Posted on 02/14/2016 8:25:40 PM PST by 11th_VA
ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) - A HVAC company owner is turning his back on one of his biggest suppliers after he said the supplier turned its back on its employees.
Wednesday, Carrier announced it plans to relocate its manufacturing plant from Indianapolis' west side to Mexico, taking 1,400 jobs with it. The decision obviously isn't sitting well with employees but it's also bothering several heating and air companies.
It's a business decision that comes from the heart.
"We're not helping buy a CEO their 5th vacation home, we're helping feed our family," said R.D. Poffenbarger as he installed a thermostat.
He owns 911 Heating and Cooling in Anderson and is loyal to his suppliers.
"I've used Carrier products in my company the whole time," he said spanning 16 years in business. But he said that won't happen anymore, not after what Carrier announced Wednesday.
"They were always promoting that they were made in the U.S. and it just shocked me that they would (relocate to Mexico)," he said.
The out-of-the-country move is part of the reason why Poffenbarger says he'll no longer use Carrier products. "You notice different workmanship…failures," he said. "It just gets to be a cheaper product."
He also sympathizes with the workers. Living in Anderson, he knows what it's like when manufacturing companies skip town.
"Used to be Delco, Guide Lamp, GM, and they all left. So I have friends you know, I have people I went to school with as parents that all of sudden were out of jobs," he said.
Poffenbarger plans to use only suppliers like Goodman or Ameristar going forward. It might hurt his bottom line, but he said it won't hurt his conscience.
"I was talking to my service manager Coby and I said you know, we may take a hit for doing this but I feel it's right," he said.
Earlier in the day, Poffenbarger said he was at a HVAC supply store. He said while there, other heating and air company owners told him they agreed with his decision. He said the supply store was also contemplating not carrying Carrier products.
I don’t wish Carrier any bad luck, but if they have some I wouldn’t mind hearing about it.
Actually, I’d like to see all the high level decision makers, who pull this greedy, unfeeling crap, reduced to selling pencils on the street corner of a Chicago ghetto.
OTOH, is a union involved? Were they making outrageous demands? We used to have a CAT Plant in York, PA. The CAT employees proportionally, were the highest paid in the County, maybe the State. But the greedy union kept escalating their demands. So after several warnings, CAT moved south.
We also have a Harley Davidson factory. A few years ago the union came to within a frog hair of forcing them to leave town. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and we still have Harley. But we COULD still have BOTH!
Shark Tank had a guy on last week from Stanford. He was an arrogant little punk with a decent product idea and a horrendous business plan. He turned down a $2,500,000 offer. Last season, another Stanford MBA actually started lecturing Kevin O’Leary on how business is operated. That went well. /s
Just watching those two told me all I need to know about Stanford MBA’s.
>>Guess what? If you don’t own it, you have zero right to dictate where anyone produces anything.
You are absolutely right.
>>Comrade Bernie would be very proud of you.
Comrade Bernie is also very proud of Carrier. They just put 1400 families who were self-supporting through their own labor on unemployment. They will probably cause several of those families to fracture, which will put quite a few “single” moms on welfare, and teach children than welfare is more reliable than work.
How many socialists did Carrier create over time for a business decision that wasn’t about saving the company from bankruptcy? It was just about making more profit.
Yes, the business has the right, and even the obligation to its shareholders, to do what Carrier did. But, none of those shareholders have the right to complain about America’s shift towards socialism, because they helped to do it.
Yes
In that case, I can lease the white hut Lincoln bedroom to to you.
That’s the way to sell this idea good one KC. We CAN do it better here if the incentives aren’t rigged against Americans....
Maybe next we can start getting tech support from Americans we can understand....
Yes, poor old elites... when three vacation homes would work just as well...
Because that's what the stockholders demand. The first question the Board gets at their Shareholders' meetings is, "Why aren't you looking outside of the US to cut labor costs?"
The only thing that can kill the old Sat is running out of oil.
So you have the secret.
Mitsubishi with an ecm motor...
Maytag is a trade name of Nordyne.
They are in process of moving production to Mexico
My hubs would concur. He has quit several companies for keeping on shoddy repairmen who never kept up with the technological advances in HVAC. The owners usually love those types because they repeatedly bill the customer.
Hubs can’t start his own biz because he’s on the CS treadmill for 11 yrs with 8 more to go. That and we live in NYS.
There is a systemic conflict of interest between international corporate stock holders and the American people. Corporations act like stateless NGO’s and nobody checks their power. Worse they corrupt the legitimate government with bribes. It is like the Mafia running manufacturing in the USA.
Amen! The EPA strikes again! 410A is crap and practically eats through compressors due to the higher pressure. You have to wonder how that is more ecologically responsible than the wonderful R22 that rarely leaks and always works.
True, but the air supplied in a heat pump system is much lower temp than a combustion system.
I’ve had both and would vote for nat gas every time.
(of course nat gas is very low price these days also)
nas, that’s true but in many areas, electric is all that’s available unless you want to pipe in propane. A HP uses 1/3 the electric that electric heat strips use.
If natural gas is available, plus with the low prices which I see for a long time due to fracking, it would be foolish to get a HP if NG was available, or propane for that matter.
wow, it’s nice to talk when it’s not Trump vs. Cruz.
I don’t necessarily blame the companies. They are not charities.
I blame the government and unions, when applicable, for creating an environment that makes doing business here so expensive.
I’m starting a small business right now - I haven’t done a thing for making my actual products yet because I have to get through the government requirements, inspections, licenses, and permits first. If I didn’t have a lot of money set aside for all this - for a business that may fail to be viable anyway - I’d give up.
My understanding has been that Carrier was the last company making HVAC equipment in the US. Wonder what brand this guy will purchase?
Carrier announced not long ago they would be expanding their Indianapolis Plant. Wonder if this new announcement is somehow related? Not enough land? Union problems coming up? State not offering enough tax incentive?
Glad you cleared that up.
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