250 TON PUNCH PRESS

Last parts run on press before being sent to Mexico. Over 40 years of knowledge and hard work out the door. Just a note, this was NEVER a union plant.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• punch
• press
• outsourcing
• Mexico

[Frankyyourpimp]

How much do those operating this type of machines earn? and whats their title?

[superzstuff]

Press setup and operate jobs paid $14 to $16 an hour. This guy set up and ran 6 presses. Most ran automatically and all he had to do was load stock coils. This press had to be watched to make sure parts got out of die. Two parts in die would mean a week long repair that I had to do.

[SanLewy]

I'm curious if this press was tooled, set-up and run by highly paid unionized labor? I would if that might have contributed to moving the work south of the border? By the looks of the press operator, that shop sure isn't a jumping place...

[superzstuff]

The Asheville plant was never union and it was the largest and most productive of the 15 or more in the U.S. This video was taken after 85 percent of the 800 employees had been laid off and the pressroom operation was the last to be outsourced. The company had many problems trying to find outside vendors to run our tools. We were told in 2003 the plant would close and it took until March 2007 to outsource all tooling. Some was sent out and had to be brought back in because source went under.

[itsallaroundus]

this video inspires me with national pride more than a thousand videos of the world trade center or related terrorist acts ever could. if i only knew how, i would gladly fight or give up my life to see industry return to America.

[ZX2ManDave]

Sorry to hear about your job. I went through the same thing. The company i had been with for many years decided to go to Mexico for the cheap labor. Took all of our high tech CNC machinery and robotic equipment down there, set it up in a old building and expected people with no training to be able to run it. I am happy to say they LOST THEIR ASSES on that deal. They found out quick that cheap labor does not replace skilled workers. The company ended up going out of business within a year.

[cooldog60]

@Frankyyourpimp In a union shop $25.00 an hour.

[delacerdaa]

@ZX2ManDave

Im so happy to hear that the company went broke, I`m sorry you lost your job though.

Im an American born from mexican parents and love Mexico because of my parents but it pisses me off that these asshole American companies move to Mexico for cheap labor

[urbansculptures]

The US used to lead the world in industry from the mid 1800s thru WW2, it was WE who designed and built the innovative macines starting way back with the sewing machine, steam engines, locomotives, electric & devices, motors, cars, computers, you name it! WE had the best steel mills and foundries and its all but gone. Look at Detroit as a city, its fallen apart and a decaying ghosttown. We used to build the BEST heavy machinery, now all you see is foreign brands, Daiwoo, Misubishi etc.

[dragon4166]

Letting almost all our manufacturing go overseas was a terrible mistake -- if you don't make something, all you're doing to moving other people's money around. Once a nation becomes a service economy, it's down the tubes from there.

[allenrnewbauer]

we need to keep this kind of work here in the us and we need to start finding better ways to make tooling and have better tool engineering that well cut cost more than cutting back on people or pay