A congressman with dreams of being president made the Village of Oxford one of the stops on his road to the White House last week.
U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-California) toured Acorn Stamping, a metal stamping plant at 600 S. Glaspie Street, and chatted with owners Bobby and Sandra Cox.
‘I saw in this company some of the great elements that make this country productive and good,? Hunter said. ‘This family-owned business makes sure that it has health insurance for not only its employees, but for their dependents. And they do that because this is the American way.?
Hunter was in Michigan Dec. 20-21 to tour six manufacturing facilities and attend a Macomb/Wayne County GOP Christmas party and fund-raiser.
The congressman is one of nine Republican candidates on the Jan. 15 Michigan presidential primary ballot.
One of the cornerstones of Hunter’s campaign, which is considered by most pundits to be a long-shot, is the need to maintain and support the nation’s domestic manufacturing base.
‘I certainly am a supporter of the concepts that he is presenting about saving U.S. manufacturing,? said Cox, who’s owned Acorn Stamping for 11 years and moved the company from Rochester to Oxford in 2001. ‘It’s definitely important to the country and very important to the State of Michigan that we maintain our base for manufacturing. We can’t let all of our skills get exported away.?
‘I stand for bringing back the high-paying manufacturing jobs that we’ve pushed offshore with bad trade deals,? Hunter said. ‘One way to help companies like this is to stop China from cheating on trade by devaluing their currency by 40 percent, which is what they’re currently doing.?
‘That undercuts our prices because that lowers the cost of every one of their products,? the congressman explained. ‘It undercuts American costs and makes us less competitive.
Hunter also wants to ‘reduce the (federal) taxes on American manufacturers, who will stay in this country, to zero.?
‘If you’ll stay in this country, if you’ll manufacture products, if you’ll employ Americans, then your (federal) taxes should be down to zero because other countries are paying no taxes with respect to their manufacturers and Americans are being double taxed,? he said. ‘They pay income taxes here and then they’re paying a tariff when their product is exported to foreign shores.?
By eliminating federal taxes on manufacturers, Hunter believes ‘we’d actually increase government revenue.?
‘Some of those 1.8 million Americans who have lost their jobs to China would get them back,? he said. ‘And those folks would be paying income taxes.?
In Michigan alone, Hunter said 54,900 jobs have been lost to China. ‘I intend to get some of those jobs back as president,? he noted.
Bringing back the manufacturing base is important not only for economic reasons, but for national defense, according to Hunter, who served as chairman of the House’s Armed Services Committee for four years.
‘A few years ago when I tried to find an American company that can make high-grade armor steel plate to put on the sides of our humvees in Iraq, to protect against roadside bombs, I could only find one company left that could still make it. I realized that the industrial base in this country is important to national security, not just the economy.?
As chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Hunter ‘put in buy American requirements at every opportunity.?
‘I put in buy American requirements for machine tools, for specialty metals, for ship repair and for every other item I could possibly find. I think if Americans are going to pay for the defense of the free world, they should be able to make the defense equipment for the free world.?
When asked if he plans to vote for Hunter, Cox replied, ‘He doesn’t seem to be a front-runner. I’m not going to say I’d vote for him, but I certainly like his concepts and I’d like to see how he’s going to do in some of the primaries.?
It should be noted that despite the tough times in the manufacturing industry, Acorn Stamping, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, is doing quite well.
‘We made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in the U.S. for 2007 based on our growth, which occurred here in Oxford from 2003 through 2006,? Cox said.
Acorn Stamping was ranked #4439 on Inc. magazine’s 26th annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in America.
And Acorn’s employees share in the company’s success.
‘We give back a significant percentage of our profits,? Cox said. ‘If we make a profit, it goes right into our employees? pockets quarterly, so they get an immediate impact. We just handed out bonuses last week that amounted to, on average, $1.10 per hour.?
‘That business ethic of taking care of your employees and treating them as a team, as a community, is a wonderful aspect of American industry,? Hunter noted.
Producing a wide array of products from lock hardware to marine hardware, Acorn excels in high-quality production with steel, stainless steel, brass, bronze, and copper from .016 to 3/8-inch thickness.
International manufacturers currently receive shipments from the Oxford facility. Schlage Lock (part of Worldwide Ingersoll Rand), and R&D Enterprises (major supplier to Mercury, Volvo, and Detroit Diesel) count on these shipments.
The stamping company currently employs 23 full-time people and two part-timers.
‘We only had 11 employees when we came here in 2001, so we’ve grown,? Cox said.