AREA MANUFACTURERS AREA FOR TARIFFS AND STAFFING ARE TWO MAJOR CHALLENGES CHALLENGES MAJOR TWO ARE STAFFING AND TARIFFS Made in America in Made 2019 JUNE 2 ◆ June 2019 ◆ Springfi eld Business Journal A Henry Technologies employee welds a commercial fitting. Made in America Tariffs and staffing are two major challenges for area manufacturers ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY the communities in which they are located. But turing jobs nationwide during the past few also report difficulty attracting enough quali- DAVID BLANCHETTE manufacturers are also part of a volatile seg- years, particularly in the durable goods sector. fied workers. ment of the market, more susceptible to foreign “Made in America” is apparently making a We’ve taken a look at four different types From diodes to doughnuts, manufacturers in policy decisions, government regulations and comeback, and several area manufacturers of area manufacturers to get their take on the Springfield area make many different things the growth or stagnation of state economies. are taking advantage of that trend. However, the segment’s opportunities and challenges, and supply steady employment. They are es- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has it’s hard to make something if you don’t have as well as that coveted “Made in America” tablished, often multi-generational members of noted an increase in the number of manufac- the employees to do so, and local industries designation. Manufacturer of flow control and pressure vessel components for the Henry Technologies Inc., Chatham commercial refrigeration and air conditioning industry, 90 employees The “Made in America” label is important powder coating, testing and packing a myriad Technology has been both a blessing challenging, due to federal regulations and to Henry Technologies of Chatham, which of fittings from small to very large for com- and a challenge for Henry, Robinson said. additional operating expenses for a global traces its history back to Chicago in 1914 mercial customers around the globe, includ- The firm can communicate immediately and manufacturer.” and a man who built components for Model ing the U.S. government. effectively with customers around the globe, “We must have complete visibility T Fords. Henry is always on the lookout for new and technology helps the company to identify throughout our production and supply chain “The heart and soul of our company was workers with the skills needed to make risks and head off potential problems so procedures. This is required for industry built on the dreams of an American entre- commercial refrigeration and air conditioning supply chain interruptions are minimized. But standards, as well as for our customers’ preneur who had a passion for the value of components. Robinson said the company technology also requires additional resources compliance measures,” Robinson said. being made in America,” said Hanna Rob- partners with Capital Area Career Center to to implement and support, a cost that must Robinson also noted that those in the inson, human resources manager at Henry attract potential welders to join the firm’s be borne by the manufacturer. manufacturing industry can never become Technologies. “I feel that we contribute to production team. Henry has also worked with One of the most demanding challenges complacent, because there’s always another the way people view made in America prod- the University of Illinois to host an on-site the company faces are government regula- firm itching for business. ucts by exceeding our customers’ expecta- intern work study program in the engineering tions pertaining to global warming compli- “We must always stay relevant in our tions through excellence in all aspects of the department, where products are designed ance standards for refrigerants. industry with product development abilities products and services we provide.” from scratch to meet customers’ unique “It is important today as a global supplier as well as having a solid supply chain of in- The Chatham facility is owned by Henry needs. Employment agencies are utilized to in the industry, that we produce a product of ventory available,” Robinson said. “We must Group Industries, whose corporate offices are fill some other key positions, and Robinson high quality that supports environmentally always be customer- focused in order to be located in Hong Kong, but inside you’ll find said the company puts a lot of effort into safe and effective standards to our customer competitive in the industry and to provide the local men and women machining, welding, retaining employees. base,” Robinson said. “This can be very best value to all stakeholders.” Springfi eld Business Journal ◆ June 2019 ◆ 3 Mel-O-Cream Donuts International, Springfield Food products manufacturer, 80 employees David Waltrip loves Mel-O-Cream’s choc- leave the Springfield plant so the stores that olate long johns and white-iced cinnamon sell them have less preparation work to do. rolls, but he knows the company isn’t the Waltrip said that’s because the stores are only manufacturer that produces these experiencing a labor shortage, a dilemma delicacies. that Mel-O-Cream also faces. “Doughnuts have become a commodity “It can be challenging for us to get in the industry, and we don’t view them that skilled labor,” Waltrip said. “We try a mul- way,” said Waltrip, the president and CEO of titude of sources: social media, word-of- Mel-O-Cream. “We try to be the best in the mouth, job fairs, every angle we can come market. Our products taste fresher longer up with, trying to be creative all the time than anybody else’s, and we have customer trying to figure out ways to recruit workers.” service and support that the majority of our Shortages of drivers in the trucking competitors don’t provide.” industry inspired Mel-O-Cream to buy However, this commitment to quality its own trucks and hire its own drivers to has limited the growth of Mel-O-Cream, deliver products. Waltrip said the company which has been producing doughnuts in the tries to retain workers by paying fair wag- Springfield area since 1932. es and benefits and by making the plant a “When you live in a commodity world great work environment. and people are so price-sensitive, there are Waltrip has lived in the Springfield only a certain number of customers who area his entire life and has watched man- feel that it’s worth the extra money to try ufacturers come and go. Unfortunately, it’s to do business that way,” Waltrip said. “But been mostly “go.” that’s one of our core values, and we don’t “We don’t have enough manufacturers forget you after we sell you our product.” in Springfield. There are lot of opinions Most of Mel-O-Cream’s products are about why or why not, but the results cooked at their plant on Springfield’s far out-speak all of the opinions,” Waltrip southwest side and then frozen to be said. “You see government and hospitals shipped to stores, where the donuts are growing, but you don’t see that from man- finished and sold to consumers under the ufacturing.” store’s brand name. Because of this, many “I travel a lot in my business, and in doughnut fans in the Midwest are eating places like Iowa and Texas you see a lot of Mel-O-Creams and may not realize it, Wal- new growth, a lot of construction,” Waltrip trip said. said. “It makes me scratch my head and Mel-O-Cream is being asked to do think, ‘What are we missing compared to more to its doughnut products before they these locations?’” CCK Automations, Jacksonville Electronics manufacturer, 86 employees “You ought to see the American flag we Most of the work cells in CCK’s fly on our production floor,” said CEO J.J. 149,000-square-foot facility are easily Richardson. movable, and it’s not uncommon for em- CCK Automations is locally owned and ployees to quickly reconfigure the huge, the company designs, engineers and man- bright, clean work floor to produce a brand ufactures electronic components, a process new product or add production capacity for most people probably associate with China. an existing one. Richardson said CCK has But the Jacksonville firm is proudly Ameri- a global client base that includes the agri- can and is glad to have a hand in the return culture, food, consumer electronics, oil and of electronics manufacturing to the United gas industries. States. CCK employees work four 10-hour “A lot of the electronics manufacturing days per week in two shifts and Richardson was outsourced to China a few years ago, said they receive competitive wages. But but a lot of it is trying to come back to the the company is not immune to the problem U.S.,” Richardson said. “I think President it shares with other area industries and that Trump has done a great job by imposing the is the lack of a readily available workforce. tariffs. When I first saw those I thought it was “We have talked to two local colleges going to kill our business, but it’s actually to try and figure out how we can work a been good for our business.” specific program for our needs,” Richard- “We’ve seen customers decide to bring son said. “The problem is, they typically product back to the United States versus don’t offer programs we need for our area paying that tariff, so there’s no business of electronics. Illinois College has just advantage to move production overseas,” started an engineering program and that’s Richardson said.