Of Ploughshares and Swords
I.
The physical location of our plant is perhaps a “micro” example of this concept. Before WWII, the acres of land on which our plant sits was being worked by ploughshares into productive farmland. At the outset of the war, the farm was sold to make way for the Kingsbury Ordinance Plant (KOP), which was built to produce various types of munitions and other products for the war effort.. At its peak, the KOP employed upwards of 20,000 people, which is remarkable since the population of LaPorte back then was just over 20,000.
http://www.alco.org/index.php/local-history/54-kingsbury-ordnance-plant-history
http://www.whatsnewlaporte.com/2009/02/15
Adolf Hitler had even identified the KOP during the war as a possible bombing target for his delusional invasion of the United States, critical as it was in the U.S.’s efforts to sustain massive numbers of our armed forces. For many years even after the war was over and into the Korean Conflict, the KOP was an important fixture to the community in terms of jobs and overall economic health. The local citizens turned out in droves to work, not only to contribute to the war effort, but also to finally have regular work. Countless people drove from far and wide to make it to work, some from as far away as 90 miles away. The town of Kingsford Heights didn’t even exist before the war. It was built to address a housing shortage for all of the workers. Numerous “barracks style” rental units were built in LaPorte to house the massive influx of new workers. The previous years of “The Great Depression” were the difficult and challenging times that shaped the values and work ethic of, as Tom Brokaw termed them in his book The Greatest Generation. The immense Government investment in infrastructure to support the demands of fighting wars in two theaters put the Greatest Generation back to work. And go back to work they did, ushering in an era of dominance in U.S. manufacturing capability and capacity. The creation of the KOP, then, is a practical example of beating ploughshares into swords. Take the farm land and convert it into a war machine
II.
Seventy years later we find ourselves in a different type of world indeed, although there are some definite parallels. The “KOP” is now the Kingsbury Industrial Park. We are at war once again. This one is much different than was the “Great War” all those years ago, in that we are besieged by ever present threats of terrorism from loosely controlled, decentralized fanatics, not traditional empires hell bent on world domination. While less a topic of talking heads on cable news networks than our military intervention overseas, the U.S. is undeniably engaged in what many term to be an “economic war”. There was a time when we as a country were the premier manufacturer of almost anything. We were a country that made stuff that we bought. Now, we are consumers of a vast array of imported stuff. Not just goods, but now also services. We have all born witness to the fact that manufacturing jobs in this country have steadily declined over the past few decades. In 1990, 80% of all of the clothing we wear was manufactured here in the U.S.. In 2008, that figure was 5%. This statistic is quite astonishing. You don’t have to hold a PhD in Economics to be concerned about the trend-line of availability of good manufacturing jobs.
The promise of the United States has always been that people who start with nothing can turn it into something, with enough hard work, grit and determination. That’s why people have been, and still do clamor to get into our Country, the land of opportunity. One of the miracles of the U.S. has always been that if you’re willing to work hard and smart, you can rise out of the despair of poverty and, at minimum, reach economic middle class or better. It’s been said that manufacturing jobs are important rungs on the ladder from poverty to prosperity. History has certainly proven that out. The Machinists who toiled making mortar shells during the war effort at the KOP seventy years ago created the wealth that afforded the opportunity for their grandchildren to go to college and become Mechanical Engineers or Chemists or Scientists. Just as our nation lead the world in manufactured goods for many years, the U.S. also was a leader in transplanting “good old American manufacturing know-how” to developing countries, as well, perhaps to our own detriment, some would argue. History, though, proves that isolationism doesn’t work, either. It’s a global economy and that fact is undeniable.
While the term “economic warfare” may be less than palatable to some and overly hyperbolic to others, it is a fact that there is tremendous pressure on our economy to put people back to work. Not just back to work, but back to some type of work which is productive and leads to strengthening the middle class. Manufacturing jobs fit this bill. In our analogy of ploughshares to swords, the irony is that we need to also utilize our ability to make ploughshares to be successful in the economic war. God help us if we ever lose our ability to manufacture things in this country. Then not only will we be at the mercy of foreign countries for oil, but also everything else. At no other time in recent history has it been so imperative to preserve not just manufacturing worker jobs, but also those jobs which require particular manufacturing expertise – Engineering, Purchasing, Materials Management, Production Management and so on.
The times in which we are living are for many people, uncertain and fraught with angst in our country at present. However, we at LPS are filled with hope and excitement about our prospects and ambitions in 2010. We have a great team in place. Guys who were obsessed with putting together Erector Sets as kids. Guys whose Fathers spent their lives wrenching on packaging machinery for P&G. Guys who have spent their lives engineering equipment and have continued to learn emerging technologies, like Solidworks. Guys who would rather turn a wrench than be chained to a desk. Guys who are descendents of the greatest generation and have an incredible work ethic. Guys who are grateful to have work in an economy so battered and job opportunities so rare. People who have weathered the storms of the last decade and have persevered.
In our little corner of the world we have managed to not only survive the economic downturn, but thrive. In our little corner of the world we are actually creating manufacturing jobs, not eliminating them. In our little corner of the world, we are waging our own economic war for survival and prosperity of the middle class. In our little corner of the world, we are doing some of our best work ever. We are making stuff that people buy!
We’re making ploughshares again this time, and we’re still fighting the good fight-just like our relatives did all those years ago. We are all in a similar situation faced by our ancestors some seventy years ago. What gives us hope and keeps us going are the values bestowed upon us as we listened to the stories and learned the magic of working with our hands from generations past. In our world, U.S. manufacturing is still very much alive and well. We prove that to our customers and ourselves, daily.
We owe a debt of gratitude to our President, Teresa Mago for having the courage and vision to create LPS. We increased sales in 2008, despite poor economic conditions, due to the dedication, tenacity, determination and craftsmanship of our employees. The biggest thank you, however, we reserve for our loyal customers who continue to trust us to come up with the best solutions for their applications. Without our customers we would not be participating in yet another evolution in the ploughshares to swords analogy.
So this new year -- this new decade—while world events are cause for consternation, there is also cause to be hopeful. We know in our heart of hearts that we will prevail in the face of adversity, just as our ancestors did, in this place once so important to our ensuring that the forces who would threaten our freedoms failed in their mission. We wish all of you reading this blog entry all the best in 2010!
Posted: January 4, 2010
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