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WEST PITTSTON – U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright continued his tour of businesses in his home district Friday with a stop at Finch Manufacturing & Technology, a company that has been in existence since 1855.
Finch is a design, build, and installation company specializing in manufacturing steel components such as giant rotary kilns and dryer systems, trunnion rollers, large shafts, waste incinerators and other large-scale fabrications.
“We are making a reputation for turnaround speed and we’re hoping the word will get out,” said Bob Zinnen Jr., president and CEO of Finch. “We work with our partners to make that happen.”
According to Zinnen, the 164-year-old business is capable of delivering product worldwide.
“This kind of meeting specifically is a factory or plant tour and I particularly enjoy those because not only am I interested in seeing how they make things, the education part of it for me, but this is just exactly the kind of jobs we need to grow in our area,” said Cartwright, D-Moosic. “We took a massive hit in our manufacturing base because of NAFTA and we have to do everything we can think of to build it back up.”
Cartwright along with Zinnen and Finch board members toured the massive manufacturing plant equipped with an overhead crane system and giant presses.
“This is not only surprising, it’s amazing the capabilities they have here,” Cartwright said of the West Pittston company. “We need to come together and help them prosper because if they grow, those are great family-sustaining manufacturing jobs.”
He went on to say a common denominator for many area manufacturers is the difficulty they have with finding enough trained employees.
“If we can hook up with vocational school presidents who are willing to come out and design a curriculum, that’s a win-win,” Cartwright added.
Zinnen was elated to have the lawmaker tour the Finch plant.
“It’s an opportunity to talk to one of our political leaders, to show them what we do and how we can compete and the skill sets,” Zinnen said.
Budget, stormwater fee
Earlier in the morning, Cartwright was at Ballyhoo ice cream shop, another West Pittston business, where over 50 residents and borough officials met for a Coffee with your Congressman event.
At Ballyhoo, residents were concerned with President Trump’s proposed budget, a levee to protect the borough, and the controversial fee being charged across the Wyoming Valley for stormwater runoff.
“One recurring theme (at Ballyhoo) was the White House budget that just came out,” Cartwright said of those wanting to know if Medicare, Social Security, education, Meals on Wheels and cancer research were going to be cut.
“The answer to all of that is no,” Cartwright said. “That’s just the White House budget and it’s the Appropriations Committee and ultimately Congress that decides what money gets spent and what it gets spent on. There’s no way we’re going to put up with those cuts and all those programs are vital and what the folks at Ballyhoo said just confirms that.”
Two other issues dominated the meeting at Ballyhoo: flood protection for West Pittston residents and stormwater fees.
“Of course, we’re looking into that (flood protection) and the storm water runoff fees, everyone is concerned about that, I’m concerned about it,” Cartwright said.
He called the fees “an unfunded mandate.”
“In my own view, the way to cure an unfunded mandate is to fund it,” Cartwright said. “It’s not going to happen overnight and I promised those people that I will work hard on finding a way … so the burden no longer falls on our local homeowners and landowners.”
