http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060331/BUSINESS03/603310371/-1/BUSINESS

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Article published March 31, 2006

 

Producing amid bruising challenges

Small, midsized factories in area survive, thrive

 

Local small and midsized manufacturers, bruised somewhat by energy prices, health-care costs, and other problems, are finding ways to survive, and sometimes thrive.

 

"It's a struggle for the little guys," said Dave Mossing, president of Mossing Machine & Tool Inc., a 28-year-old Toledo firm that employs eight and makes replacement parts for machinery.

Chi Nguyen, an economist for the national trade group, said Ohio's 823,000 manufacturing workers produce $85 billion worth of goods annually in 18,000 businesses.

 

Michigan's 669,000 factory workers in 16,000 firms make $76 billion worth of goods

 

Interesting that our manufacturing numbers are higher than Michigans.

 

This small-to-mid sized sector is big in Dayton, too.  Tho the firms are smaller, collectivley they add up to a big economic impact.

 

 

 

its this small to midsized sector that plays a big role in the Dayton economy, too...collectively these smaller companys add up to a big em

I think there's a lot of this connected to the auto industry, particularly Honda.  The automakers are farming a lot of their small mechanical, electronic and body parts to small and midsized operations like this.  The railroad supply industry has done much the same. 

I'm not surprised Ohio has more manufacturing than Michigan. Ohio has more population, and once you get outside of metro Detroit, there isn't as much of concentration of manufacturing elsewhere. Yeah, there's places like Flint and Saginaw, but those are small like Youngstown and Warren -- with similar downfalls in manufacturing prowess.