More to projects than equipment

By Joe Gilmer, Henderson

Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014 | 2 a.m.

In response to the letter “Use American-made material” (Nov. 18):

There are many costs attributed with a project. Regulations make up a considerable amount of these costs — sometimes more than the machinery on site.

Concern for the utilization of tax dollars on public projects is noble, however, it is important to look at the entire scope of what takes place on these jobs.

Sometimes we assume that since a brand has a foreign name, the product is manufactured overseas and there is no American relationship. This is not always true.

Twenty-six years ago, John Deere and Hitachi formed a joint venture based in Kernersville, N.C., called Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery Corp. From 6 million pounds of steel plates purchased and cut each month, the company makes 16 models of excavators, eight of which are branded Hitachi.

There are 750 people employed at this plant, with plans to add 340 more in the next few years. They have recently spent $97 million in plant expansions to cover over 1.3 million square feet of operational space. There are also several dealers and support personnel in each state as well as expansive parts depots and warehouses located around the United States.

Hopefully as one drives around the valley observing these sites, a different view will emerge. Check with local contractors, who live in your community and are good people. You may be surprised by what is involved in seeing a project through from start to finish.