The Struggles Of American Manufacturing To Adapt

As the Big Three contract and drive many of their suppliers into bankruptcy, businesses in Michigan and elsewhere aren't giving up—they're trying to adapt. I've linked to stories about entrepreneurs doing just that. The Washington Post today has a good story today about how one company has found adaptation to be quite difficult. Read the whole thing, but here's an excerpt from the story about this Michigan company, Dowding Industries, that is shifting from making auto parts for the Big Three to making wind turbines.

But they're finding that nothing takes the wind out of a new idea like the worst recession in decades. Deals with several banks and venture capitalists have not worked out.

"We're grateful to have something to run at all," Skip said. "The wind stuff is pretty dead. We'd prefer to have the wind stuff, but we'll take what we can get."

Dowding is too small to expect a hefty bailout from the federal government, so they're going to be putting everything on the table in this gamble.

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