John Holcomb, general manager of Manistee factory of MasTech in Michigan previously made a decent dollar by supervising the production of machines and assembly lines for auto manufacturers until the global economic crisis began making its mark on automotive companies and all those involved. He first saw signs of trouble in September 2006 when Ford announced plans to close 16 plants, cut 44,000 jobs, and revamp its product lines.
Holcomb pitched his alternative energy idea to the newly formed Alliance for Economic Stress, a group actively searching for alternative energy companies. In October 2008, as auto sales were plunging and the Detroit Three were shutting plants and shedding thousands of employees, MasTech’s Manistee operation began transforming from an auto industry supplier into a wind turbine factory. A joint venture was soon formed between the Manistee plant and Nevada-based Mariah, shipping its residential wind turbines dubbed Windspire on April 20 and has since built hundreds. Optimistic initial estimates called for production of 75 to 100 units a week, but the overall economic downturn has forced Holcomb to scale back to 100 a month.
"We’re trying to continue to get the American people to spend some money. And we’ve had a hard time getting traction for sales because of zoning issues," Holcomb said. "Right now, I’m talking to as many zoning boards as salespeople." From a peak of 43 employees, MasTech is down to 35, many of whom worked in the auto industry. That’s a steady level of employment from about 40 as an auto supplier.
"I worked in the automotive industry for 15 years, and now I’m doing the complete turnaround," said Sean Jacobs, 39, a machinist from Manistee.
As the company plans to expand, it began producing Windspire turbines this fall which are large enough to store wind-created energy in a battery for future residential and/or vehicle use. MasTech expects to begin construction on another production facility in mid-2010 to meet expected demand from overseas. "We have some really huge orders pending overseas. We thought we’d sell more domestically right off the bat," Holcomb said. "But it turns out there’s more interest right now in Europe, Asia and north Africa than in Iowa."