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layoffs within the industry?

Ben's Car Wash

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Ok, what have you heard? Business across the industry is so slow that a "major" manufacturer has "laidoff" employees from their factory. Has it hit the news anywhere else yet?
 

RykoPro

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Michigan supposedly has the worst econemy in the nation and our buisness is booming! Ryko is doing great too, I guess all of our hard work is paying off!
 

RykoPro

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So can I rule out that it is not Ryko?
Ryko is not laying off people and in fact they have been hiring people (as we have in the carwash division of our company). I know of one person who used to post here quite a bit that was hired as a customer service rep. He used to work for Ryko before and was at Ryko purchasing some parts when the head of CS saw him and asked if he wanted a job. He does not post here as much now since he is helping people fix washes all day now and continuing this into the evening is not as appealing.
 

jfmoran

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Doug,

What is the point of your post? Are you fishing or are you playing some school yard gossip game?

John
 

Ben's Car Wash

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Doug,

What is the point of your post? Are you fishing or are you playing some school yard gossip game?

John
John,

I'm waiting to see if anyone will state it or make a press release about it. I haven't seen it on CARWASH.COM in the carwash news section which suprises me. It was very specific. 20 people laided off. Info was reliable.

In other words, this could be a tell tale sign that our industry is settling in for a lag in sales. A leader in this industry could be insightful to all of us if they can say how low they see this lasting.... in a press release.

It's a close knit community of suppliers, distributors and owners in this industry and news travels fast.... not as "gossip" so if FACTS about a layoff can shead light on what we can do or expect as owners and operators... I would appriciate the info. Will it effect shipping, ordering, manufacturing? When will re-hiring occur? These are usual statements "no interuptions in service or quaility while we go through a temporary change"... something to that wording.

If no one varifies soon, I'll PM Bill so he can confirm or deny.
 

MEP001

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So you're posing a question based on gossip in the hopes that someone will confirm with facts... got it.
 

pitzerwm

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Well, Doug, I've watched this post and was waiting to see where you were going with this. If you actually have a name and some "facts" you might give them to me and I would make the phone calls. I wouldn't say that I know everything that is going on in this industry but I do hear things and I make phone calls and people call me with different info. I've made a few phone calls and it appears that like our poll, there are areas of the country that are doing fine and some that aren't doing great and believe it or not there are some people that you could give a million dollars to and within a short time they would be broke bitching about how terrible the world was.
 

DOUGLAS EMPIE

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Focusing on the positive.

Bill,

Business in the U.S. for GinSan/IVS had declined on the new construction side, but.. the retro-fit market has exploded, which in most instances for us is like building a new carwash with the existing building. The international market has continually grown for us on the international side for years..both in water treatment, which people forget we are heavily involved in, and carwashing.
In some areas of the U.S. it is almost impossible to build a new construction due to the banks, water restrictions and zoning issues, but in other areas they are going up one after another.
I am very confident that the carwash market will one day thrive again, but it is going to take time and we (manufacturers) need to focus on being positive and providing quality products and services.
Inquiring if a company laid off 20 people on Bill's website in my opinion is not beneficial to revitalizing our industry, it just creates more concern and pushes cash deeper into the consumers pocket.



Well, Doug, I've watched this post and was waiting to see where you were going with this. If you actually have a name and some "facts" you might give them to me and I would make the phone calls. I wouldn't say that I know everything that is going on in this industry but I do hear things and I make phone calls and people call me with different info. I've made a few phone calls and it appears that like our poll, there are areas of the country that are doing fine and some that aren't doing great and believe it or not there are some people that you could give a million dollars to and within a short time they would be broke bitching about how terrible the world was.
 

RykoPro

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Doug,
I noticed at least one of Gin San's "Car Lovers" sites is up for sale (the big one North of Rockford) are any of their others sites being sold?
Thanks,
Mark
 

pitzerwm

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It was brought to my attention that it was Sonny's that had layed off some people. I just off the phone with Paul and as a result of adding some robots and more automation he was able to reduce labor. His thoughts are that to remain an American manufacture, the only way to do it is to stay lean and competitive.

His advice to everyone is that since the economy is down a lot of places that you should add more automation/equipment and cut labor.
 

MEP001

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It would be a tough thing to ask, but perhaps the automation should be utilized to speed production rather than to cut labor. This is one of the many reasons for fewer available jobs in the U. S. today.
 

pitzerwm

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Well MEP, in some cases automation does make things faster increasing production, but at some point, the product needs to be sold at the door, when that slows down, the inventory builds up. A good businessman, has to make the tough decisions, the bottom line is that its your capital on the line and there is no welfare for businessman. I know Doug, don't jump in here with the exceptions and corp. welfare. Most of us don't qualify for whatever you point out. Everytime, I took a business risk it was my butt on the line, and when I failed, I ate it. Even the tax write off if any was limited to $3K a year.
 

DOUGLAS EMPIE

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Ryko-Pro Inquiry

Ryko-Pro,

The "Carlovers" carwash chain is a seperate business that Jeff Anderson owns that is not affiliated with GinSan/IVS in anyway.

Bill,


Thank you for the Sonny's input. They are exactly right. We have spent alot of time stream lining our production systems and we also are operating with less but have cut our lead times in half!
 

Ben's Car Wash

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Automation is what many of us have done to streamline our own productions, at the expense of jobs.... myself included. By adding Sonny's tire shiner, I eliminated 1-2 employees, the XPT another 1-2 employees, better chemicals and prep equipment, microfiber.... another 1 employee! So yes... increases in production through automation often elimintate jobs. I did not at any time "layoff" or ever pay unemployement beni's to any staff! Those jobs were asorbed by attrition and as the business grew so it never effected any persons income.... an employee quit... I never replaced them as the automation filled their spot. However those jobs (at one time I employeed up to 14 now only 7) have to go somewhere. But at the same time since I lived here in this town, I started 3 business from the ground up and created nearly 50 current jobs (still open and functioning businesses generation income).... so that has a small impact on a small community over 10 years.

Bill, the $3000 limit still applies.... I'm carrying a loss still on a second note that someone bailed out on for still on my tax returns. So we do risk what our desiccions are. I never advocate corporate welfare.... I'm firmly against it. Sad.... what will happen to all those flooded farms in the mid west?

A former employee stopped by yesterday to wash her car.... she just got laid off that day after 2 1/2 years at a door manufacturer.... with 4 other people. She has a 1 year old. It was that business largest layoff since she was there... only one other employee was laid off before this. Florida is going through a tough time. She's going to have a hard time finding a job.
 
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RykoPro

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Ryko-Pro,

The "Carlovers" carwash chain is a seperate business that Jeff Anderson owns that is not affiliated with GinSan/IVS in anyway.

Bill,


Thank you for the Sonny's input. They are exactly right. We have spent alot of time stream lining our production systems and we also are operating with less but have cut our lead times in half!
Do you know if he is selling any of his smaller sites, like the one in Rockford? The other one is too big for me.
 
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