:::: What's Happening at Atlas Machine and Supply

Rich Gimmel, president of Louisville-based manufacturer Atlas Machine and Supply, welcomes the Louisville and Lexington mayors’ renewed focus on manufacturing for economic development.

 

Gimmel sent me these comments on Friday via e-mail:

 

As a manufacturer who depends on other manufactures as customers, and as a board member of the National Association of Manufacturers, I’m delighted that community leadership is once again putting manufacturers on their economic development radar screen.  For the past several years, most of the emphasis was on "corporate HQ’s" and service or medical jobs.  In fact, for several years there wasn’t a single manufacturer (other than me) on the GLI 50+-person board of directors.  Manufacturers are still greatly underrepresented on that body.

 

I’ve met with U.S. House Democrat whip Steny Hoyer about his "Make it in America" initiative, and we’re working with others in Washington to create a healthier environment for U.S. Manufacturing to flourish.  I’m glad to see Louisville — in cooperation with Lexington — finally getting on board — hopefully in a real way and not just lip service.

 

Nevertheless, the U.S. still leads the world in manufacturing — by almost two to one over China and Japan. That’s one of our better-kept secrets.

 

Our company is growing, we’re hiring, and reinvesting heavily in plant machinery to create more opportunities and more capacity. In fact, Mayor Fischer will be meeting here with many of our people on August 23 to discuss, among other things, his manufacturing initiative.

 

Let’s hope we can keep this issue on the radar screen.