Posted by Bob Faulhaber, President of Schwarze Industries, Inc.
I find myself repeating that famous line from the movie Jerry McGuire “Show me the Money”, every time I speak with someone about Stimulus funds impact in our industry. I suppose that we should not be surprised that the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has been largely invisible to date. It is a very bureaucratic process with delayed federal funds trickling down to under funded state and local governments, through layers of regional planning and socioeconomic slicing and dicing. In the end, we may look forward to some relative momentum developing in early 2010. One thing is certain – first in line will get the biggest and best piece of pie, so we need to be poised to act as projects become active.
One of the largest line items in the federal stimulus package is the roughly $27 billion allocated for roadway and bridge construction. Nearly one fourth will be spent in California, Texas and Florida. There are also a significant number of active projects in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Washington. Internet sites that contain good information on recovery projects are: www.recovery.org or www.onvia.com. Our products may be important components of these projects so your time digging into these sites may be worthwhile. Happy Hunting!
I am also pleased to announce the appointment of Brad Coffman as Huntsville Operations Manager, reporting to Jim Adair, VP Operations. Brad joins us from Heil Environmental where he served in a variety of engineering and operations management positions. He will lead our manufacturing improvement activities, which are vital to achieving competitive advantage. Please join me in wishing Brad well at Schwarze.
Schwarze Bar
