GE suppliers see mixed impact if Appliance Park cutbacks occur
Business First of Louisville - by Eric Benmour
General Electric Co. suppliers are taking a cautious approach to the company's announcement that it might stop making dryers and ranges at Appliance Park.
Many decisions have yet to be made, noted Gregg Stauble, chairman of Stauble Machine & Tool Co. Inc.
First, GE's announcement is not final, he said. In addition, GE hasn't decided where it might ship production.
Some work may be sent to a GE-owned Roper Co. plant in Georgia. Suppliers such as Stiglitz Corp. also supply GE plants in other states. "It's not a horrendous hit to us," said Doug Stiglitz, Stiglitz president. "A lot of it depends upon where they end up moving the business."
About 60 percent of the company's revenue comes from work with GE, said Stiglitz, who declined to disclose revenue. Not all of that work is tied to Appliance Park. Pinpointing how much of its work is for ranges and dryers would be difficult, he said.
The potential impact on Stauble Machine & Tool also is unclear, Gregg Stauble said.
Stauble Machine & Tool does work for GE here as well as other plants. "I'd say we'll see some impact," Stauble said.
GE supplier DJ Inc. may not feel a big hit if range and dryer production is moved out of Louisville, said Rob Fields, director of marketing, sales and engineering. "We ship to all GE sites," he said, including plants in Indiana, Georgia, Mexico and Canada.
Overall, about 17 percent of DJ's estimated $80 million in revenue comes from GE, Fields said. The company makes injection-molded plastics parts for GE appliances, including refrigerators, dishwashers and clothes dryers.
One company opened a Louisville facility specifically to supply Appliance Park with glass range tops. Baron Industries opened a plant on Shepherdsville Road in September 1994.
Ed Hartman, Baron's account manager, declined to comment because GE has not made a final decision. Hartman, based in Dalton, Ga., wouldn't say how many employees work in Louisville.
GE officials did not return phone calls seeking comment for this story.
A list from the Louisville-Jefferson County Office for Economic Development has the names of more than 80 Kentucky companies that supply GE.
If GE does stop range and dryer production here, it will be another in a series of cutbacks at Appliance Park, dating back to the 1970s, when employment peaked at more than 17,000. Today the park has 6,000 workers.
Appliance Park also produces refrigerators, clothes washers and dishwashers.
As GE has cut back here, some suppliers have tried to find new customers. "We never liked having all our eggs in one basket," Stauble said. "I hate to see it happen. We still have some good business with them."
Stiglitz Corp. also is looking to diversify. "We're bringing in some new customers now," Stiglitz said. "We're growing the business overall and also maintaining our GE business, but shrinking it as a percentage of our total business."
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