Posted on 07/30/2004 1:39:33 PM PDT by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
ELLENVILLE - After struggling through economic downturns, security concerns that made it unlawful to travel with some of the company's products and - to hear neighbors tell it - decades of mismanagement, knife and tool maker Imperial Schrade sent the last of its production workers home for good on Thursday.
Company officials could not be reached for comment, but local estimates were that some 250 employees received letters about the shutdown and left the U.S. Route 209 plant after a 9 a.m. meeting.
By noon, the smell of mildew wafted through the unmanned window of the plants' reception area - a room that at that appeared to have been recently renovated with new carpeting and fixtures.
With crossed arms covering an identification badge, an employee in shirt and tie said the official company comment on the closing was "no comment." An officials statement would be released, he said, though none had come by Thursday evening. Other staff members could be heard talking behind closed doors.
IMPERIAL Schrade, which turned 100 this year and once was among the largest private-sector employers in Ulster County, laid off more than 150 workers last year but had recently begun hiring again.
Employment at the Ellenville plant numbered near 700 in early 2001 but had dropped below 300 in recent months after a series of deep cuts that began later in 2001.
Schrade's 548,000-square-foot factory was added to the Kingston-Ulster Empire Zone earlier this year, and Catherine Maloney, zone coordinator, said Schrade cited employment of 382 as of Dec. 31, 2003.
Among the factors hurting Schrade's bottom line was that knife orders fell sharply after the terrorist hijackings of Sept. 11, 2001, led to sharp objects being banned from airplanes.
TALKING outside a coin laundry on Center Street in Ellenville, Susan Horvath said she used to work at Schrade and that production usually increased at this time of year to meet demand for holiday orders.
"They really did nice work," said Horvath, who worked for the company for about 10 years, ending around 1989.
"I think a lot of them were expecting it," said Winslow Wiggins, another former employee. "Imports really can't compete."
"I worked there four years ago, but only for four months," said Wiggins, noting it was his second job at the time. "I had to take a cab there, and if I was two or three minutes late, they docked you."
DOWN THE street, at a bar called The Other Place, a female patron ordered another drink with, "Howie, you working? 'Cause I'm not."
"She was laid off this morning," said bartender Howie Damms. "Quite a few guys came in. I don't think they'll be coming in now. ... It's really going to hurt our business."
"They might as well put a 'Closed' sign on the whole town," said Mike Barret, also at the bar. "'Shut down due to no industry.'"
"If you don't have a car, you're not going to survive," said Carl Hoar, on the stool next to Barret's.
"Schrade hadn't given them a raise in three years," he added.
TOWN OF Wawarsing Supervisor James Dolaway called it "a sad day in the town of Wawarsing."
"We, as the Town Board, feel for the families that will be affected by this closing," Dolaway said. "It's going to have an effect on our town." Ellenville is a village within the town of Wawarsing.
FAWN Tantillo, director of the Ulster County Office of Employment and Training, said Schrade failed to notify the state Labor Department about the impending closure, and she was surprised by the news because Schrade had indicated a need for more employees in recent weeks.
"We had people here who hoped to get their old jobs back," said Tantillo, a former Ulster County legislator.
Dislocated workers from Ellenville are generally eligible for job training, and will receive it if money becomes available, she said.
Chester Straub, president of the Ulster County Development Corp., said discussions between Schrade and such groups as Empire State Development and the Catskill Watershed Corp. have been ongoing in an effort to help Schrade access money for training or secure government contracts and other resources.
IMPERIAL Schrade's roots date to the 1870s and the Ulster Knife Co. of Ellenville. Imperial Schrade is a combination of that firm, the Schrade Cutlery Co., which was founded in Walden in 1904, and the Imperial Knife Co., formed in 1916 in Providence, R.I.
The mergers produced the Imperial Knife Associated Cos., later renamed Imperial Schrade Corp.
It sounds like you did get a bad one, although I remember an expensive Buck blade literally breaking into two pieces when I was using it as an ice pik. They did replace it free of charge.
To get an idea about how far back this has been a problem, just go back and watch the movie It's a Wonderful Life again. At one point in the movie, George Bailey (James Stewart) points out that half the town of Bedford Falls has been out of work since the tool & die factory closed -- and that movie was set in the mid-1940s!
The 9/11 angle is really bizarre, though. Does anyone really believe that the sale of knives has declined in the last few years simply because nobody is allowed to carry them on airplanes??
Just damn. I have an Old Timer 80T in my pocket right now.
Bummer. Some of their stuff is crap. Some of it (like my Uncle Henry Bear Paw -- all wood, brass and steel) is good.
Get 'em while you can!
http://www.schradeknives.com/index.htm
Actually, their online store is offline...I wonder why!
I too sincerely doubt it, based on the increase in my purchases of Swiss Army pocket knives for the very same reason.
<]B^)
I agree that there are towns that have close to single employers, etc. But we simply are a mobile society now. People drive for hours sometimes to get to a job, because others are willing to do so. The simple fact is that in this economy, you must be at least somewhat mobile. If not, yes, you will have trouble keeping a job. And if you do, you will be a captive of the company, like the old mill towns. I just think that is a relic from a by-gone age.
The Kershaw knives I have owned would not hold an edge, and Buck blades are brittle. You would think knifemakers would understand steel a little bit better than those two seem to.
You beat me to it. Best, sharpest knives I have ever owned. Would'nt even consider a Schrade. Kershaw holds an edge better than any. That's why Snap-On sells them.
I think all of mine were made by Kai in Japan. They are good knives but nothing extra imo.
The best blades for holding an edge and ease of sharpening are the Cold Steel non stainless blades.
I have heard that damascus is best for this but can't afford the real damascus steel.
$%^#@# *&^, #@*&(!!
Why, Willie. I'm hurt! I present a heartfelt offer to send you - at no charge, I might add - a collector's item coveted by many, and you respond (via FReepmail) with language normally reserved for Pat Leahy.
I just pray you don't have children to corrupt.
Good point. Within 25 years, the town of Ellenville may even be part of the New York City metropolitan area.
Thank you for questioning my sexual preferences, Willie (again via FReepmail). While I imagine you are looking for company, I'm afraid I'll have to pass. The Mrs. doesn't like me dating, even out of species.
Victorinox makes multi-functional knives that are the best tools that mankind can manufacture. They have a website. www.victorinox.com
Yes, I replied to you privately.
You apparently don't have the maturity to understand that your deliberately antagonistic, off-topic, personal attacks disrupt the thread and degrade the quality of discussion on this forum. Take a hike.
Same here. I've carried that model for 35 years or so. Used them to cut everything from waffles to wire and they just kept on ticking until I eventually lose one and have to go but another. Guess I'd better stock up on 3 or 4 if I can find 'em.
...says the foul-mouthed pessimist who ran crying to the moderators.
...to understand that your deliberately antagonistic...
Antagonistic? Big word. Does that mean like, say, scouring the Internet to only post negative economic news?
personal attacks disrupt the thread and degrade the quality of discussion on this forum.
An offer to send you a bumper sticker is a personal attack?? Touchy doesn't begin to describe you. And you're concerned about the quality of the forum's discussion. How sweet.
Take a hike.
Well, you do know some other four-letter words. I'm proud of you.
...off-topic...
Okay, ya got me. I was off topic - IF it wasn't you who put "The Bush Economy" in keywords.
Had enough yet? :-D
Of course, you can't do statistics on a sample of one ...
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