The only manufacturer to crack the top 10 employers in 2010 is Sauder Manufacturing and Woodworking in Archbold, which ranked 10th with 2,354 employees.

“The manufacturing industry is in better shape than most people give us credit,” Tom Murphy told 100 local businessmen and women in his report on the Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution Industry at the Hilton Garden Inn in Perrysburg on July 8.

“Manufacturing has lost jobs due to an increase in productivity. We’ve changed the way we make things, are making different things and making twice as much with half as many people while reducing costs and increasing productivity,” said Murphy, executive vice present of RSM McGladrey Inc. of Minneapolis, a national accounting services firm for manufacturers.

His state of the industry presentation was based on the 2010 Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution National Survey completed in March and issued in June by McGladrey. Gilmore, Jasion & Mahler (GJ&M) of Maumee hosted the breakfast meeting for local business leaders.

The fifth year of the survey included 1,061 companies with 68 percent in manufacturing and 32 percent in distribution. With 84 percent of responses coming from “C-level” executives, 62 percent came from companies larger than $25 million in sales.

The report indicated the U.S. lost 2.5 million manufacturing jobs in the current recession. The Toledo area has experienced a loss of manufacturing jobs seen across the U.S. during the past several years.

The manufacturing industry employed 36,274 employees at 906 different locations in the Toledo market in 2009 with an average annual salary of $58,496. Those figures decreased from 51,022 employees at 1,006 locations in 2005, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S. Department of Labor. The top employers in the Toledo market are represented by education, government, health care, and retail.

Other top manufacturing employers include the Chrysler Jeep Assembly Plant with 1,500 employees (No. 17), GM Powertrain plant with 1,428 (No. 20), Toledo Jeep Wrangler Assembly Plant with 1,100 (No. 23), Libbey, Inc. with 1,000 (No. 24), and First Solar with 840 (No. 30). The list of major employers is compiled annually by the Regional Growth Partnership in Toledo.

Paul Bishop, president of Ice Industries based in Sylvania who attended the seminar, said he found “the topic interesting, timely and to the point, especially information on the common misconceptions about manufacturing.”

Bishop recognized GJ&M, which provides accounting services to Ice Industries, for presenting the national report to local businesses. GJ&M hosted the event to help promote its Manufacturing Specialist Group that serves companies in the industry.

With 40 employees at its headquarters and a small manufacturing plant in the Toledo area, Ice Industries founded by CEO Howard Ice has about 500 manufacturing jobs at locations in Cincinnati, Mississippi and Monterey, Mexico.

The U.S. was the No. 3 exporter in the world in 2008 with a 21-22 percent share of global manufacturing, trailing the European Union as the leader with China ranking second. The number of jobs in the manufacturing of exports has risen in the U.S., Murphy said.

International sales have grown from 20 to 40 percent in the past two years with exports going to countries, such as Australia, Brazil, India and Central America, in addition to the traditional customers in Canada and Mexico, Murphy added. China’s costs for energy, labor and transportation are skyrocketing, causing companies to reconsider their investments there.

“Companies are finding China more challenging than expected. Many jobs are returning from China, but most of the work coming back from Asia is headed for Mexico,” Bishop said. “It has helped us to become more diversified with more of our business in non-automotive markets.”

Ice Industries is a Tier I and II supplier with 15 percent of its business with the automotive industry. The company uses highly automated processes to produce hydraulic and mechanical stampings and subassemblies in a single operation with multiple dies, in-die welding, robotics, assembly and custom packaging.

“We still lead the world in innovation. We have to protect our intellectual properties and negotiate more free trade agreements,” Murphy said.

Murphy called the manufacturing industry “risk averters,” but said there is movement to reinvest with some recovery under way in 2010. He said a lack of financing could delay further recovery into 2011 or 2012.

Charlie Heid, a CPA and partner of the Manufacturing Specialist Group at GJ&M, discussed the effects that pending legislation in 2010 could have on businesses. According to the survey, 90 percent of respondents were concerned about pending legislation, the highest number ever recorded, Murphy said.

Top 10 Employers in Toledo MSA in 2010

Company/Number of employees

• ProMedica Health Systems: 9,945
• Mercy Health Partners: 6,625
• BGSU: 6,025
• UT Main Campus: 5,046
• Toledo Public Schools: 4,400
• Lucas County: 3,876
• UT Health Science Campus: 3,547
• City of Toledo: 2,650
• Kroger Inc.: 2,640
• Sauder: 2,354

Source: Regional Growth Partnership

Tags: Mercy, ProMedica, Regional Growth Partnership, Sauder

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 15th, 2010 at 1:33 pm and is filed under Economy, Toledo Business Link.
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