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Companies fighting for jobs in manufacturing

Posted at 6:45 PM, Oct 02, 2015
and last updated 2015-10-02 19:45:37-04

Nationwide, labor jobs have declined by nearly 350,000 according to theBureau Labor of Statisticsreport for the month of September.

However, companies in the metro are working hard to keep their businesses afloat.

Vita Craft owner, Gary Martin, has been with the company for over 22 years and has seen a steady decline in the number of jobs at the plant.

Martin hopes to create more jobs by expanding the business.

“Well, as a manufacturer we’re driven by the pieces of cookware that we produce. So the more pieces I can produce-the more people I can hire,” Martin said.

In 1999, Vita Craft reached is height of employment with over 150 employees. Today, the company has only 30 and many of the current workers want more shifts.

Considered top of the line in Japan, Vita Craft cookware sells nearly 80 percent of all of its products in the Asian country, but wants to create a domestic following like they once had.

Martin says, “I know it sounds strange, but Vita Craft is an old company-I’m trying to get us re-discovered.”

Rep. Kevin Yoder acknowledged how important small businesses like Vita Craft are to boosting the local economy and says he intends to promote jobs creation the manufacturing industry.  

“One out of every six works in a job related to manufacturing so it’s a very critical component of the American economy,” Yoder said.

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