Plants see production increases

By Grace Macaluso, The Windsor StarAugust 18, 2009

It may be more of a trickle than a flood, but some area mould, tool and die companies are in hiring mode as automakers boost production.
"It's definitely a sign of a pickup," said Mark Goggin, president of Concours Mold Inc., in Lakeshore. "I can't speak for everybody, but it has been picking up steadily for us, although we've been pretty steady throughout this whole thing (downturn) for various reasons. We saw it coming with all the new models the automakers are working on and there's going to be a lot of new models coming out in the near future. That's the kind of stuff we're quoting on right now. The tooling we build is two to three years in advance of the vehicle coming to market."
Concours, which recently moved from its Windsor location to a $10-million, 90,000- square-foot facility in Lakeshore, is looking to fill between 10 and 15 positions -- all skilled tradesmen such as senior mouldmakers and machinists.
Concours manufactures plastic injection moulds that produce large plastic bumper parts for Ford as well as Asian and European automakers, including Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen and BMW. "That's one of the reasons our business is steadily expanding," said Goggin, adding he expects to increase his staff of 200 by up to 15 a year for the next few years.
Also advertising for tool makers is Cannon Automotive Solutions -- a Windsor company.
Chrysler's decision to retain the third shift at the Windsor minivan plant has led to the recall of at least 800 laid-off workers in the auto parts sector, says Mike Dunning, spokesman for CAW Local 195. "It may not be new hiring, but that's huge for us."
Gerry Fedchun, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, said most of his members are cautious about new hiring. "I haven't seen an uptick in hiring, but there definitely is an uptick in production and I can tell you that some of the plants have gone off work sharing," said Fedchun. "So they're back to a five-day week from four, and I know a few plants are on a six-day production schedule."
Rather than boost the number of employees, companies generally are adding overtime shifts to deal with increasing demand, he added. "That's the first stage of recovery, but you're not certain if it's permanent or not. You don't hire because the last thing you want to do is hire someone and lay them off two months later."
Fedchun credits the U.S. cash for clunkers program -- which offers consumers up to $4,500 if they trade in their older, polluting vehicles -- for boosting production. "The cash for clunkers in the U.S. has worked, and 80 per cent of our production goes to the U.S., so that benefits us as much as anybody else."
Still, he doesn't anticipate significant hiring in the near future. "People have to have more confidence that this is definitely going to sustain itself."