Published in The Tribune-Democrat, by Dave Sutor

March 14, 2014

After taking a quick tour through the high-tech, clean and modern DeVilbiss Healthcare facility on Friday, Gov. Tom Corbett talked about how Pennsylvania’s manufacturing base has evolved over the years.

“This is manufacturing,” said the state’s chief executive. “I think a lot of people have an image of manufacturing as being dusty and dirty, but you certainly didn’t see that here. In most cases, in this day and age, it’s not. There are some that are dusty, dirty, hard work, pounding metal and everything, but most manufacturing in Pennsylvania today is very similar to what you saw here.”

A little more than 200 people work at the Somerset plant, which makes respiratory medical products.

“What I like to see is they’re employing local people from Pennsylvania,” said Corbett. “They’re making it in Pennsylvania. Not only is it being used in Pennsylvania, it’s being used around the country and around the world.”

DeVilbiss started reshoring workers from China in 2013.

Approximately 25 jobs have returned to the region since the process began, according to a DeVilbiss spokesperson.

The company was able to bring back workers thanks to receiving a $1.8 million guaranteed federal loan that was allocated through the state.

“We knew that we could do it cost competitively because of the workforce we have here, so it was a pretty easy decision to make,” said Ed Murphy, president and CEO of DeVilbiss Healthcare.

“The toughest thing was getting the money to do it, and that’s where the guaranteed loans helped us out to get this done.”

Corbett’s visit occurred during his ongoing re-election campaign.

Talking politics for a bit, he said, “First off, when I ran for office, I said that we were going to look at a philosophy of fiscal discipline, limited government, free enterprise. Obviously, all three are connected. We have to control our spending to our revenue.

“We have to reduce the size of state government. That helps us with the budget, but also have a state government that will work with businesses, as partners, rather than as adversaries.”

(Dave Sutor, "VIDEO | Corbett tours Somerset facility," 3/14/14)