|
October 2005 noted a sad passing for Hutsonville
and Crawford County when Lexel industry was laid to rest
after a long, difficult, painful struggle. Over 40,000
square feet of what was once a bustling industry is now
silent as a tomb. The factory came to Hutsonville in
January of 1972 when Queen City Electric was looking for
a downstate location, away from Chicago. Later that
year, as the plant struggled to stay open, Mervin
Stillwell of Tempco came to the rescue and bought the
plant. Tempco expanded the business and in 1975 it was
sold to Mamco Corporation of Wisconsin and the name was
changed to Lexel.
In
1991, Lexel was turning out over 10,000 small electric
motors a day and they were so busy that “we almost hated
to answer the phone and have to tell a customer they
would have to wait because we were operating at full
capacity,” according to Richard Machtley, plant manager.
With 2 shifts and 150 + workers, they were sending their
electric motors to such brand names as Black and Decker,
Maytag and Wal-Mart. This past summer, before they
closed , they had cut their work force down to less than
85 employees.
Lexel was hit by the same economic force that has
slammed into every American manufacturer. Labor costs,
insurance and other benefits have increased each year
and some raw materials have doubled in price. Foreign
manufacturers, unencumbered by regulation, respect for
patents and customary business practices, became
ruthless competitors, and at labor rates that were
sometimes 1/10 of what we pay in the U.S. Like lemmings,
we consumers and retailers, always looking for a better
deal, leaped to buy cheaper products that were imported
from factories all over the world.
In
the past, U.S. industries have always used their
superior technology to keep productivity and quality
high and prices down, but new modern machinery upgrades
are expensive, so our local industries have not always
been able to make all the new capital improvements
needed.
All
American manufacturers are feeling the same cost and
pricing pressures that closed the Lexel plant in
Hutsonville. Some industries are fighting back by buying
some parts overseas, and asking for wage and pension
concessions, and some are completely changing their
operations. Like it or not, we are in a world-wide
market and it is tough to compete.
Most of the jobs at Lexel paid a minimum wage,
and the last round of increases in the Illinois minimum
wage law put them at an extreme disadvantage with
foreign competitors. When China joined the World Trade
Organization, and got “preferred nation” status, it was
the “coup de grace” for Lexel.
There will always be a place in our society for
minimum wage jobs. Where else can someone who is
untrained get their first job? Many workers learned
their industrial skills at Lexel and moved on to higher
paying jobs or college after they gained experience. The
flexible work schedule made it ideal work for those who
needed extra money to raise a family or supplement
pensions. As one long time employee asked Richard when
the final days came, “I can’t live on my social
security; what am I going to do?”
I
don’t believe that this is the death knoll for our great
industrial society, or that all of the manufacturers in
the U.S. will be destroyed by foreign competition. Just
remember that we “vote” with each dollar we spend and if
we continually pursue the lowest possible price,
regardless of quality or the conditions under which the
products were made, we will have more
“Lexels”.
This should be a “wake up call” for Crawford
County and the rest of our country. Every single job is
vital and precious, not just to the unfortunate
unemployed workers, but to all of us. Our industries
need temporary protection and help as we adjust to a
world-wide free trade economy. We, as consumers, and our
elected officials need to carefully consider our options
to preserve our industry and help us all steer away from
a destructive path. As Pogo, the wise old swamp possum,
once said in a cartoon, “We have met the enemy and they
is us!”
 Lexel
Industries, Hutsonville, IL
2005
|