Whirlpool bringing some work back to Ohio from Mexico

Columbus Dispatch ^ | Tuesday, November 11, 2003 | Mark Niquette

[smith288]

Whirlpool bringing some work back to Ohio from Mexico

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Mark Niquette

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

MIKE MUNDEN | DISPATCH

Ronald Jordan works on a Kenmore dryer at the Whirlpool factory in Marion. The company employs 2,700 at the facility.

Ohioans weary of watching manufacturing jobs leave the state for Mexico and other countries got some good news yesterday: Manufacturing work has left Mexico for Ohio.

Whirlpool said it has moved some production of top-loading washers in Mexico to its plant in Clyde, Ohio. The move is part of $100 million in upgrades to expand seven U.S. facilities, including plants in Marion and Findlay.

The changes won’t increase employment at the plants but shows the company’s commitment to helping them remain competitive, spokesman Christopher Wyse said.

"It’s a relief," said Dave Claborn, president of Marion’s Community Area New Development Organization. "It speaks well of the company and its confidence in our work force and community."

Whirlpool, based in Michigan, employs 2,700 in Marion, 2,500 in Clyde and 2,000 in Findlay, making it one of the largest employers in Hancock, Marion and Sandusky counties.

The news comes as Ohio continues to lose manufacturing jobs — nearly 34,000 so far this year and more than 150,000 since 2000.

Although other U.S. companies have moved work to the country from Mexico or other nations, it’s rare, according to state and national manufacturing trade associations.

"It’s certainly not happening every day," said Darren McKinney, spokesman for National Association of Manufacturers.

Whirlpool had been making a small number of washers in Mexico as part of a joint venture but decided to consolidate production after buying the other share of the venture last year, Wyse said.

It made sense to move that work from Mexico to Clyde because the Ohio facility already was making the same style washer, Wyse said.

Today, the units are manufactured in Clyde and exported for sale in Mexico, he said.

"That’s a nice change, isn’t it?" said Kay Reiter, executive director of the Sandusky County Economic Development Corp.

In Marion, Whirlpool primarily makes dryers, including units for the new Duet washer-dryer combination launched last year. The company decided to expand capacity for Duet dryers based on initial consumer response, Wyse said.

Whirlpool also is increasing the number of dishwashers produced in Findlay, he said.

Wyse declined to disclose how much of the $100 million was invested at each plant, how many additional units would be made at each or how wages compare at its U.S. and foreign manufacturing plants.

Although Whirlpool is investing in its U.S. plants, it also is expanding operations in Mexico and plans to build a new facility there that will make some of the side-byside refrigerators now made in Arkansas.

Still, yesterday’s news is a sign the United States can still be competitive for manufacturing jobs, said Bill Canis, executive director of the National Association of Manufacturers’ Manufacturing Institute.

"If American factories have the right technology and trained work force, no one can beat them," Canis said.

mniquette@dispatch.com 

[RandallFlagg]

SWEET! I'm buyin' me a Whirlpool!!

[smith288]

Good stuff... Lets hope some of these companies are going to set a trend (dont bet on it)

[jackbill]

Now that their jobs look a bit more secure, how long will it be before they strike for higher wages?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Willie's...Daschle's...All liberals are gonna be sad.

[toddst]

Now let's see if Ohio will lower corporate taxes on Whirlpool (and others.) THAT would make a difference in how attractive Ohio could be to manufacturers.

[Naspino]

I'm deeply saddened and concerned.

-DHole

[Willie Green]

The changes won’t increase employment at the plants but...
Whirlpool had been making a small number of washers in Mexico as part of a joint venture...
Wyse declined to disclose how much of the $100 million was invested at each plant
Although Whirlpool is investing in its U.S. plants, it also is expanding operations in Mexico and plans to build a new facility there that

Hmmmm....
Sounds like they're facing start-up difficulties in Mexico...
Forced to maintain U.S. based production until Mexico is ready to absorb the load.
No long term committment here. Merely a spin-job on the postponement.

[dead]

What do you get when you play a giant sucking sound backwards?

[LS]

If you're from Ohio, please sign a petition to repeal the increase in the state sales tax. Go to www.repealthetax.org

[LS]

Ah, the voice of the Socialist Party speaks!

[ErnBatavia]

Willie is not going to like this...

[Orangedog]

What do you get when you play a giant sucking sound backwards?

Go to Taco Bell and order a bean burrito supreme. A few hours after you eat it, you'll get your answer ;)

[Willie Green]

Ah, the voice of the Socialist Party speaks!

You mean the voice of experience.

When I workd in the domestic appliance industry, I was Engineering Project Manager responsible for production start-ups at licensees and joint-ventures in Mexico, South Korea and China. It is reeeeeeeeal easy for me to read between the lines on this one. Been there, done that.

[toddst]

Good luck! Sounds like you have many legislators who need to be replaced in the next election.

[Rodney King]

bump

[Rodney King]

Sorry that I pinged you, I overlooked your post.

[Willie Green]

It's quite alright, Rodney.
The globo-weenies love to demonize manufacturing jobs as "unskilled" labor.
This article is actually testament to the contrary.
It's one thing to plop a bunch of production equipment and tooling somewhere down in Mexico...
It's quite another to develop skills and expertise in the local workforce to operate and maintain them at production levels.
Maytag is obviously having some difficulty here, and Mexico needs some more time to work the kinks out of their facility. In the meantime, production still has to be maintained in the U.S. until Mexico is ready.

The writing is on the wall, you're just not going to read it in the newspaper.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Halleluia. Hopefully this is the first move of a trend. I just heard today that Mexican labor is getting too expensive, and a lot of that work is going to China. However the Mexican work has also improved in quality. I am hearing unbelievable tales of 1 day turn-arounds for prototypes in Asia. The problem is that thes eplants want huge orders -- paid in advance. I don't thin that many companies can handle those terms. Hopefully they will stort outsourcing in the US again.

[SteamShovel]

Now that their jobs look a bit more secure, how long will it be before they strike for higher wages?

I can't speak for Clyde, but Whirlpool Marion is non-union (at least it was as late as the 80's and I believe it still is)