Manufacturing Survives
TheTranscript.com

Wednesday, November 21, 2007
   The good news from Bennington, Vt. that 100 manufacturing jobs are being added to the Plasan USA plant (see story, Page 3) should also be heralded in North Berkshire. Our neighbor to the north is just a short ride away — easy commuting distance — and chances are good some of the 85 jobs still waiting to be filled could go to qualified workers from North Adams, Adams, Williamstown and the hilltowns. While $11.50 an hour won't make anybody rich, it's a much higher starting wage than many working in the service industry are earning.
   Bennington has fared well in attracting manufacturing jobs during a time that has seen plant closings and relocations to the South or overseas. Massachusetts needs to work harder to attract such businesses, and we remain hopeful that Pittsfield's William Stanley Business Park at the former General Electric Co. plant will be a starting point. North County may not be left out in the cold, even though there's not a lot of suitable land available. The empty Vishay (formerly Sprague Electric Co.) building on Curran Highway is available and should generate some interest. Adams Corporate Park also has a large building available.
   While many nay sayers said manufacturing was dead around here after the departure of GE and Sprague, the success of Plasan USA in Bennington, the plastics industry and General Dynamics in Pittsfield and numerous smaller companies in North Berkshire, including Shine Wire, Morrison Berkshire, Modern Aluminum Anodizing, Tog Machine, Excelsior Printing and many others shows that it still offers good employment for qualified workers. While arts-related businesses and tourism seem to have evolved into the region's major employers (aside from health care and government jobs), manufacturing remains, and likely always will remain, a vital part of our diverse economy.