History shows we’ll overcome HJ closing

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opinions

July 9, 2015 - 12:00 AM

By now, we’ve learned how to move on.
Yes, losing Herff Jones is a kick in the gut.
But no, it doesn’t spell the demise of Iola. We’ll find a way to repurpose the massive facility that produces diplomas and yearbooks, as well as work to see the 80-plus Herff Jones employees find new work here.
Why the confidence?
Because we’ve done so for the past 150 years.
Think how one automobile dealership made Iola’s 15 livery stables obsolete almost overnight. Or how the folding of Kirk Gas and Smelting in 1958 made way for Thompson Poultry, now the site of Macha Enterprises.
That’s the consequence of living in a free-market capitalist society where the forces of supply and demand rule and in the blink of an eye whole economies can be turned upside-down.
And no, despite the challenges, we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Historically, those displaced have been able to find new jobs in the area.
In the five years since the Haldex Brakes line was outsourced to Monterrey, Mexico, most have stayed and found new jobs.
Today the site has been converted to the manufacture of oil drilling equipment through Catalyst Artificial Lift, LLC.
Gates Manufacturing is practically a recycled Bassett, the community that dissolved when the former Lehigh Portland Cement plant closed in 1971. Gates purchased 97 acres in 1974. Today several other industries, including T&E Company and D&K Vaults, Inc., also have businesses on the former cement plant site.
Iola Molded Plastics is long-gone. At its former site are Tod Westervelt’s NSA RV Products and brother J.C. Westervelt’s Quality Connectionz.
T’other brother Corey Westervelt’s M&W Manufacturing, Inc., is at the site of the former Walton Foundry east of town.
When the Miller Dress Factory closed, its building on Miller Road was repurposed to house Precision Pump in 2004. It’s since been renamed Precision International.

AS A COMMUNITY, it’s imperative to have a mindset that expects change.
That said, we’ll take this opportunity to let the Herff Jones higher-ups know they’re losing a first-rate work force by closing the Iola plant. For 42 years they’ve produced a top-notch product and have been a source of pride for Iola.
What we’ve also learned  is that the best industries for Iola and its surrounding communities are home-grown. Over the past 65 years the only industrial employer that has stayed put in Allen County is Monarch Cement in Humboldt, begun by the H.F.G. Wulf family in 1908.
Every night we say our prayers Gates Manufacturing and Russell Stover Candies, the area’s two largest industries, stay put, but we know we’re at their mercy. That’s why it’s important to keep the lines of communication open with their management, ensuring we’re doing everything possible to meet their needs.
Iola Industries, Inc., has been critical in rolling out the red carpet for manufacturers looking to expand. It’s through their efforts Iola secured many of the afore-mentioned industries. And the role of an economic development arm through Thrive Allen County is an asset that allows us to respond to an emergency such as losing Herff Jones in a quick and creative manner.
So, we’ll face the challenge as we always do.
Full on.
— Susan Lynn

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