A West Michigan chair manufacturer plans to move manufacturing from China to Greenville, adding a planned 93 jobs over the next two to three years.
ZERO1 LLC co-founder David Valdiserri told 24 Hour News 8 that China still has an edge with labor costs, but greater manufacturing efficiency and the decline of the value of the dollar shrink the gap between the cost of doing business in China and doing business in the United States.
Many companies do not take into account the considerable cost of shipping, Valdiserri said, particularly the costs that a company has to swallow if a container comes full of chairs with imperfections.
Products from China that have imperfections? What a shock.
ZERO1 will be receiving tax exemptions on equipment, $74,000 over 12 years. They currently have headquarters in Ada. They are planning on moving the whole operation into the Clarion Technologies building in Greenville, with hiring set to begin in December. Clarion is a injected molded plastics company, and they plan on hiring for 52 new positions as well.
Not a huge number of jobs here, but every little bit helps - and let's hope that this is a trend that continues.