Some Bulbs Are Still Made in America
Last August, LEDVANCE by SYLVANIA announced it had invested of millions of dollars to keep and add local manufacturing jobs and increase U.S. production of light bulbs.
The initiative has transitioned 200 jobs from making traditional incandescent lighting products to ones featuring new LED technology and also added 20 new jobs. LEDVANCE achieved this goal by upgrading its St. Marys, Pa., and Versailles, Ky., factories. The new SYLVANIA LED light bulbs assembled in the U.S. will be distributed nationwide through retailers and industrial commercial channel partners.
“We are continuing to advance light by combining cutting-edge LED lighting technology with the manufacturing and R&D expertise of our U.S. factory workers and engineers,” said Jes Munk Hansen, CEO of LEDVANCE. “We are the first company in our industry to have a significant LED portfolio like this in the United States, an effort made possible by our first-rate employees. By upgrading our factories and equipment and evolving our business processes, our local workers are bringing light to the nation with modern SYLVANIA LED lighting assembled right here in the U.S.”
According to the company, LEDVANCE is the first general lighting company to now have a significant LED light bulb portfolio made in the U.S. with U.S. and imported parts. LEDVANCE officials looked at how to meet the increased demand for LED lighting, but changed how the company brought some products to market in order to prevent the loss of U.S. jobs and manufacturing. With this initiative, individual components are delivered to the St. Marys and Versailles factories where they are assembled via the new manufacturing lines managed and operated by U.S. employees, with most of the products using glass made at the Versailles factory.
In addition to the new SYLVANIA LED light bulbs, the factories also make SYLVANIA traditional lighting like halogen light bulbs and long life fluorescent tubes.
Assembled in the U.S. Does that mean the parts are manufactured some place else?
I worked for twenty years at the GE Mattoon Lamp Plant in Mattoon, Illinois. We were non-union, but wish we had voted union when we had the opportunity. At its peak GE employed about 1,800 employees. In abut 1975. By 1981, GE had sold off parts of our business to China, and other foreign countries. By 2017, we went to work one day and there was a notice on the door that “they had closed all of the GE lamp division, as it was no longer profitable. We were down to about 100 employees. Mattoon, Illinois has always been a factory town. Now most of the factories have closed, beginning in about 1979, a steady decline. Now people are scratching for low paying jobs and no benefits. On a whim, I checked on the internet to see if any light bulbs, LEDs, etc. were made in the USA. Congratulations, you are working for a USA made lighting company in the USA with USA workers. We were lied to by GE for years. Valuable years, because if we had been told the truth about outsourcing, we would have had time and opportunity to plan our own ability to get training for another line of work. By 2017, we had an aging work force, most between 50-60. Too young to retire, and not old enough to draw our pensions or Social Security. Some people lost their homes, had to move to other states for employment, and Mattoon has become a mostly lower middle class community with 5-6 public housing projects. Property values dropped drastically, and the downtown area soon had many empty buildings. Some of the buildings are in use again, but the businesses in them are mostly all pawn shops, Vietnamese run nail care shops, used furniture shops, used clothing shops, and 2 used bicycle shops. Mattoon used be fairly prosperous, with new home construction and restaurants near the interstate. We used to have a large shoe factory and a clothing factory, Kraft foods, and many other factory jobs. Just yesterday, it was reported on our local news that local ALDI’s grocery store was closing, because of the drop in business. I thought, WOW, ALDI’s is closing ?!! If we cannot even support an ALDI’s grocery store, what chance do we have of attracting any businesses !! My suggestions, 1. If your factory job is not union, vote one in ! Never believe your company is looking out for your best interest, they are NOT! Give some serious thought to getting some specific training if you need to find another job. Keep your debt load LOW, live a little beneath your means. Don’t buy expensive new cars and not any for longer than a 5-year repayment plan. Pay off credit cards, buckle down financially, develop the mindset to pay cash for vacations, or other unnecessary expenses. Begin saving at least 15% of your income ASAP. Begin with only $10.00 a paycheck deposit in savings, and increase as necessary. My husband and I are now retired, but we suffered financially from working for dying industries. Most change is uncomfortable, but if you begin planning for your financial and work futures now, at least you will be controlling your own life instead of having events in your life controlling you! Do your very best work, if you are working in a factory. No Asian country can compete with us in terms of making high quality goods, and also BUY LOCAL!Support your local businesses, we need to keep them in the communities we live in. We now check where every potential purchase is made. Unless there is no alternative and it is a completely necessary purchase, don’t buy it if it is not made in the USA. I was recently shocked beyond belief, when I began reading food labels. I thought our cookies, chips, canned goods, almost all food is now made mostly in Mexico !!! I was so disgusted. Those used to be American jobs ! Plus the USA Food and Drug Administration has no authority to oversee the quality or cleanliness and sanitation of the Mexican fairies where most of these food products are now made.These companies that used to make these products have sold their American employees out!
Is this the “ Tribulation,” the Bible speaks of? I am not sure, but “If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, and walks like a duck, it is probable a duck!”
Don’t take my word for this information. Check yourself, read labels closely. Every like bit of American jobs saved will be worth all of our efforts. The job you save may be your own!
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The comments in my previous message have many appealingly spelling errors. Looks like this one does too. They are not my mistakes. I edit all my comments. You may have experienced this also, but my words are frequently changed to another word by the internet. Sometimes I can edit and correct the errors. I tried editing my previous message on this site. This particular program will not allow me to edit and make corrections. I think it is of great interest that all cell phones, computers and ANY electronic communication is made in China, Korea and many other foreign countries. I am absolutely displeased about these products. I know Americans can do better ! Thank you for reading and give these things some thought !