News, Press Releases - Friday, March 5, 2010 0:12 - 0 Comments

Still a place in Springfield for manufacturing, but jobs have changed

Even as one of the oldest names in local manufacturing prepares to leave town, in the form of Honeywell Hobbs Corp., Thomas Debrey says there remains a place for old-fashioned production jobs in Springfield.

Well, not so old-fashioned anymore.

Debrey, the third-generation head of Simplex Corp. — a local manufacturer of electrical testing and fuel-production systems — says traditional mass-production jobs probably are gone for good. According to state figures, manufacturing accounted for about 3,300 jobs in a Springfield-area work force of more than 112,400 at the end of 2009.

But Debrey said there is room for a new breed of small and medium-sized manufacturers, even in a town dominated by health care and state government.

“We do not have a manufacturing base, but the notion that Springfield is bad for manufacturing, or doesn’t need manufacturing is false,” said Debrey. Full Press Release…