KEARNEY –August 20 --.When longtime manufacturer Powermate Corp. went bankrupt and closed its plant in March 2008 after 22 years in business, it cost 200 people their jobs and left behind a lot of questions and uncertainty.
The closure added Kearney to the list of cities hit by the weakening economy. No longer was the city able to tout its unwavering business climate and ability to buck negative business trends that usually hit "other" cities.
Losing Powermate forced Kearney officials to deal with some of the tough issues they had managed to avoid for so long.
"Coleman had been a cornerstone in Kearney's manufacturing community for many, many years, and the impact of the plant closing was heartbreaking and significant," said Mayor Stan Clouse, referring to the company that for many years operated as Coleman Powermate.
The heartbreak didn't last long. After the factory sat vacant for about four months, Pramac America purchased the assets of Powermate and re-opened in August 2008.
"Keeping bench assembly production in Kearney is an important part of a diverse economy," said Jon Krebs, president of Buffalo County's Economic Development Council. "It would have been a real shame if the plant had remained dormant."
Today, the factory is far from dormant. It has diversified its product lines to include more than portable generators, and staffing levels have increased from about 40 when the plant reopened a year ago to between 50 and 100 today. The company declined to share exact employment figures.
Plant Manager Ward Jorgenson, who was hired by Pramac after running the Powermate plant for many years, said many employees who lost their jobs with Powermate returned to work for the new company.
"The team of employees that came back here has played a huge role in our success. They were here before, so we were able to start right up and take on any challenges that came up," said Jorgenson.
In fact, a month after opening, the plant began taking orders to accommodate the hurricane season.
"Our employees knew exactly what to do in that situation. It definitely was a shock to our system and got us kick-started, whether we were ready or not," Jorgenson said. "I have a great team of people who require very little supervision. They move around on their own and get things done."
Krebs said he's glad to see a strong, reputable company such as Pramac running the plant.
"The fact that Pramac purchased the plant and product line, and has now hired the skilled labor, is the first time the company has been owned by a real production company since Coleman had the business many years ago," said Krebs.
"After Coleman sold the plant, the company was owned by a succession of poorly run companies and private equity investors like Sun Capital Partners, whose only interest was dipping into the company and bleeding it dry."
Pramac America has its U.S. headquarters in Long Grove, Ill., and is using the Kearney plant to manufacture generators for home, commercial and recreational uses. Earlier this year, it expanded its product line to include pressure washers, home standby generators and large industrial generators.
The company will add a line of diesel generators at the Kearney plant in the future.
"One of our earliest goals was to become re-established and just get the factory up and going again. The fact that we've been able to integrate new products is an added bonus," Jorgenson said. "The manufacturing world was, and still is, really tough.
"But we're fortunate in that we haven't had to cut any jobs and have been able to work every day without shutting down. There are a lot of success stories we can share."
Pramac did not purchase Powermate's existing business and inherit customers, so the company had to create its own customer base and re-establish pricing and contracts with more than 300 suppliers.
"Getting that supply chain in order was a challenge," said Jorgenson. "There was a lot of work that went into setting up a new business. We weren't necessarily continuing the former business, although it probably appeared that way to the general public. We started over completely.
"It wasn't until the end of the first quarter in 2009 that we felt like everything was re-established and in place again."
Mayor Clouse said Kearney and surrounding communities anticipate having a "long and lasting relationship" with Pramac.
"We are grateful that a company like Pramac re-opened the plant and is secure in its operation," he said. "We are excited they have weathered the economic storm to date and will continue to provide good jobs and economic growth."
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