weil mclain today

Tom Hopkins

I kind of like it... the older I get the less I'm bothered by things that happen to people that I don't know.

Unknown

casting in china

Hi ALl,

I read a couple of years ago that WM was going to start doing all of their casting in CHINA.

Has anyone seen an increase in failure ort a decrease in quality since this took place??

Thanks,

Steve

DanHolohan

I know

that Michigan City is still making the larger castings.

Robert O'Brien

I Don't

know if that's true,but in any case I see no difference.

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Supply House Rick

Was told today

by another Boiler Rep that Weil is still the number one boiler manufacturer in the United States. They must be doing something right...

Robert O'Brien

I

Thought Burnham was #1.They also own Crown and New Yorker,

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Todd S_8

Might as well be China

I edited this post possibly too harsh - my apologies

DanHolohan

Well,

I've been to Eden I can assure you it's no towel factory. They started with a gutted building, the largest building under one roof in the entire state of North Carolina, and they put together one of the best assembly plants I have ever seen. And I've visited a lot of factories during the past 38 years.

I edited your post a bit. Please don't curse here. Thanks.

Tony_23

It's my understanding

I was told that the China factory is supplying the China market. Makes sense to me.

Maybe if this country didn't tax the crap out of big companies that do well, they could afford to stay here and employ thousands of taxpayers who can't move to China.....

Unknown

this is where I am a little confused

Dan,

In 2004 Supply House Times ran a news release that the Benton and Michigan City plants were being shut down. About the same time frame the parent comapny aquired the China plant. The article also stated they would set up a bigger better plant near the Virginia and North Carolina border.

SO you have been to the new plant?

DanHolohan

Yes, I visited there.

They shut the Michigan City assembly plant but they're still operating the foundry there. Michigan City's assembly plant was very old and they had added to the building many times over the years. It was sort of cobbled together. What was attractive about Eden was that they got to start from scratch and design the plant for top efficiency within this truly enormous building. They thought it out well and it works beautifully. As I said, I've been to many factories; this one impressed me. They also have a terrific training facility there. And they were able to tap into a pool of willing and very hard-working Americans who were delighted to be get back to work. The textile industry, upon which North Carolina once thrived, had moved offshore. The people were suffering. W-M put them back to work and the company is considered a hero in the area. To me, this is a good American story.

Stu Jones

Hero's?

Some very Interesting info that Weil McLain had to move the entire plant to NC. Why NC? Do they sell a lot of boilers there? Weren't there any large buildings available near Michigan City? Was there a large population of experienced boiler builders in NC?
I googled the name to see if I could find any more info about why the company relocated to another part of the country and found this: something like 49,000 boilers recalled since 2005. Mostly for flue gas leaks.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06527.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07020.html

http://search.cpsc.gov/query.html?col=pubweb&qt=Weil+McLain

I won't argue that the boilers work well, but it sounds like you might want to install them outside just to play it safe!
I'd bet that quite a few people lost their jobs in Indiana
during the move. I wonder what company will come in and hire them...who will the local hero be for the jobless, suffering people of Michigan City?

DanHolohan

That's just my opinion, Stu,

and, of course, I can't speak for them and their corporate policies. I know that the building is highly unusual, given its size and availability. There is also space around them and trucks W-M has always shipped everywhere.

I also know that the company got considerable tax breaks by bringing jobs to that very rural part of the U.S. People in Michigan lost work, no doubt about that, and people in N.C. found work, no doubt about that either. The jobs stayed in America and it's business. Big business.

I find that the older I get, the less time I have to be angry.

Unknown

less time to be angry

Dan,

As you said, I find that the older I get, the less time I have to be angry.

Could not have said it better!!

wheels
(the happier version)

Fred Harwood_2

Anger

Amen, Dan.