Auto Suppliers Feel the Pinch
A Company that Makes Safety Glasses Reflects Detroit Three Woes
by Barrie Barber The Saginaw News
Friday May 29, 2009, 1:22 PM
Friday May 29, 2009, 1:22 PM
Hi-Tech Optical Inc. in Saginaw Township had 50 employees in 2003.
But because of disappearing jobs in the auto industry, the optical maker's workforce has shrunk to 18, said President Thomas M. Ryan.
The reason: Fewer auto workers greatly reduced demand for the safety glasses that Hi-Tech Optical grinds out.
"There's losses that trickle all the way down the supply chain," he said. "It's more far-reaching than people realize."
The company's story was one of about a half-dozen that U.S. Rep. Dave Camp heard when he met with a group of small business owners today as General Motors Corp. appears headed for bankruptcy court by a White House-imposed Monday deadline.
Camp, a Midland Republican who toured the lens grinding facility at 3139 Christy Way, listened to pleas to find ways to loosen the pursue strings for financing to small business owners struggling in a sea of uncertainty and the hope for more money to boost Michigan's alternative energy industry.
The ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, Camp said he would approach the U.S. Treasury Department to find ways to get financing for businesses.
He also said the federal government should let people who know the industry run it. He has called the Monday make-or-break date an "artificial deadline."
"I don't think the automakers should have been pushed into bankruptcy, but they are and we have to deal with the reality of the situation," Camp said.
He opposes "cap and trade" emissions legislation on grounds it could further devastate Michigan industries while China and India are exempt from the same pollution standards. He also called for greater use of "clean coal" power plants, natural gas and nuclear energy in addition to renewable sources to build the economy.
Auto industry woes have heaped pain on suppliers, businessman told Camp. At Hi-Tech, for example, auto-related accounts brought in $906,353 in 2006. Last year, that plummeted to $284,264.
"A few years ago, Delphi was one of our major accounts, and now it's just a small part of our business," Ryan said. "We can't put glasses on robots and we can't put glasses on nonexistent people."
The company has attempted to diversify into other states, he said.
Wright-K Technology Inc. has faced a major decline in auto-related business over the last decade or so, said Chairman John P. Sivey. The custom machinery manufacturer at 2025 E. Genesee in Saginaw once had $10 million in sales to Delphi.
"We don't do $50,000 today," he said, also emphasizing the need for financing. "There's nothing available to get. You can't get blood from a rock, and you're looking at the rock right here."
But because of disappearing jobs in the auto industry, the optical maker's workforce has shrunk to 18, said President Thomas M. Ryan.
The reason: Fewer auto workers greatly reduced demand for the safety glasses that Hi-Tech Optical grinds out.
"There's losses that trickle all the way down the supply chain," he said. "It's more far-reaching than people realize."
The company's story was one of about a half-dozen that U.S. Rep. Dave Camp heard when he met with a group of small business owners today as General Motors Corp. appears headed for bankruptcy court by a White House-imposed Monday deadline.
Camp, a Midland Republican who toured the lens grinding facility at 3139 Christy Way, listened to pleas to find ways to loosen the pursue strings for financing to small business owners struggling in a sea of uncertainty and the hope for more money to boost Michigan's alternative energy industry.
The ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, Camp said he would approach the U.S. Treasury Department to find ways to get financing for businesses.
He also said the federal government should let people who know the industry run it. He has called the Monday make-or-break date an "artificial deadline."
"I don't think the automakers should have been pushed into bankruptcy, but they are and we have to deal with the reality of the situation," Camp said.
He opposes "cap and trade" emissions legislation on grounds it could further devastate Michigan industries while China and India are exempt from the same pollution standards. He also called for greater use of "clean coal" power plants, natural gas and nuclear energy in addition to renewable sources to build the economy.
Auto industry woes have heaped pain on suppliers, businessman told Camp. At Hi-Tech, for example, auto-related accounts brought in $906,353 in 2006. Last year, that plummeted to $284,264.
"A few years ago, Delphi was one of our major accounts, and now it's just a small part of our business," Ryan said. "We can't put glasses on robots and we can't put glasses on nonexistent people."
The company has attempted to diversify into other states, he said.
Wright-K Technology Inc. has faced a major decline in auto-related business over the last decade or so, said Chairman John P. Sivey. The custom machinery manufacturer at 2025 E. Genesee in Saginaw once had $10 million in sales to Delphi.
"We don't do $50,000 today," he said, also emphasizing the need for financing. "There's nothing available to get. You can't get blood from a rock, and you're looking at the rock right here."
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