This is traditionally a wage depressed area.
Very depressed.
Talking tonight with someone familiar with a poltruding plant.
5 or 6 years ago they were paying $10-12/hrs for established guys $14 was top.
Now, starting is $19.
Local Detroit Dealer has opened a trailer shop refurbishing trailers.
$28/hrs to start. 2 weeks vacation. Gotta pay to hire, everyone is trying to
hire.
Used to be every new facility would be doing wage surveys trying to decide
how little they needed to pay. Hundreds of applicants.
We have had 1 or 2 open jobs for over a year.
Hired at least 3, they didn't like the shift, got fired for cause, last quit to go
work for the Detroit Dealer. (Dont blame him)
Used to call the job service with a list of people whose apps they wanted, ignoring
the rest. Now, we have a Now Hiring sign at the road.
What is poltruding?
Pultruding spelled wrong!😊
In this case it's fiberglass materials, extruded through dies, while being injected with
resin, under heat and pressure.
Used to make construction shapes in a continuous process. It's being used in place
of steel. Stairs, walkways, buildings...
Someone mentioned it's a nasty business.
It is. Two sides in most shops. Pultruding, and fabrication.
Pultruding gets to deal with sticky, stinky resins and raw fiberglass.
Fab is machining the shapes, and bolting and bonding them together.
Either way, you get sticky and itchy.
Hate to guess how many here work in the field.
2 plants employ hundreds each.
Affiliated shops machine the stuff, assemble, or otherwise support the industry.
Most workers earn a decent survival with government assistance.
