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RV industry
sees good year ahead -
part 3
"Economic bright
spots appear in Elkhart,
Ind., hard-hit 'RV
capital of the world'"
RV press releases / RV news articles
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1/24/2011 -
The following extract from an article is by, and reproduced
from, Mike Brunker, msnbc.com
Link to story and video
IELKHART, Ind. — The economy in the nation’s
industrial heartland — as embodied by this
manufacturing-reliant "RV capital of the
world" — is growing again, with factories
calling back some workers who lost their
jobs in droves at the height of the
recession. But as is the case in
many parts of the country, the recovery here
is really two tales of one city: one told by
those who are hiring or being rehired, and
another by those who so far have been left
behind.
As President Barack Obama was preparing for
Tuesday’s State of the Union address,
msnbc.com returned to Elkhart, the northern
Indiana city we profiled at the height of
the recession and the community that Obama
promised to help on his first trip outside
Washington after his election. Our mission:
see how the soft national recovery is
playing out on this economically ravaged
landscape and find out what role federal
stimulus spending played in the rebound.
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What we found was in some
ways encouraging: The slimmed-down recreational
vehicle industry and boat builders, both
mainstays of the local economy, have rehired
some laid-off workers. New players, notably
electric vehicle manufacturers Think and
Navistar, and revitalized old-timers
like musical instrument maker E.K. Blessing have
set up shop in empty RV plants and are ramping
up production.
'The fear is gone'
The entrepreneurial spirit that has seen Elkhart
through previous economic downturns is sending
up some green shoots now, such as the area's
first commercial fish-farming operation.
"The fear is gone," is how Amish Shah, president
and CEO of the Elkhart-based
supply-chain-management firm Kem Krest,
describes the community's new "let's get back to
business" mind-set.
But Elkhart and neighboring towns in Elkhart
County have a long way to go to erase the scars
from the worst economic downturn in nearly a
century. Unemployment hit 13.3 percent in
November, well below the high-water mark of 20.1
percent registered in March 2009. Still,
joblessness remains substantially higher than
the national average of 9.4 percent.
You can read the full story here
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