Manufacturing is Not a Dirty Word–Local Companies Seek Out Workers in PA

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Mitch Engleka and Nick Ball at Southco in Concordville.
IMage via Kimberly Paynter, WHYY.
Mitch Engleka, manufacturing engineer (right) and Nick Ball, a manufacturing technician (left), inspect a part at the Southco plant in Concordville.

Southco, Inc., headquartered in Concordville, had one of its most profitable years ever in 2021, yet this global manufacturing giant still can’t attract high-quality workforce talent, writes Robby Brod for WHYY.

Southco produces latches for everything from car glove boxes to 5G telecom towers to the magnetic latches on the doors at Wawa where you get your hotdogs.

Matthew Hunter, a Southco engineering technician, has worked every job on Southco’s manufacturing floor, but he initially balked when a friend suggested he try manufacturing.

 “I thought manufacturing was like a dirty trade, because it sounds dirty, and I think people have been programmed to think that it’s kind of like mining,” Hunter said.

Many manufacturing jobs today are cleaner than working as a mechanic. In southeast PA, the focus is on chemicals, food, fabricated metal products, and computer and electronics.

Manufacturing jobs are stable, well-paying, and don’t require four-year degrees.

Yet, a manufacturing job stigma still fuels the labor shortage, along with aging workers and accelerated pandemic retirements.

Southco CEO Steve Potter worries about future recruitment. “It’s this odd dichotomy where we’re all struggling getting human resources, yet our numbers and demand for whatever we do is at an all-time high,” he said.

Read more at WHYY about Pennsylvania manufacturing.   

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