Fallin, Russell visit Oklahoma manufacturing facility
Gov. Mary Fallin and U.S. Rep. Steve Russell visited the Terex Corp. facility in Oklahoma City on Friday to talk about manufacturing jobs in America.
Terex is an interna- tional manufacturing firm based in Westport, Connecticut, with facilities around the world. The company makes lifting and material processing products such as aerial platforms and cranes.
“You know what I like about this place?” Russell said. “You don’t just make stuff. You make stuff that makes stuff.”
He said there aren’t many people who have the skills to make enduring products that other companies use to make their products.
The visit was part of an event put on by the Association of Equip- ment Manufacturers called “I Make America.” The association puts on the events at about 30 of its member companies across the country every year.
Fallin and Russell toured the facility with association President
Dennis Slater and Terex CEO John Garrison before addressing employees.
Tony Paige, a production supervisor at the Terex facility, thought the event was great recognition for the company, and he was interested in what Fallin and Russell had to say about infrastructure.
“It’s nice to hear their views,” Paige said.
Garrison said Terex has closed six different facilities across the country and moved work to Oklahoma. The Oklahoma factory is the only Terex facility in the world with production for every segment of the company, he said.
He also introduced the governor and the congressman and encouraged employees to participate in the political process.
“If we could ever get an infrastructure bill, we couldn’t make everything that we’d need to make here at this facility,” Garrison said.
Fallin said she hoped an infrastructure bill could get done so the Terex employees would be making equipment to go throughout the country. She also said Oklahoma has invested in infrastructure through fixing roads and bridges.
Fallin said the nation must do a better job in providing the right work skills for today’s jobs.
“Manufacturing is not what grandfather’s manufacturing was,” Fallin said.
Russell said the employees are setting the example that there are jobs out there for people who want to learn the skills. Russell also talked about rolling back regulations on manufacturing.
Employees filled the room to hear Fallin and Russell, and a few got to ask them questions when they fin- ished their remarks. One employee asked the governor for what she’s done about workforce readiness in Oklahoma.
Fallin said America needs to work on filling the middle skills gap, where a worker doesn’t need a four-year college degree, but needs more than a high school diploma. She said, by 2025, 77 percent of jobs in America will require more than a high school education.
“If you want to go into a nice company like this, you have to have some education and training and some work skills to get a job here,” Fallin said.