Stimulus, Productivity, and Precision Machining
I had the great pleasure of sitting right next to President Bush today, with other business leaders, as we were able to express our happiness with the new economic stimulus package.
My company is Permac Industries and we are a Precision Machining company that makes many parts which most of you use or see everyday. It could be a component that is used in fast food preparation, or parts in that off-road equipment you often see "on-road", especially after a Minnesota winter! I have forty-two wonderful and highly dedicated employees and they are the reason for our success!
One of those employees, my accountant Tom Riste, with me today, has really been instrumental in using Section 179 to the fullest. I purchased this company in 1994 when it had eight employees and was a very simple screw machine company (yes, the old vintage type, dirty, manual equipment and lots of oil). Now we have Computerized Numeric Control (CNC) equipment and it more common to see machinists programming, editing, and entering quality data into a database than it is using a wrench on a machine.
The stimulus package is allowing us to purchase a CNC Grinder, a Robot, a CNC Vertical Machining Center, and an advanced Vision System for quality measurement. We decided to name our robot "W", after President Bush, in honor of the event today.
And what a day it was. The President was truly interested in each of our companies and our passions. It was wonderful to be a part of history in the making and also meet eight other business optimists like myself. We talked how each of us will benefit from the stimulus package. I thank the US Chamber for being instrumental in getting this program passed.
Then, after having the absolute honor of being a part of a White House meeting, President Bush graciously showed us the Oval Office. It was amazing to be able to see where many of the important decisions in our lives are made. President Bush talked about his most important mentor - Laura. He explained how decisions are not always easy, but it is important that he, like all of us, keep our values in all we do.
I was whisked away from this event to the CNBC studio for a brief interview about our visit today and asked if we felt this package would help our business long term. My goal during the interview, and from here on out, is for every small business in American to know about, and take full advantage of this package!
I want to again thank the US Chamber for keeping us all informed and for making this happen.
Darlene Miller is President and CEO of Permac Industries, Burnsville, MN
Comments