Other nominees included: Geremias Osorio, Gilberth Aleman, Joe Vanderlick, Roxi Ortiz, Jorge Serrano, Ed Cole, Olivia Schechterly, Debbie Clocker, David Straub, Ed Evans, Stanley Shuleski, Chris Diltz, Bobby Campbell and Xenia Ponce.

B

enton Foundry held its 29th annual company picnic on Saturday, August 9th at Knoebels. It was a perfect summer day with lots of sun and fun. We had a nice turnout, with over 400 attending. There were lots of great prizes, many of which were donated by Benton’s vendors. We enjoyed each other’s company, good food, games and rides. A wonderful time was had by all and a huge thank you goes out to all that participated in making this event possible.

U

S manufacturing employment peaked in 1980 at nineteen million workers. In 2000, it still had seventeen million. Then it collapsed over the next decade, in part due to China, in part due to technology changes and especially after the global financial crises, when the workforce fell to just eleven million in 2010. In 2025, the United States has around thirteen million manufacturing workers.

At times, American elites have been strangely good humored about the departure of manufacturing jobs. In 1993, the chief economic adviser to George H. W. Bush, Michael Boskin, quipped “Computer chips, potato chips, what’s the difference?” It became part of the elite consensus that the United States could lose manufacturing. This consensus portrayed heterodox economists, as sentimentalists for resisting off-shoring. Neither the Clinton nor George W. Bush administration restrained American firms from moving manufacturing operations to China. Now, it’s more obvious that the departure of manufacturing has created economic and political ruination for the United States. We are still only beginning to understand how much it set the country back technologically.

~excerpt from Book on China “Breakneck” by Dan Wang whose basic premise is China is run by engineers and the USA by lawyers.

Benton Foundry gives you free money equal to 2.5% of your first 5% invested in our 401K, and you are vested after three years. If you are worried about losing money in the stock market, your account would have to fall by 33% or all the company’s contribution before you would ever lose any of your money. Below is a 25-year snapshot, showing the mutual funds average balance over time.

D

uring this quarter, Benton Foundry has lost four long-time employees to retirement. Although we are excited for them to begin the next chapter of their lives, they will be missed greatly. That being said, we wish the retirees many enjoyable years.

Ed Whitmoyer has retired after nearly 44 years of dedicated service. Early in Ed’s career, he was a manual and automatic molder. For the last 12 years, he worked in the Maintenance Department as a head electrician. Ed attended classes at Penn College to gain his electrical knowledge. Ed is quiet but known for his very dry sense of humor. He was one of three Whitmoyer brothers to work at Benton Foundry, along with his father-in-law, Roy Walters and his infamous brother-in-law, Galen Walters. Ed’s son worked on shakeout one summer and went to the University of Pittsburgh and attained a chemical engineering degree and now runs a major chemical plant. Ed lives in the Hughesville area with his wife, Deb. Ed will likely be spending more quality time with his wife, children and grandchildren now that he is retired. Ed also plans on learning to drive his son’s large boat on the Chesapeake. We wish Ed a long, healthy and happy retirement. Congratulations!

Mike Machuga has retired after 38+ years at the foundry. Mike has worked on the muller, operated core machines and most recently was an automatic molder. Mike excelled at any job he did. In the 1980s Mike ran the muller manually and was renown for the quality of his sand. He participated in many sand experiments. As a molder, he was also known for the quality of his work and was low in scrap for many years. His son, Brett also worked at the foundry before going on to be a dog handler for the PA Corrections system. Mike lives in Shickshinny with his wife, Rae Jean. He can now spend more time farming and hanging out with two other retirees, Mel Bartlow and Rick Wilson. We wish Mike a long, healthy and happy retirement. Congratulations!

Donna Remley has retired after nearly 38 years. Most of Donna’s years were spent in Inside Sales. Earlier in her career, she worked in the Payroll Department. Donna also produced the company newsletter (The Meltminder) for the last 13 years. Donna is known for a strict healthy living regimen that has carried over to other people in the office. Donna is also known for her shrewd financial acumen that is allowing her to retire at a young age. Her favorite numbers are 401K! Upon retirement, Donna plans to check off some of the adventures on her bucket list. Donna lives in Muncy with her significant other, Max and her Corgi, Riley. Donna has a daughter Kristina who worked at Benton Foundry while attending college. Donna’s father worked at Benton Foundry many years ago. We wish Donna a long, happy, and healthy retirement. Congratulations!

Steve Fritz is retiring after 15+ years. Steve worked admirably in the Melt Department performing ladle care and refractory work. Steve’s easy-going style served him well as an important cog, especially in light of the critical nature of refractory work. Steve and his wife, Kathy live on a farm on the road behind the foundry called “Fritz Hill” Road. The name Fritz has a long-term presence in the Benton area. Steve has a son, Ethan who is a Wilkes College Computer Graduate who continued his computer studies at Penn Tech while working in the IT Department at Benton Foundry. Steve raises sheep, horses and a variety of other animals. That will surely keep him busy upon his retirement. We wish Steve a long, happy and healthy retirement. Congratulations!

Good Luck & Best Wishes!

Thank you to Ed, Mike, Donna and Steve for your many years of dedicated service.